6 Ways to Improve Performance and Correct Errors in the Martial Arts: The Power Trip: How to Survive and Thrive in the Dojo, #4
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About this ebook
It has been said that forewarned is forearmed. Many students don't know what to expect or how to increase motivation, retention, and rate of learning when first signing up to study the martial arts. You are left in the hands of an instructor who is often a student himself, and not a teacher by profession. The Power Trip: How to Survive and Thrive in the Dojo is an informative and critical series of books that will give you the power to thrive in an environment where other students and even instructors at times sit on their "high horses," arguing over "best techniques" or making snide remarks about your performance. It will also arm you for the day you will begin teaching the martial arts (or help you improve your technique if you are already teaching), and show you how to build your integrity and repute as an instructor.
If you are a new student in the martial arts, ready to sign up for your first lesson, you will gain a lot of information about the difficulties you can expect to encounter sometime throughout your training, and explore options for resolving potential conflicts. If you are a seasoned martial artist with years under your belt, you will no doubt recognize many of the scenarios presented, and be able to look back at your journey and consider what you could have done differently. Since the advice is not style specific but explores a multitude of scenarios that frequently play themselves out in the martial arts training hall, it applies to students of most martial styles.
6 Ways to Improve Performance and Correct Errors in the Martial Arts, the fourth book in the series, discusses how to build your strength by taking advantage of individual differences and specialized classes, how to recognize and correct common errors and obstacles to learning, how to get past learning plateaus and know when it is time to move ahead, and how well-developed lesson plans can help you perform better. The material in this book is excerpted from the previously published book (now out of print), The Complete Martial Arts Student, also by Martina Sprague.
The full series comprises the following books:
1. 10 Things the Martial Arts Student Must Understand
2. 8 Ways to Be Professional and Ethical in the Martial Arts
3. 8 Methods for Learning the Martial Arts, Setting Goals, and Getting Motivated
4. 6 Ways to Improve Performance and Correct Errors in the Martial Arts
5. 8 Ways to Benefit from Critique and Testing in the Martial Arts
6. 6 Tips for Communicating Effectively and Dealing with Behavioral Problems in the Martial Arts
Martina Sprague
Martina Sprague grew up in the Stockholm area of Sweden. She has a Master of Arts degree in Military History from Norwich University in Vermont and has studied a variety of combat arts since 1987. As an independent scholar, she writes primarily on subjects pertaining to military and general history, politics, and instructional books on the martial arts. For more information, please visit her website: www.modernfighter.com.
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6 Ways to Improve Performance and Correct Errors in the Martial Arts - Martina Sprague
INTRODUCTION TO THE POWER TRIP SERIES
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Many students have little knowledge of what to expect or how to increase motivation, retention, and rate of learning when first signing up to study the martial arts. You are left in the hands of an instructor who is often a student himself, not a teacher by profession, and who has little or no knowledge of the learning process or the psychology of teaching. As a result, the instructor simply states the facts—this is the name of the technique, and this is how it is done—without considering why the technique is done, the concepts behind it, and how to tailor it to fit your individual traits.
Learning the facts, or learning the mechanics of a technique, is the first stage of learning. But if you fail to go beyond rote memorization, you are unlikely to gain proficiency even in the simplest techniques. To understand this idea better, I like to use the analogy of the martial artist and the historian. The historian does not merely memorize battle dates and names of great generals. He or she studies with the intent of uncovering the underlying currents which shaped those events and learn from them. The same is true when learning the martial arts. Whether learning from a book or through hands-on experience, the underlying currents help you understand why a technique or concept is important. For example, a recent article about self-defense for the street stated, "No matter how scared you are, don’t let your emotions show. The fact is,
Don’t let your emotions show." While it is easy to agree with this statement, theoretical knowledge of the fact does not make you proficient at performing or understanding the technique. When confronted with life and death, just how do you learn not to let your emotions show?
As students of the martial arts, we often go to the training hall without considering exactly what we can do to further our learning. The glory is in performing our art and not in pondering the learning process. The purpose of The Power Trip series is to educate you about the science of learning, instill confidence through familiarization with and recognition of a multitude of scenarios, and give you the power to act when you encounter specific problems. It is about making your education more profitable by showing you why rather than what to learn, and showing you how to teamwork with your instructor and peers even when your instructor and peers are uneducated about the learning process and cause you problems.
The Power Trip series will give you the power to survive and thrive in the Dojo, by showing you how to recognize and counter situations when your instructor or peers are sitting on their high horses
ready to go on a power trip that can prove to be more than a nuisance to you.
Furthermore, by looking at different situations from both the student’s and instructor’s viewpoint, you will learn about the many difficulties the instructor faces. The insights you gain will help you appreciate the instruction more and give you options for a mutually productive learning experience. You will learn how to turn a mediocre training session into an advantage, where everything your instructor and peers say and do is used for your gain.
As you continue deeper into your training remember that, although it is your instructor’s responsibility to help you progress in the martial arts, it is equally much your responsibility to help your instructor pave the way for good learning to take place. I once overheard a conversation between two ladies discussing how much fun it was going back to college years after graduating from high school. One lady said that she didn’t understand why the youngsters don’t want to go to school, when you just sit there and get spoon fed.
But learning is a two-way street and often not as simple as taking in what is fed to you. Your instructor, no matter how talented, is only half of the learning process. Although you can’t do much about your instructor’s teaching methods, you do have considerable control over how you approach the lessons. The Power Trip series will show you how to extract the information that your instructor and peers possess but don’t necessarily know how to express, so that next time you go to class you can meet your instructor halfway and contribute with the missing half that makes the learning process whole.
It has been said that forewarned is forearmed. If you are a new student in