First, this is part of my New Year’s resolution–to have a blog entry at least once a month this year. So January, check…

This is more an observation on the steps in learning a form.… distinct steps that I never consciously recognized when I was learning forms, but ones that are quite obvious now that I’m observing other learn. I classify the learning process into the following steps:

1. Motion
2. Action
3. Sequence
4. Memory
5. Elaboration

The first step is learning the motion. Here the student learns the general movements. It may be, let’s say, a simple block and kick. Initially these items aren’t performed with any specific target or focus. They’re just following the motion of the form.

The second step is learning the moves. Here the block and kick become distinct actions for specific purpose. The block and kick become blocking a punch to the face and kicking to the inner thigh. This continues for each set of moves within the form until the student, either through explicit instructions or through their own understanding , begins to associate each set of movements with some purpose and action. At this time, the student will have a set of movements, pause or hesitate between each sets of movements, but will eventually get through the form.

The third step is sequence. This is adding of the smoothness to the second step. This is almost transitional between Action and Muscle Memory. Here the student has learned a significant portion of the form and can do it without pausing. I generally find some students do pause once in a while, but it seems many times this is that they’re gaining some insight that they’re thinking about (at least that’s what I prefer to believe).

The fourth step is memory. This is where the form has been ingrained in the students mind and they can do it without thinking about the basic movement. Here is where I find that the most progress is made on the subtleties of the form. The proper emphasis, the proper hip movement, etc.

The final step is elaboration. This is taking what they have learning and being able to apply it to different situations. Here the block and kick can also become a push and a trip. The students are able to explore the form and find the hidden applications… truly making what they have learned their own.

The concept of economy of movement isn’t new to any martial artist. Many new student come in with the concept that longer the distance, the more power and hence they start off with exaggerated punches, kicks, etc. At some point in their training, however, most people will come across the concept of efficient and effective movements to defend as well as to attack an opponent.

This impact of efficiency in movement becomes much more apparent with weapons mostly because when dealing with sticks and especially knives, the consequences of exposing yourself to an attack are obviously much more material than getting punched.

When training with knives, one of the things I’ve tried to emphasize to my students has been, first no one who know what they’re doing with a knife, especially someone with bad intentions, is going to bring a knife out and flash it around. Most likely the knife with be hidden in a pocket or something until the opportune moment. If you’re not able to efficiently counter a knife in that situation because your hands are flailing all over the place… game over.

Same thing even if both parties have a blade out, if the opponent is a few inches closer, odds are, unless you’re lightning quick, you’re going to get cut first.

As much as I like to reserve teaching knife skills until students are move advanced, after about six month, I generally try to expose them to some knives because it teaches them the principles of the economy of movement. After using this as an example, I generally focus more on leg, hip and shoulder movements to help the body generate power rather than using just distance alone.

For a long time I was opposed to using padded weapons in training. My personal opinion was that they were detrimental to training for real confrontations based on the fact that as soon as people got a padded weapon in their hands, they 1) started hitting each other carelessly as if this was about getting some points and 2) they started doing things like leaning down to hit someone on the leg. If the latter was in a real situation, they would have gotten clocked on their head, but because the sticks were padded that type of caution didn’t seem necessary. It seemed to me that students seemed to immediately unlearn months of training as soon as they got a padded weapon.

However, as I’ve been maturing as an instructor, I’ve come to realize that I can’t avoid using padded weapons, because there is a benefit to them. But that benefit, in my opinion, is from structured drills. When I give my students padded stick, I give them specific instructions. For example, one student performs a single strike with power and the other student had to try to use one of the disarming or abanico techniques to penetrate. They can still move around freely and strike randomly, but without letting it get to a state where they revert back to items 1 and 2 above.

I know the argument in opposition to this will be that “on the street, people will not use weapons in a predictable manner”. I know that, but I think this is the first step… to have students get used to working with weapons that are coming at a decent speed and understand how they can defend against it. Like with everything else, once they acclimate to this, then perhaps, allowing for a more free flowing padded weapon exchange.

As I’ve been teaching my students techniques, I’ve been trying to figure out how best to refine their techniques. To me almost all techniques, involve movement of the following: the limb executing the technique, feet, shoulders and upper body and hips. What I am trying to figure out is what is the best sequence to address these movement in.

Generally I have trained my students in that order. First get the limb used to the movement. I don’t focus on exactness here only that the body part moves in the general pattern that it should. Once that general movement is consistent, I refine the movement. For example, if it is a post block, then ensuring that the student doesn’t block too high or too low. After this, I focus on the foot work. In the example of the post block, at the basic level, making sure they are stepping into the block. The third thing I focus on is the shoulders. The two things I try to focus on with the shoulders is the movement during execution to add power as well as the final placement of the shoulders, which is many cases should end up facing the opponent or the strike squarely. Finally I focus on the hips and their movement for power and their final position post execution.

What I question, however, is there a right sequence. There is lot to be said for getting the foot work perfect before training techniques. My gut feeling is there isn’t a right sequence. But I’d love to hear from you with regard to how you train and focus on refining techniques.

A friend of mine recently asked for the primary reason for people’s interest in martial arts on his blog bamboosprintma.blogspot.com. I responded saying that initially it was for self defense, but now it was more a philosophical reason. After having posted my response, I started thinking about why I continue to take Arnis. Unlike many other arts that include a heavy dose of stretching and strengthening, Arnis is really focused on techniques. So while it can benefit me physically, it really is about self defense. At my age, do I really expect to have to many encounters where I need to defend myself? Probably not, but it is nice to know that I would be able to protect myself and my family if needed. But I guess really the philosophical part comes not directly from knowing how to disarm and subdue an opponent, but from more of the indirect aspects.

One is disciple, with a job, family and multiple other activities, the disciple to go twice a week and spend an hour and a half practicing the art. Another is the focus to push the body to be able to move and react with more power and more speed to increasingly difficult techniques. While this may not be a character building feat at 18, believe me it can be at close to 40. It forces you to focus and concentrate.

Finally, a third way in which practicing Arnis is that it develops mental agility. When you have to react to sticks coming at you at around 50 mph at times, you mind has to be able to react quickly. Even if you are practicing a drill, your mind has to work in conjunction with your body to make sure you block at the right time, you stop your stick before hitting your partner, etc. It forces your mind to stay sharp in other drills by coming up with new counters to counters.

I know this is just the tip of the iceberg and perhaps it doesn’t explain how this is philosophical (perhaps I’ll write about that next time), but at the least I wanted to describe how an art that is really focused on self defense technique has benefits that go beyond just self defense.

My instructor at one point had me train with my eyes closed, partially because he wanted to develop training for the visually impaired, but it taught me an important lesson about how valuable training without using your eyes can be. Not only does it teach sensitivity to an opponent’s energy and awareness of the opponent’s body position, but I think training with your eyes closed can also help promote better technique. Whether this is practicing a block, check and counter, or joint locks or even weapons training, the fact that one has to feel the way around the technique to make it effective make a huge difference in actually executing this same technique with eyes open. Sometimes when we can see, we make up sloppy technique by moving our bodies for better leverage or using more strength. With eyes closed, you have to rely upon your understanding of there the opponent is and judge what their next move may be based on the energy of the limb you’re in contact. Over time, I think this type of training can greatly add to the speed and precision of techniques with your eyes open.

I’m not advocating training this way with speed and power, but keeping your eyes closed and training slowly, I feel can be a valuable addition to any training. It makes to rely on the other senses, namely touch, to understand the force an opponent is striking, their body position as well as proper execution of technique.

If you haven’t tried this, my suggestion would be to start with something simple such as a hand grab. And to execute the techniques slowly. Initially it will be necessary for your partner to “play along”, but over time, you will find that you can execute certain technique just as well blind as you can with sight.

I’d love to hear feedback on this from others who have tried this method.

When I take a layman’s perspective on effective distance, it is easy to conclude that for arts such as TKD, the sweet spot seems to the longer range. With Jiu-Jitsu, obviously the close range. But Arnis has significant set of techniques at all three ranges, from a long range with the sticks, to medium with open hand and some of the kicks and finally the close range. So is there a sweet spot in arnis? Are all ranges the sweet spot(s)? Or is it really up to the practitioners to find their own.

Personally, I think it is really up to the practitioner and my personal sweet spot is close and just to the outside of my opponent’s side. This is just a matter of the x-pattern forward to the left or right. I find this spot to be the most uncomfortable for most partners since 1) I’m on the outside and 2) I’m at an uncomfortably close range. This is the space bubble people talk about. This is the space that people on the street show their bravado with by getting into people’s faces and people pushing people out of this space. But this is also where, to me, the arnisador is most comfortable, not only with being on the outside, but this close range. This is where one has the advantage, because we can maneuver in these close confines and also manipulate the opponent’s body.

So lately I’ve been teaching my students that, as always, if the option exists, run away (more on this later), but if you have no choice and the combat is empty hand, then close in. Preferably to the sides, but even straight in because this is where most people do not have a significant arsenal of techniques. Close in and from there determine whether the situation calls for an arm lock or a throw or a break.

I was demonstrating a move to my students today and I had a slightly difficult time executing it. The move was basically an armbar to a backwards throw, changing the opponents momentum from one direction to another. At first I thought that perhaps it was the size of my students who are larger and stronger than others I have worked with. But then again, I’ve worked with a wide range of shapes and sizes in my own training and haven’t had problems with this technique. After watching a few of my student try to execute the technique as well as some trial and error, I came to the conclusion that this had worked in the past because I wasn’t teaching it, I was practicing it. The subtle difference being that when showing the technique to students, one generally tends to be gentler and slower than when practicing the same technique. Since this technique really depended on an opponent’s reaction to the armbar and their tendency to want to go the opposite way as a reaction to it, there was a need to make the armbar slightly painful. This elicited the right reaction to make the technique flow and make it effective. At some point in the future I’ll write about the need for realism in practice through sparring and senario evaluation, but even outside of these types of training, executing a technique to a level of discomfort is not only crucial to you learning how the technique will execute in more realistic circumstances, but also make you more adept at executing the techniques. While I think it is important for students to go slowly at first with a cooperative partners, there are benefits to a slightly opposing partner and execution of technique with controlled speed and power.

One of the unfortunate aspects of learning/training is that we learn the movements of the upper body separately from the movements of the lower body. So we learn to block first then step then punch and rather than treating these as one fluid set of movements, we are drilled into executing three separate moves for three specific purposes… 1) eliminate the immediate threat, 2) close in, and 3) Counter. Until I started teaching and watching my students, I never realized that for a long time, I executed things as distinct steps with distinct purposes. While these distinct steps may work perfectly well in a real-life situation, what they tend to do is add time to the completion of the end goal, eliminating the opponent–every distinct maneuver adds a small amount of time, a split second, that gives the opponent an opportunity to think and react. When the body moves in unison, when the step is block, step and counter are happening almost simultaneously. The step is not only to get closer to the opponent but is angling the body to block while allowing the other hand to counter. The step isn’t distinct but part of the block and counter.