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Warning: Technique Overload

November 5, 2009 | Author: Matthew | Filed under: Martial Arts,Opinion,Techniques,karate,mindset,self defense

The funny thing about technique is that it can be very alluring. Martial arts inspire great leaps of imagination and originality. So much so that people (including myself) are often tempted to examine all the various possibilities of technique. This can range from exploration of bunkai, self defense, takedowns, chokes, grappling methods, vital point striking, etc etc etc.

So what’s wrong with imagination and exploration? Nothing – I wholeheartedly encourage it. What I do want to warn you about though is technique overload.

The Age Old Battle: Quality vs Quantity

How many prearranged self defense techniques do you really need to learn? 20? 100? 200? Certainly having some available is desirable because it helps program the body during times of stress (much in the same way kata can). Unfortunately it can be extremely easy to go off the deep end and over plan. If 5 prearranged knife self defense techniques are good, certainly 50 would be better right?

In my experience (both personally and having interacted with people of other styles and arts), an abundance of prearranged techniques or series of techniques can actually hinder a person’s real ability to defend themselves. This occurs for two main reasons:

#1 Tons of techniques are learned in a shallow fashion. This is the same problem with too many kata. There is no time to acquire muscle memory through rote repetition. As fancy as some prearranged tactics can seem, they are useless if the body can’t conjure them up when it counts.

#2 Too many options create a mental roadblock. Take for example a punch to the face. If the mind must choose between 60 techniques regarding how to handle that punch, it wastes valuable milliseconds processing that decision. If, on the other hand, you’ve trained yourself to naturally shift out of the way using 1 out of 5-6 mastered block/strikes, your body can simply proceed naturally and move on to dispatching the opponent.

Fear and adrenaline should never be underestimated when it comes to compromising the wonderful things we are able to do in the dojo. A beautiful 4 point kyusho knockout technique that looks astounding on a compliant opponent becomes a jumbled mess when your heart rate is jumping and your hands are shaking.

If you study your art for long enough, you’ll begin to understand the core concepts that make so many different techniques work. Things like timing, distance, weight distribution, balance, and generation of power. It is then that a scant few techniques can take on a wide variety of personas.

Keep Exploring…Just Be Warned!

Explore your style with my blessing and encouragement. Just be sure to give as much attention to naturalness. Let yourself be attacked in unexpected ways. Give yourself opportunities to fail and find out where your weaknesses are. Don’t be too quick to cast aside basic, simple techniques (those are the very techniques that could save your life).

Most of all, whether we are talking about technique, or rank, or titles, or whatever, remember – quality outweighs quantity!

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This entry was posted on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 and is filed under Martial Arts, Opinion, Techniques, karate, mindset, self defense. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

xygoxen
  • jessecrouch
  • http://markstraining.com MarksTraining.com

    Good article. It can be very tempting to try and learn as many techniqes as possible, but it is well worth mastering just a few simple ones that can be used instantly when needed

  • http://www.budobeyondtechnique.com/ Bob

    Concepts and principles are the key. They are demonstrated through techniques. It depends on where you are on the learning curve (experience) beginners need technique. As you progress, you should be able to relate back and forth. For senior students, I will sometimes only tell them what principle they broke when a technique does not work. It may take them longer to correct the technique part; but, they will have a much deeper understanding when they get it.

  • http://www.TheMartialArtsReporter.com/ TheMartialArtsReporter

    I appreciate the topic you bring up today.
    November 5, already?! Time sure flies by.
    Anyway, you bring up fear and adrenaline.
    I believe in those situations you’ll
    sub-consciously fall back and apply the
    technique/s that come naturally and
    the easiest to you, right?!

  • http://CookDingsKitchen.blogspot.com RickMatz

    Fundamentally, a martial art is a training method.

    In my understanding of internal martial arts, the focus is not on techniques, but on training the body to move and respond (as opposed to react) habitually in a particular way. Applications training in this context is meant to open one's mind by example to the possibilities, but too much attention to specific applications is a detriment; the mind becoming focused on the proverbial finger rather than the moon.

  • http://www.ikigaiway.com Ikigai108

    Nice Jesse – I was actually thinking of that but couldn't recall what the heck it was called.

  • http://www.ikigaiway.com Ikigai108

    I agree Bob. Learning and correcting through core principle may be harder, but definitely more worthwhile in the long run.

  • http://www.SelfDefenseProductsFlorida.com/ Self Defense Products Florida

    I do believe that too many options create a mental road block. Sometimes you need to think quick and this is where pepper spray or stun guns come in handy in ADDITION to knowing Martial Arts.

  • http://strikingthoughts.wordpress.com/2009/11/07/the-pain-resistant-attacker/ The Pain Resistant Attacker « Striking Thoughts

    [...] to all this is a post on technique overload that I saw at Ikagai’s. If 5 prearranged knife self defense techniques are good, certainly 50 would be better [...]

  • http://www.gisoku-budo.com/ Sean @ Gisoku Budo

    Very timely post since I'll have bunkai incorporated into my next grading, which is coming up next month :) I personally find studying this kind of application really fascinating, even if I do over-complicate things sometimes ;)

  • http://www.gisoku-budo.com/2009/11/note-to-self-dont-over-complicate-things-p/ Note to self – don’t over-complicate things :P | Gisoku Budo – musings of an amputee martial artist

    [...] can be extremely counterproductive when translating said techniques into a real-world scenario (here). I can definitely see what he’s getting at, and can also relate to over-complicating things [...]

  • http://www.ikigaiway.com Matt__A

    Cool! Yea it's easy to get yourself tangled up in a myriad of bunkai. Sometimes it's better to step back and ask yourself – but will this work and be available, really, when I need it?

  • http://www.ikigaiway.com Matt__A

    definitely!

  • http://urbansamurai.org.uk Neal Martin

    I posted on this subject myself recently and I talked about technique logjam and how it got me in trouble one night while bouncing. In terms of self defense, I think the best strategy is to narrow down your list of techniques to as few as possible and then just work on them over and over until they become second nature. I prefer the concept of pre-emptive striking now anyway. This more or less cuts out the need for other techniques, unless that initial tactic fails and you get pulled into a fight, in which case you fall back on your short list of techniques. All the rest you can keep for art or until you master them enough that you can use them for real without hesitation. Good post.

  • http://myselfdefenseblog.com/ John W. Zimmer

    Hi Matt,

    I think Bruce Lee was on to something with JKD. While I had to learn 240 self defense techniques and 17 kata… in the end fighting is fighting. True there are flavors of the month and tried and true flavors and fighting is always evolving – but again fighting is fighting.

    I used to get questions all the time when I was teaching about remembering a whole technique. I always told the students that the techniques were for testing but you (the student) should let the muscles learn the various ways to move and use what you like.

    So my opinion is that it does not matter what style or complexity of techniques one might learn but rather that one likes the martial art and strives to become more proficient at it. The body will in that endeavor learn the moves.

  • Cyclonis

    After reading, I am reminded of a quote i read that Bruce Lee said.

    “I fear not the man who has practiced 1,000 different kicks. I fear the man who has practiced one kick 1,000 times.”
    ~Bruce Lee

    Perfect blend into this topic I think…

  • Cyclonis

    After reading, I am reminded of a quote i read that Bruce Lee said.

    “I fear not the man who has practiced 1,000 different kicks. I fear the man who has practiced one kick 1,000 times.”
    ~Bruce Lee

    Perfect blend into this topic I think…

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