Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Is Body Memory Limiting You? - Chief Instructor's Blog March 2022

 

Body memory is a very important part of martial arts and some folks might say it is the key element to its effective use, especially in a self-defense situation. 

By repeating techniques over and over again they become second nature.  When you can do techniques without thinking about it, you are able to quickly react.  This concept, where the mind gets out of the way, is the results of hundreds of hours of training and thousands of repetitions.  The state of performing without the mind being in the way and your body just flows easily from one technique to another is called Mushin.  I explain Mushin in my November 2010 blog “Free the Mind – Be Like Water”.  

This ability to move from technique to technique without thinking is especially important when you are stressed.  If you have to rely on thinking when stressed, you will probably not perform well or too late to be effective.  I talk some more about the importance of how you practice in my February 2018 blog, “You Will Fight How You Practice”.  

And while I do agree that body memory is very important, it can also be limiting you. 

So, what are the cons of body memory?  One con is if your body memory of the technique is poor.  In that case, that technique will be ineffective when you need to use it.  Over the next several months now that we are practicing in person from time to time, it is important for me to review your techniques to make sure they are still effective before we practice with a partner or with full power against bags, shields etc. so no one gets injured.   

If bad habits or ineffective techniques are now a body memory, you must re-program.  First, you need to break down the technique, go slowly, think through the movements, and relearn it.  It will take hundreds and possibly thousands of repetitions correctly to get back to the state where your techniques are effective as body memory.  And this process must be repeated through basics, hyung, self-defense, sparring, etc.  This is why it is so important to check yourself from time to time to ensure you have not introduced bad form or techniques.  And this is especially true now since over the last two years we have not been able to practice working with partners, striking bags, etc. which gives you instance feedback of the effectivity of your techniques.

The other con is if you have limited your training.  What do I mean by this?  For example, if you only practice turning one way, or you have not practiced transitioning from certain stances to another, then you may get limited or stuck when you try to move that way.  And if this happens, during a time you need to protect yourself, it may result in you being vulnerable. 

This is why it is important to expand your practice to ensure you can smoothly and easily:

  • Throw all techniques from all stances in all directions (upward, downward, forward, outward). 
  • Perform the hyung in a variety of ways - mirrored, in reverse order, starting from the middle, etc.  In my June 2020 blog “Adding Variety to Practicing Hyung”, I describe 22 different ways to practice hyung. 
  • Transition from any stance to any stance and in any direction (side to side, forward and back, at different angles). 
  • Throw open hand techniques with closed fist reciprocal and closed hand techniques with open hands reciprocals. 

Body memory may save your life in a fight. 

But body memory based on practicing precisely and correctly, moving in any direction, in any stance using any technique, and changing stances from one to another with no limitations or boundaries will save your life in a fight. 


Regards,

Kelly

“One must try, every day, to expand one's limits." ~ Masutatsu Oyama (1923-1994), karate master who founded Kyokushinkai Karate

 

 

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