Do You Know What You Should Be Working On? --- Chief Instructor's Blog February 2026

Becoming proficient in martial arts encompasses many attributes: mechanics inclusive of flexibility, agility, balance; body awareness; accuracy and targeting; speed and reaction time; timing; endurance; foot work; grounding; focus and intent among other things depending on your rank. 

With so many things to work on, how do you know if you are working on the right things and not potentially spending too much time on some things while ignoring other items important for your continual improvement in the art form. 

Here is a good time to remind you of our Club’s expectations for your training:

·       When you are a Belt, the Instructor of that class takes primary responsibility to ensure you have the information to test.

·       Once you are promoted, the responsibility is primarily yours (i.e., Instructors will provide training at a level appropriate for you, based on your skill set and experience.  If you miss classes, it is your responsibly to seek that information out from a qualified Instructor of what you might have missed). 

·       If you are not sure of what you should be working on, or need extra guidance or clarity, it is your responsibly to ask the questions and seek additional training outside normal class hours if needed. 

So, with the above said, you should be getting feedback from instructors in class and have notes from a testing sheet.  This is the starting point.  If it has been a long time since you have tested (and many are in that category), test at the next available opportunity to get more recent feedback.

In addition, other things you need to be doing (if not already):

·       Share with the instructor what you are working on and get feedback about if that is the priority for you at your current rank and what is expected to progress towards the next belt level. 

·       Ask for input on a very regular basis. If you are waiting for right before a test, or waiting for what ends up on a test, that is not enough and may not necessarily be comprehensive but just stating some key or items that stand out.

And then how do you know if you are improving?

·       Keep a log.  If you are working on speed for example, maybe you time yourself every few weeks going through a set of repetitions or how many repetitions can be done in a set of time and monitor if improving.  Keep in mind that if one week you are not as good as previous week, note what other things might have prevented you from doing better that day (e.g., did you not get enough sleep night before, did you not eat well, etc.) so you are not discouraged if you are not always showing improvement week to week or have a setback.

·       Video / Record yourself.  With today’s smartphones, it is easy to video / record yourself and see for yourself.  For example, if you are trying to ensure your basic knife hand is linear or your turnaway kick you are not leading with the pinkie toe, then you can record yourself periodically and see for yourself.

·       Ask for feedback during or after class from a qualified instructor if you see any improvement or if you appear to be on track.

Martial arts is a personal journey of continuous improvement and growth, so if you are looking to improve you need to make sure you have the information, a plan to work on those items, and ways to track progress.

 

Regards,

Kelly

“There is no finish line. When you reach one goal, find a new one."  ~ Chuck Norris (1940 – present), American martial artist and actor with black belts in Karate, Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu, and judo.

 

References:

1. Fighter's Fact Book: Over 400 Concepts, Principles, and Drills to Make You a Better Fighter by Loren W. Christensen

2. Fighter's Fact Book 2: Street Fighting by Loren W. Christensen
3. Ultimate Fitness Through Martial Arts by Sang H. Kim