Efficiency in Training: Wants vs. Needs
Understanding the difference between what you WANT to happen and what NEEDS to happen is a large component of what it means to move from one level to the next in martial arts or self defense training. As we increase our confidence in our abilities and the skills we obtain, we must learn to narrow the gap between what our brain WANTS and what our body actually NEEDS. This improves efficiency in our movement, allowing us to identify and act with more options rather than being over-committed to a single response. We're not getting any younger as we train more, so a general rule, we should always be striving for more ways to work smarter rather not harder, especially when it comes to self preservation.
A few months back I shot a video with my friend and fellow practitioner, Sensei Ando. It was posted to his channel and has been viewed nearly 500,000 times at the time of writing this. (Click here to watch that video). That video was specifically in dealing with improving your punch defense strategies, which among other things, is comprised of this "wants vs. needs" ratio. It received a lot of great response and I had been asked to put together a little more detail on that specific topic on our own channel. So, here’s a quick video tip on how to approach training through your own practice. I hope you enjoy it and find it useful in expanding your martial arts “tool kit”.
Be sure to check out our YouTube channel here. We're constantly updating it with new content, and are always open to suggestions from viewers.
