Safe training: the 3 errors rule
How the rule of the three errors works
There are several popular sayings (in China, in Arabia, etc.) that refer to the rule of 3 errors:
- “Everything that happens one time can, or not, happen twice but everything that happens twice will probably happen a third time.”
- “Once is a fluke. Twice is a coincidence. Three is a trend.”
- …
In 6 Dragons Kung Fu, we apply this concept to the safety of our daily training. Basically, the idea is that:
- Fist error – If we make a mistake in carrying out an exercise once (eg. we are wrong in a movement of rotation of the rope and we hit the elbow, read Loop rotations of the rope) there is nothing strange or unusual; we just have to recover our concentration and we can easily continue our training
- Second error – If, on the other hand, after the first one, we make a second mistake, an alarm bell must sound in our mind; we are likely to be deconcentrated, tired, injured and / or unfit to continue the practice (we are doing something too far above our present possibilities)
Important: when we refer to “errors” we allude to something potentially “dangerous” and not a common happening (like a missed moving target).
The explanation
Although this may seem an exaggerated precaution, it hides behind a very precise psychological mechanism that we can describe through another small example:
- A practitioner is twirling a short stick (read The basics of short sticks: 5 basic exercises)
- His concentration level shuns apparently for a moment
- The stick mistakenly hit one of his knees (first mistake)
- Automatically his mind tries to increase the level of attention
- If the increased concentration is sufficient, he is able to continue the exercise
- If the increase in attention is not sufficient another mistake could occur (second error)
- Even in the presence of a “mental boost”, the practitioner may be facing a dangerous collapse (or a complete inadequacy) of performances
When we make a mistake in carrying out an action that we think to master, as a rule, the brain reacts by providing much more than the necessary psychic abilities. If even in the presence of a medium-high concentration level we repeat a similar (or worse) error, probably (not certainly), we are facing:
- A temporary cognitive decline
- An activity that requires more preparation
To insist after this loss of control may mean a drastic increase in the risk of an injury (the third error).
A note by Master Kongling – Differently from many other martial arts, at an advanced level, 6DKF includes endlessly harder exercises (the goal is, in fact, to never stop the growth of the practitioners). The reason why I care so much about sharing this “trick” is that most of the times I got hurt (myself, my students and training partners) was in violation of the three errors rule. Since I started to adopt it in a categorical way (despite the continuous increase in the difficulty of the training sessions) I have gradually reduced the onset even of small injuries (almost absent now).
In short, this method can avoid most of the accidents to which we would otherwise be exposed. In particular, it is important to follow this tip when we train in the most “dangerous” conditions:
- Acrobatic, balance or weights involved activities
- Activities with rigid mobile targets and / or obstacles
- Exercises with weapons (training versions and above all the real ones)
- …
What to do after the second mistake
Fortunately, in our training system, the fact of not being able to continue the practice of a specific exercise is a minor problem (generally each session is divided into sequences of 5-15 minutes).
When it happens to be unable to continue an activity we have several alternatives:
- Go trivially to the next exercise (alternating the involved skills and body parts)
- Decrease (drastically) the difficulty level (until a good performance is recovered)
- Eliminate all the dangerous aspects in relation to our safety (eg. replacing a sword with a plastic tube)
- Return to train the fundamentals of that exercise (eg. with a long stick, from a moving target stepping back to the always-good basic rotations)
- …
Final notes
A few conclusive considerations:
- The only choice we have to try to avoid is a temporary rest (over 2 minutes); this is a very bad attitude for a martial artist (read Intensity of training: depends on what?)
- In the most serious cases, of course, it is obligatory to interrupt the whole training (since the range of exercises that we can perform is so wide and different, it is a rather rare eventuality)
- …
In-depth video courses
- Basic 6 Dragons Kung Fu Exercises – A step-by-step explanation of the 5 fundamental technical practices to build real martial skills
- DIY traning tools for martial arts – A video course about how to build cheap and effective training tools
In-depth articles
- Analysis and improvement of performance – How to analyze the quality level of our workout and optimize it
- How to train without risks [MINI-GUIDE] – The most important safety rules and tips for an effective martial training
Questions
Reply in the comments and share your experience:
- Have you ever seriously hurt yourself (or someone) during training? Why did it happen in your opinion?
Author: Master Kongling
Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.How to master 6 Dragons Kung Fu?
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August 30, 2018 @ 9:21 am
I have tested the method and it works
August 31, 2018 @ 5:26 pm
Good to ear it! Can you share how?
September 16, 2018 @ 11:05 am
I’ll try this looking good.
But what can i do with a rotation Shoulder injory that did hapens at work?
September 16, 2018 @ 3:40 pm
It depends on the type of injury: how it happened and with what consequences?
September 17, 2018 @ 5:43 am
The front side Of the rotation muscle. Were wery and lift my 4 year Old child upp and toward me. Consequences hurring When talking my arm In and out up and down.
September 17, 2018 @ 5:56 pm
Take what I tell you with due caution because I’m not a doctor and above all, I do not have a clear idea of your clinical picture:
– First, try to understand thoroughly what has happened within your body
– The path is a family doctor, osteopath and physiotherapist, do the analysis through ultrasound, etc.
– Established with a certain degree of security what you can and can not do, you can move on to gradual rehabilitation exercises
– Having done a bit of general warming, I suggest you opt for rotations on the various axes (without straining the injured part, extrarotations, intrarotations, etc.)
– Once this is done, you can work with an elastic rope fixed to the wall and perform simple openings and closures with a minimum of resistance (pull down, pull back, diagonal openings, etc., no explosive movements)
– As long as you feel pain, abnormal weakness or limitations, avoid fast movements or under load (if you want to do push-ups, do simplified ones)
– While exercising you start by making the shoulder work passively (as a consequence) and only in the subsequent phases, gradually, gradually more and more active and direct
– Be constant, find a balance between absence of pain and gradual increase in effort
Good luck!
May 16, 2020 @ 5:02 pm
It is a good rule
May 18, 2020 @ 7:33 pm
😉
August 7, 2020 @ 4:27 pm
Thanks for this
August 9, 2020 @ 12:59 pm
😉
February 18, 2021 @ 5:24 pm
Thanks
February 22, 2021 @ 7:38 pm
😉
July 8, 2022 @ 11:56 am
Never heard but I think it is good
January 9, 2024 @ 3:52 pm
Ill apply this rule while training, thanks for this knowledge.
January 10, 2024 @ 10:34 am
😉