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The perfect training balance

For each serious martial arts practitioner, a good workout program must: maintain, extend and evolve all the skills involved in the discipline.

Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on Patreon (see how to attend our home study classes here Learn Kung Fu online: a beginner-to-expert course).

For example, a perfect Kung Fu training session should include:

The use of legs
The use of arms
The development of the senses
The development of instinct and quick reasoning (read Concentration: reason and instinct)
Self improvement (self-control, tactics, peacefulm mindset, etc.)
The use of rigid / flexible weapons (read Learn to use basic weapons)
Conditioning (flexibility, stamina, resistance, etc., read Physical conditioning: how it works)
Correct breathing
Attack / defense exercises
Development of advanced skills
…

A note by Master Kongling – To see in detail how 6 Dragons Kung Fu’s training sessions are designed read 6 Dragons Kung Fu training sessions’ structure.

Substantially, to reach a good martial level, our preparation must cover a lot of aspects and the higher is our level, the harder is to cover all of them in an effective manner and within the time at our disposal, so: how to organize correctly?

The wrong way

In the vast majority of martial arts courses, this need to maintain every aspect of the preparation at the same level forces the students to perform endless times the same exercises with very rare variations (eg. during seminars, special sessions, etc.).

This eternal recurrence of the same, while it apparently favors the development of discipline and muscle memory (read The muscle memory): it diminishes instead our adaptability to different contexts and therefore to the real combat scenarios (self-defense, sports competitions, etc.).

The “error” behind this method is to trivialize the practice by tracing it back to the mere theory, to reduce the original voluntary gesture to a mnemonic codification of poses while the mind (the reason) remains virtually excluded: nothing could be worst.

The right way

Constant change: same exercises, different execution

In 6 Dragons Kung Fu, the most important exercises are not many (read /// Subscribe (it's free!) or Login to see this content ///) but they are almost never performed in the same way (and / or in the same conditions).

As a solution to the problem of training balance, our school replies with the concept of “constant change“.

Every day we face a similar challenge but at the same time different from that of the previous sessions. In this way our brain is forced to:

Get constantly involved – Both physically both mentally at 100% (no distractions means high-quality martial growth)
Do not feel fatigue sensation – Our mind is occupied by complex tasks (no fatigue, no boring moments)
Consider each time new possibilities – By continuously looking at the problems from different points of view
Discard the less versatile options – By learning from errors (read Measure ourselves with errors)
Enter a sort of meditative state – Liberating us from the negative thoughts of everyday life
…

The only “constant” is the change, the most important conditioning of our method, the one we impose our mind:

We are not talking about a simple increase of difficulty (which in any case there must be) but of a constant variation
Sometimes it is mild sometimes is more incisive but always aimed at precise training goals (eg. acquiring specific skills, read How to acquire special abilities)

Science confirms the theory of constant change

It is demonstrated that the use of a constant variation improves the eduction of muscle memory better than the infinite repetition of the same exact movement. Recent studies (made by University of California, Berkeley and Cambridge University) have discovered that the best way to boost muscle memory (twice as quick) is to slightly modify the practice routine.

This phenomenon is called “reconsolidation“: our brain is forced each time to recall and modify existing memories with new knowledge giving out motor skills an incredible push.

What does this mean in terms of martial arts?

It means that to learn to have a good fighting flow (read for example Dragon Motion: the swirling movements) it is wrong to limit us to preformatted forms / sequences (read Are Karate’s Kata, Kung Fu’s form (etc.) useless?):

The founders of the various styles of Kung Fu has not worked this way
The repetition of a copy of the copy of the copy forces the loss of all the original efficacy (eg. the Tai Chi we practice today is only a faded and watered down version of what it was originally)
…

In any field, to repeat passively is absolutely wrong (study, martial arts, sport, etc.).

In the next article of this series, we will see some practical examples of “constant change” (read Training: examples of constant changes).

In-depth video courses

Basic 6 Dragons Kung Fu Exercises – A visual explanation of the fundamental conditioning to build real martial skills
Advanced speed and reflexes training – How to build real execution speed for combat

In-depth articles

The use of unorthodox methods – A discussion about the incredible advantage of the use of not standard way of thinking
How to achieve our goals in life and in martial arts – How to achieve goals that apparently appear unachievable

Questions

Reply in the comments and share your experience:

Have you ever felt fatigued not by the physical effort but from the mental one?

Author: Master Kongling

Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.

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