Plan your martial arts growth

So often, people feel that they're not making progress with their martial arts, but they have little idea what is wrong, or how to improve it. Here's a great way to identify weaknesses, and work out a plan of action for improvement:

Print out the table below (right-click it, and select Print Picture).

Now go through each of the areas and give yourself a rating from 1 (poor) to 10 (excellent). Colour the table in dark dark pen or pencil (or crayon if they won't let you play with sharp objects!).

Here's the things that you might consider in assigning your ratings:

Stances: How technically correct are your stances? How low are they? How strongly do they root you to the floor, or launch you on an attack? How well do you transition between stances? How well do you apply them in kata? How well do you use them in kumite? Can you set stances without looking down to check?

Strikes: How powerful are they? How technical they? How accurate are they? How realistically can you use them? How well do you shape your hands? Do you move efficiently when delivering them? How fast are they? Do you strike to the optimum target, (nerves, throat, solar plexus) or simply face/stomach? Do you choose the best hand shape for the target?

Blocks : How powerful are they? Do you use the right part of your arm to deliver them? Do you move in the right way? Are they effective against opponents? Do you use your hips? Do you evade as you deliver them?

Kicks: How flexible are you? Do you kick with the right part of the foot? How fast are you? How quickly do you pull your foot back? How powerful are your kicks? How accurate are they? Do you use appropriate kicks for each situation, or do you simply use the same kick most of the time? Can you use both legs well? Can you kick with the front or back leg strongly?

Kata: How well do you know the patterns? How realistic is your kata? How graceful is your kata? How well do you understand the bunkai? Do you use your stances or merely stand on them? How good is your balance? Is there a good contrast between fast and slow bits? Are you powerful when needed? How good are your transitions between moves? How sharp are your head-turns? Do you use your breathing? How good are your turns?

Kumite: How comfortable are you? Do you have a good balance between legs and arms? Are you able to form and execute a gameplan? Can you defend? Can you counter-attack? How good is your movement? Do you use multiple angles of attack/evasion? Do you use your physiology effectively? How good is your form? How effective are you against your peers? How strong are you? How good is your mental game and fight psychology? How do you cope with defeat or victory? How do you perform under pressure? HOw do you react to physically strong fighters? What do you do when facing defensive or offensive fighters?

Attitude: Do you train regularly? Do you always train your hardest? Are you respectful to your peers and your sensei? Do you listen or are you you talking in class? Do you discipline yourself to stand still and not fidget? Are you a good sport when things don't go your way? Are you humble about taking advice?

Now, go through the headings again and give a score for how good you would like to be in each area and colour in the extra squares in a different colour. It might sound odd - after all, your first instinct might be to assume that you would like to be a 10 in everything. But it doesn't follow. You might be happy just getting your katas up to grading level which is probably a 6 or 7, or you might dislike kumite, so you'll be satisfied with competence in that area. There's no right or wrong answer here - it's all personal.

Once you've done that, you should have a clear picture of the things that you need to work on. Any column that has three or more squares in your target colour should be a priority. If you have lots of columns where your current level is 5 or less and your target isn't at least a 7, then it probably means that you need to work on your attitide!

Now that you've identified your weakness and areas that need improvement, here are some things that you can do to improve them.

General: Study people who are good at what you aspire to. Attend more classes. Pay more attention in class. Train more enthusiastically. Choose role models and pit yourself against them in class. Buy and watch the official GKR DVDs. Work on your overall strength and fitness.

Stances: Longer, lower or wider. Hold the stances longer before rising up. More muscle tension in your legs and toes. Keep your back straight, especially when moving. Think about your transitions as you move

Strikes: Relax for speed. Hit a heavy bag and use your hips for power. Use a speed ball for speed and accuracy or practice with a moving opponent. Work on your touch control for accuracy. Do big hip twists but keep your elbows in to improve form. Watch your form in a mirror or window to improve technicality.

Blocks: Better use of your hips to improve power. Work with a partner to improve realism. Watch your form in a mirror or window to improve technicality. Go slowly to improve the timing. Keep your elbows in to improve strength and reduce exposure. Remember that many of our blocks are soft, not hard - see how little power you can use and still block effectively.

Kicks: Stretch every day to improve your flexibility. Take the time to form your kicks precisely with the proper foot shape. Work on your accuracy and control by kicking a target and barely touching it. Lift your knee up higher. Make sure your supporting foot pivots during round and side kicks. Ensure that you use your hips. Works on your balance. Try doing multiple kicks without putting your foot down. Kick higher. Work on your power by kicking a bag.

Kata: Practice more often to get the pattern strong. Ensure that your stances are good. Go out one day and do the kata ten times one after the other - you WILL get a new understanding if you think about what you're doing. Work on contrast between fast and slow moves. Work on power and muscle tension during some of the slow moves. Work on precision. Work on relaxation and snap during the fast moves. Work on your head turns. Think about realism and bunkai. Think about your transitions from one stance to another. Make sure that your back is always straight. Keep your head up and your eyes focussed on your opponent.

Kumite: Do lots of zenkutsu dachi drills (moving forwards and backwards) to improve leg strength. Make sure that your elbows stay in during punching. Think about sidewards movements as well as forwards and back. Have a gameplan. Master six combinations (one for each half point of a competition fight). Practice your offence. Practice your defence. Keep your guard out. Spar with people who are better than you and ask questions. Improve your stamina by jogging or swimming. Ensure that your kumite is balanced between hands and feet. Work on your speed. Pracice your basics more dilligently.

Attitude: Push yourself harder, but have the sense to know when to ease off (ie, if you're injured). Train at least twice a week. Try not to fidget. Trust your sensei (but also think for yourself). Help others in the dojo. Be respectful to all grades, sexes and races in the dojo. If your sensei asks you to go somewhere, run - don't stroll. Loud responses. Lower stances. Ensure that your gi is ironed and finger and toe nails are clean and short. Be humble. Be enthusiastic. Volunteer for things. Turn up to class early. Attend special events. Work on your team spirit and encourage those around you. Practice at home.

Article expanded from a sensei class given by Sensei Jason Smith