But… does it really work?

This is a question we sometimes get from students, parents or casual viewers of our online channels.
It’s a brilliant question, a really important one, to ask when practising martial arts as well as anything in life really. We listed 5 steps to go through when a technique you are trying to apply simply doesn’t work.

1/ You’re not doing it right: Double check again from the source that you are doing it right.

2/ You haven’t trained it enough: Some techniques require a lot of repetition to make it work, especially if it requires a specific timing, distance or more complex motor skills.

3/ It doesn’t work in this situation: Match the right technique with the right opponent and situation. Don’t try to wrestle a wrestler, find their weakness that matches your strength.

4/ It doesn’t work for you: We each move in a different way because of height, weight, the way we move etc. Some techniques suit certain people, some don’t. We are unique, that’s why we each move differently.

5/ It doesn’t work at all: The technique looked really cool in your head (or whoever taught it) but it just does not work out the way it was expected. Or, something to consider, the purpose is different from yours. Something that happens very often: you expected something for self-defense but it’s designed for competitive sports for instance.

Go through this assessment and then decide whether to keep it or discard it.

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