The Importance of Mindful Repetition (insight from Neuroscience)
“Through mindful repetition, they developed muscle memory so that, rather than needing a conscious cue to act, their techniques were triggered automatically in reaction to attacks, just as in the Funakoshi Gichin adage that: ‘in karate, there is no first attack.’” - Excerpt from Hanshi Gary Legacy’s book: The Elite Fighter.
Basics, kata and, fighting are the core of any martial art and in order to get better at any of them, repeated practice is often the most effective method.
But no matter how many techniques have been thrown, how many performances or competitions have been participated in, or how many sparring matches have been endured, many martial artists will suffer a plateau in their training unrelated to age or injury.
The most common cause of this hurdle? The overwhelming emphasis on the physical aspects of martial arts with little regard for the mental and/or spiritual components.
One solution?
Using the latest neuroscience concepts of growth to demonstrate that in order for martial artists to break their own barriers, they must embrace mindful repetition.
In this article written by Jeff Haden (https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/how-to-get-smarter-every-day-according-to-neuroscience.html?utm_source=pocket-newtab) he explores how to improve fluid/applied intelligence (e.g. your ability to learn/retain information, learn/retain a new skill or solve a new problem) through the lens of modern neuroscience.
Outdated science says that constantly playing challenging games like Sudoku or crossword puzzles will improve the neuroconnections of the brain and improve brain health. But while a research study about people trained to play Tetris daily showed participants having increased brain thickness and activity in the first few weeks, these same people’s brains quickly returned to their pre-Tetris mastery state even though their Tetris skills never diminished.
These people’s brains became so efficient at playing Tetris that it became routine and they no longer thought critically about playing. While they were certainly skilled at Tetris, none of these skills translated to other games. In neuroscience terms, their level of crystalline intelligence (e.g. the knowledge/skills you already know) had increased, but fluid intelligence had returned to baseline.
In Jeff Haden’s words, “Once you achieve a level of comfort, your brain no longer has to work as hard, and all that new mental muscle gained starts to atrophy.”
This is the same as if you were only interested in honing your basics, kata or fighting from a physical standpoint. Punching the air, practicing kata with the same old speed and power, and one-step sparring all have their places in training, but if it’s all you do, it may be hard to defend yourself in high-pressure situations.
Your performance on the street often defaults to your highest level of training. But if you need to take off your shoes in order to fight properly, that is your problem.
So what does neuroscience suggest?
Stay uncomfortable.
Once you’ve mastered something - a kick, a throw or even an entire kata - keep moving on to something new or something new about the move, kata or fighting ability. If you’ve punched the air 10000 times, move on to punching a heavy bag or makiwara board 10000 times to understand what it feels like to punch a hard object. If you’ve performed kata at top speed with maximum power, slow it down to discover the proper bunkai or explore when and where you’re wasting power. If one-step sparring is all you know, try the chaos of free sparring or change your technique’s intent to throwing effective, damaging techniques instead of simply scoring or touching.
Not only will this behaviour help elevate your overall martial arts skills, your newly buffed martial mind will also leverage the power of associative learning, creating many more connections with the knowledge and skills you already have with the incoming ones. Depending on your current skill level and ability, this could lead to massive changes or incremental ones, but as long as you’re progressing, you’re forging yourself to becoming a better martial artist.