Without realizing it, most people and schools actually do twice the work needed to learn any skill. Even worse, common mistakes can actually hurt your progress.
Muscle Memory – What you need to know
Muscle memory is the reason why the expression “It’s like riding a bike” exists. When an action is repeated enough, the body learns to do it automatically.
Brushing your teeth, tying your shoes and blocking a punch without thinking are all examples of skills learned through muscle memory.
Greasing the Groove – Russian Strength Secrets for Skill Training
The Russians treat strength training like any other skill. Rather than do a set of exercises until their arms drop off, they use a technique referred to as ‘greasing the groove’.
Energy drinks are crazy popular, but have you ever stopped to look at their ingredients?
I like to let loose once in a while with some liquid energy, but I’ve also educated myself on the ingredients.
Here’s what I’ve found:
Energy Drinks and Health Risk
While energy drinks seem to have everything from Ginseng to rocket fuel, their main health risk seems to come from their sugar, calorie and caffeine content.
Here’s a breakdown of the contents of common energy drinks and alternatives:
Coffee
Energy Shots
Energy Drinks
Calories
4
4
120-220
Sugar
0
0
30-60 g
Caffeine
135 mg
135 mg
125-160 m
For the sake of this comparison
Coffee is black (no milk or sugar)
Energy shots are those little bottles you find at the counter of most convenience stores
Energy drink scores are a cross-section of the most common drinks, such as Red Bull, Monster and Rock Star
Pareto’s Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, can change your life.
The Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto long ago came up with the theory that 80% of results come from 20% of the work.
Examples of this are:
80% of your speech comes from 20% of the words you know
80% of your time is spent with 20% of the people in your life
80% of your nutrients can come from 20% of an unhealthy diet
Pareto’s Principle is the greatest thing that I’ve added to my training, and my life in general.
When I was working on the splits in high school, I had a series of stretches that I would go through over the course of 10 minutes.
I realize now, I could have spent that ten minutes really focusing on a split stretch, relaxing into over the time I’d spend moving from one stretch to the other.
I’ve recently 80/20′d my strength training workout, seeing that 80% of my strength gain could come from 3 simple exercises: the squat, bench press and deadlift.
The 80/20 principle can be applied to almost anything:
Muscular Endurance
instead of dozens of different exercises, could you benefit from a simply routine or sit ups, running and push ups?
Martial Arts Techniques
Could you narrow your workout to the three most common techniques used in your art?
Studying
Instead of reading every book out there, you could focus on the few that cover everything
Using Pareto’s principle, you can analyze almost every facet of your life, striking out the filler and becoming more effective every day!
Where could you use the 80/20 principle to be more effective? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
You’ve been studying martial arts for years. You know who started your style and can tell its history front and back. You’ve defended it to your less-than-fit friends. You’ve even pulled muscles showing off at the family barbecue.
But, can you teach?
Many people are passionate about their hobbies (to the point of freaking out when you call them ‘hobbies’). But is it enough?
If you’re serious about teaching martial arts, there are some things to think about:
Finding quality info on martial arts in general, let alone a specific art like Taekwondo, can be a pain. Websites either have pop-up ads, are unreadable or are trying to get you to sign up for classes. I sifted through the eye-sores so you won’t have to.
Martial artists are crazy.
Are you working harder than you need to?
Being a comic-book geek, I’m usually the first guy to know when a new superhero movie is coming out.
