In my opinion, "Absorbing what is useful" is perhaps the most misunderstood concept in Jeet Kune Do. This concept does not mean just collecting the best techniques from various styles of martial arts and putting them together to form a new style. It means that a martial artist must find the skills and methods that will work the best and be the most efficient for them as an individual. Over the years I have heard it said many times that a technique that works for one person, may not necessarily work for another person.

To Absorb what is useful from a given martial art, you must immerse yourself in that system and learn its essence, learn the feel of the art. Doing this will teach you at a level that is beyond what can be expressed verbally or physically from a teacher. Then, taking that knowledge and refining it in the most realistic training situations you can find, is what allows you to discover what works or does not work for you.

This is one of the reasons for the step up in environmental training for the intermediate JKD students at the school. It gives the student the opportunity to find what works for them under greater stress. And over time, it allows the opportunity to refine those skills. It will also open the many doors of self discovery.

Happy Monday Everyone!

"When you choose your friends, don't be short-changed by choosing personality

over character." – W. Somerset Maugham.

Hey guys, just a short note to get you motivated for the week! Remember to surround yourself daily with people who share your same dreams and aspirations or who, at least, have only your best interests at heart. Stay away from the negative influencers who wake up every morning thinking of ways to throw you off your best game and get in the way of your progress to your next highest level. One of the overall themes promoted at the school is that we pull together as a team and help each other to reach the goals we set for ourselves. So next time you are at the school, let your training partners know what you are working to achieve. Just knowing someone is holding you accountable for your positive life changes can help you stay on track.

One of the great things about AMAC's Cross Training Program is the motivation from the team environment.  I like to see students share their goals with each another in order for the group as a whole to hold each other responsible for those goals.

Just in general, If you notice that your classmate has been missing class for a week, touch base with them and check in.  It may just be what they need to get re-motivated.  If your training partner is working towards weight loss, make it a point to ask him/her about their progress.  Just knowing that someone is keeping an eye on your goals with you tends to keep you focused as well.

This kind of support will sometimes just happen between friends, but as a part of the CTP team, I like to see us step it up a notch. Become aware of your training partner's goals and share your goals with them and as a team, we will help each other reach higher goals at the school.

 So what is your goal? What changes are you looking to achieve?

The "Got This - What's Next" Attitude.
 
 
Keysi Fighting Method (KFM) is a ground-breaking art.  That's one of the reasons I aggressively pursue the study of the art.  One of the KFM beliefs is regarding something I have seen in the martial arts for years, the "Got This - What's Next" Attitude.  I have noticed that it is common for some people to learn something basic, do it a few times - then have the attitude that they have it down, and they're ready for the next thing.  Unfortunately, this attitude closes the mind to true growth and expansion.  The "Got This - What's Next" Attitude will also develop what I call a list-oriented martial artist, one who  has the "list" of requirements and now is ready to move on.  But often the student has never really trained what he/she has learned and placed it under stress to see just how well they can do it under that stress. 
  
For me, I have noticed that the study, and the re-study, and re-study, and so on, and so forth, of my basics has brought me more true and usable knowledge and skill than anything else. I try to never say "got this", but instead say "what's another way I can look at this, or drill this, or stress this", so I can find what I'm missing.
 
 
Placing stress on yourself is sometimes difficult.  In order to do it, you have to call on the assistance of your training partners, and with training partners sometimes comes ego.  Ego can destroy the pursuit of knowledge and skill.  If your partner is primarily looking for the "win" or the "score", I can almost guarantee the training session will be wasted - that is if they don't injure you in the process - then you're out of training for a month. 
 
 
So the next time you catch yourself saying "Hey, I have this, I wonder what's next", it may be time to take a look at what you've learned again

A lot of times I have noticed when a Martial Arts practitioner starts

to add the "slip" into their boxing range tools, they will add a

movement that is relatively new as far as their bodywork.

I believe when adding new skills to your game, you should not have to

add body motions that you have not used or trained at a basic level.

So, when teaching the slip, instead of a side to side motion, you

will use the same body position you use for your "jab" or "cross" -

depending on whether you slip inside or outside of the punch. Doing

this will simply sharpen your basic body skills, not add new ones to

master. If you use the jab/cross body motion and just change the

position slightly to achieve the slip you will be able to add the hit

back in with the slip. This is important for the timing of your

offensive attack while moving out of the way of the hit. You don t

want to slip, then hit. You want to slip and hit your opponent at the

same instant with no delay. Every time you move inside critical

distance (the range you can be hit) you should be able to deliver a

powerful hit.

One of the questions I received this week was about proper breathing.  There are many methods of breathing depending on what you want to accomplish.  This question was about being out of breath during a grappling session.  The breath I suggested was what I call the Cleansing Breath.  Most adults learn to breath high in the chest.  Unlike an infant that will breath with the belly, the untrained adult will raise the upper chest to start a breath.  This method of breathing will actually constrict the amount of air you can take into the body.  It is better to expand the belly outward as you breath in, and the chest will rise at the very end of the breath - sometimes compared to filling a glass of water from the bottom to the top.  Bringing the belly out on the inhale will lower the diaphragm and allow more room in the lower lungs to take in more breath. 
 
The second part of the breath is where the Cleansing Breath gets its name - the full exhale of all air.  One reason respiration increases when under stress is to attempt to cleanse toxins from the body that is created from the workload on the body.  If you do not fully exhale, you do not get all these toxins out of the lungs.  The air will sit in parts of the lungs and not get circulated out of the body.  By fully exhaling and pulling the stomach in, the diaphragm will raise upward and assist in emptying the lungs completely.  This last part of the exhale sometimes is compared to a deep cough. 
  
Combining a full inhale with a full controlled exhale will give you full access to your lung capacity and more oxygen for the body.  Breaths will be longer and more controlled - and the more control you have over your breath, the more control you will have over yourself.

In my experience, one of the most beneficial things you can do to

improve your daily training is to develop your own circle of training

partners.  A good training partner or group will have the ability to

leave the ego at the door.  I''ve had training partners that their only

goal was to "score" on you - regardless of any intelligent improvement

to themselves or you.  I''ve also had partners who knew their objective

was to train and had the ability to focus on developing that -

regardless of the unspoken score card.  Out of the two kinds of

partners, I personally have always gained tremendous growth training

with the latter.   As a matter of fact, when I''ve had a group of

individuals with this mindset, I see the greatest personal gains in

ability and skill over any other time in my martial career.  It is

sometimes tough to avoid the occasional "needy" ego out there, but

once you realize who they are, you can steer clear of them in the

future.

See you in class!