In a self defense situation there will be a moment to launch
your attack. Here are the three elements of a successful attack

Surprise will have a lot to do with timing in a fight. 
It has been said that if you get off the first shot in a physical
conflict, you will have the advantage.  This is true, it does not
mean you will necessarily will the fight but it does give you a major
advantage.  Surprise will also create fear, the greater your surprise the
greater your biochemical stress is going to be thus creating a higher level of
fear in your opponent.

Speed . . . . .if something comes at you at a high level of speed it will
create a moment when you freeze. This freeze will slow the opponent’s reaction
time, give them less time to think and be able to act on it.  I often
speak of projections in fighting for this reason.  A well projected first
move will make you seem very quick on the entry.  Creating this freeze of
action in the opponent allows you to position yourself for the finishing
movements. 

The third element is violence of action.  It is the intensity and full
commitment of going after your target and leaving no possibility for
recovery.  In training, this is not easy to add to your game but it is
very important to be aware of for a situation of actual engagement.

Most exercises in the west such as weight lifting, jogging, swimming, etc. works
primarily on the muscular system and the lungs. The Chinese also partake in this
form of exercise but they consider Chi Gung “Qigong” to be a higher level of
training for the body.  One difference is that Qigong loosens the muscles and
expands the joints in order to build power.  Aerobics, stretching and strength
training will build a form of external strength and flexibility that is based on
contraction in the body.  The internal exercises of Qigong will build effortless
power that is based on relaxation or expansion of the body.  The more relaxed
and open the body is, the more of its natural energy and power can be expressed.

 
I see this principle in our Jiu-Jitsu classes at the school.  A
beginning student will roll in a tensed state due to the fact that he is in a
new environment and may be stressed from the new experience.  But watch an
advanced player roll and you will see a very relaxed attitude and a relaxed
physical state.  You will also notice that the more relaxed practitioner will
feel much stronger and heavier than someone that is holding onto tension as they
roll.
 
I have seen this in every form of martial art I have come in
contact with.  The farther along the practitioner is, the more relaxed
they become and the more powerful they feel.

When
training with a partner, the first and most important thing to remember is to
train in a friendly manner and share techniques and principles. When a student
is "scored on" in Kickboxing, or is made to "tap" in Jiu-Jitsu, they should be
encouraged to ask the partner what they did wrong and spend a moment reviewing
it so they can learn from the experience.

 Another very important way
students can be good partners is by giving the appropriate amount of resistance
during training drills. A very common error that students make during practice
of new techniques, is to either resist their partners too hard - which does not
allow their partner to practice the move, or to provide too little resistance -
which deprives the partner of any sense of the reality of the move. A good
grappling partner will provide a small amount of resistance so the student can
have the sense of applying the technique against a real person, yet have success
with the technique - which in truth, they do not yet know well enough to make
work. As they practice, the partner will increase the resistance just to the
point that the student can still make the technique work properly. In this way,
a good partner acts like training wheels, helping the student learn until they
can go 100% on their own.

The people around you will have an effect on your direction and growth in the
martial arts. A good partner in training is hard to find and very valuable to
your progress in your training. A bad or negative attitude on the mat does
nothing for your growth and it can sometimes even hold you back or even reverse
what you have gained in the past.
 
This concept is easy to see on the
mat but it can also apply on your life journey as well.  A negative person can
have the same effect on you in your growth outside the school.  Just as we
choose good training partners in the school, you can choose who accompanies you
through your life journey also.
 
A lesson I have learned first on the
mat then later applied in life is that the people you choose to have around you
on a daily basis will have an effect on your everyday direction.  Just as I
interview every potential student that comes into the school to insure a
positive environment at the school, I also make effort to choose who will be
around me on a daily basis.  I have heard it said “show me your friends and I'll
show you your future”, and in my experience this is very true.
 
Another
point of view for this line of thought is asking yourself if you are a good
influence to your friends.  Are you the type of person they would want in their
circle of influence on a daily basis?   Do you project a positive influence?  
Do you motivate a positive change?
 
Just something to think
about........  

It is not uncommon in the martial arts industry to see rank grow as the accumulation of knowledge grows.  An example is when a student's list of techniques or forms grows and their rank is based on that increased list of things.  This is not a bad system of measurement but it is not the only one I like to consider at the school.  Another area I consider is a student's depth of knowledge in the techniques, forms and principles they have acquired at the school.  A black belt will know the same techniques as a white belt but they should have a deeper understanding of the techniques.  They should have a greater knowledge of the little details involved in each technique.

A black belt is just a white belt that did not quit!

In training, it is not always
the most talented that makes it to their goals in the martial arts. From my
experience, the more talented individuals usually are the ones to drop out of
their training in time.  One thing I have learned from the arts, and I see my
students learn, is the ability to stick to their training no matter what comes
up, no matter what gets in the way.  Like a strong warrior they learn to be
tenacious in obtaining the goals they have set.

Even though learned in the
martial arts, this skill and mindset is most valuable in life outside of the
school.  So remember your goal and the plan you have made to reach that goal and
stick to it!   That goal will be yours if you stay focused and never stop
striving for it!