Monitoring

Part of the action of saluting in with a partner means that the two of you have struck a deal together – to learn.  This means that you must both be in a (somewhat) reasonable frame of mind.  Often, given the nature of martial arts – kicking, punching, throwing and generally attacking one another – this can become difficult.

Today in class we went over a few “monitoring” tools to help students make sure that both they and their partners were still in learning mode.  For each of the tools, it’s important to be able to recognize them in yourself first before trying to identify them in others.

Tool number one was breathing.  Are you breathing?  Is your up high and fast in a panic or is down low and controlled?  Tool number two was grounding.  Are your knees bent and your feet connected to the floor or are your knees locked out, causing you to stumble like a wooden puppet?  Tool number three was general muscular tension.  Are you using the least amount of force necessary to accomplish the task (efficiency) or is every muscle in your body firing at full tilt regardless of the current action?

These tools are all highly subjective, of course but they are great starting points to monitor both yourself and your partner with.  Try it.  You’ll often find that you become a more sensitive partner – one who people want to partner with because they learn more when they drill with you instead of dropping into survival mode.  The caveat here is that one can be too nice, thus not providing enough of a challenge for their partner.  Find where your partner is at and keep them challenged – not bored – not terrified but challenged.

Check the student’s thoughts here.