Unity versus Aspect

We want for our students to have a decent grasp of all the major aspects of the martial arts – striking, kicking, clinching, throwing and grappling.  This obviously means we have to spend time practicing all these things.  Less apparent is the need to practice all these aspects on a regular basis so that each time we do them they are not something new to the students but rather they are familiar skill sets that can be built upon.
It’s tough to develop so many different aspects – if they are thought of as completely different disciplines.  Luckily, there is tons of crossover between all the areas.  Today we talked about the value of moving our feet when kicking and striking and compared it to the value of staying mobile while grappling.
In both cases, a mobile target is a tougher target.  In the case of stand up, this means it’s easier for the mobile fighter to evade and counter strike.  In the case of grappling, this means it’s easier for the mobile player to evade and get a better position.  These kinds of connections help unify the art, make balancing different aspects easier and hopefully increase the ability of students to make broad connections in their learning.