Sensai This was truly a next level, eye opening, mind expanding, episode. I learned that I am at level 0.3, but am not discouraged. On the contrary, at 57 years old I still feel I have time and energy to make meaningful progress. Thank you for your subtlety genius teachings.
What's actually impressive is that question immediately occurred to you 😏 As for 'That comes later' Really, shouldn't it come first? Anyway, my approach to techniques like that is to practise them against pushes and grabs, not punches.
Good idea-punches can be too much to handle for most people in the beginning. Grabs and pushes can be a safe stepping stone. Thank you for the comment! 🙏🏻
There's one more important step to making a technique work: defining what you mean by "work". There are techniques that don't "work" in the context of a fight; but that's okay, because they were never meant to. They do however work for their intended purpose. I'll give an example. I was fortunate enough to participate in your Zoom session last weekend (thank you again for hosting that). During that, there were two particular techniques or drill sequences we performed. One involved executing a series of downward circular "tiger claws", shifting into a cat stance and executing a simultaneous linear tiger claw and kick, shifting back to our original stance, executing a series of downward circular hammer fists, then finishing in a "bow and arrow" stance while executing a straight punch to the side. Another involved standing on one leg while holding our arms to either the front or rear, then reversing them. Do either of those make any sense in the context of a fight? Absolutely not. Does that mean they were a waste of time? Again, no; because they did what they were intended to do. The first one helped develop coordination and kinesthetic awareness, and the second one helped develop balance and control. While nobody would do the actual moves in a fight, the skills developed by performing the moves would absolutely help in a fight. So, they do work, in the sense that they do what they were meant to do. As long as your actions match your intentions, and your tools fit your purpose, then I would argue those tools and actions "work", even if they would fail in a different context.
Thanks for the detailed commentary, Christopher! Yes, good point-there’s a difference between working as a conditioning tool and working as a fighting technique. That said, the moves we did may be more practical than you think-but that’s for another time. For now, thanks for being here, sir! 😁👍🏼
For several years of my martial arts journey I trained in tang soo do. That's basically karate, but with a lot more emphasis on fancy spinning and jumping kicks. Younger, less experienced students would occasionally ask our instructor how you would use some of the fancy kicks in a self defence scenario. While the instructor was carefully answering without actually answering, I'd just wait there patiently for the class to resume. See what I'd figured out is you won't do the fancy kicks involving spinning round, jumping up, and firing two or more strikes while airborne and/or spinning. That would be crazy. The sheer amount of energy those techniques take, the fact that they're really easy to see coming and evade, and the fact that it's really hard to lock onto your target while spinning and changing level, all make such techniques largely useless in a fight. However, let's consider what you need in a real fight. You need a lot of energy, you need coordination and timing, and likely if you're under attack, you might already be very disoriented before you even try to retaliate. So a technique that trains focus while disoriented from spinning and jumping while being physically demanding enough to really boost your strength and fitness is like packing in a lot of essential skills into one neat little package.
I may never enter a martial arts school, I'm not looking to be a great martial artist, enter competitions or do any of that fancy stuff, but using the techniques i've learned from you to defend myself against an attacker makes me feel safer when i'm out and about, and that's a very valuable and empowering thing.
You can go to a martial arts school without being competitive. It's a great social environment. Lots of people go just to get out of the house for a couple of hours. While I train because I love martial arts for how it teaches what the body can do, and I love play fighting, my wife went to the same class because she enjoyed the exercise and making new friends, but has no interest in martial arts beyond that. Others in the very same class enter every competition they can because they like winning trophies. So everyone is there for their own reasons, and everyone trains together as friends despite having different personal reasons for being there. I would really recommend trying some classes. The style is largely unimportant if competition is not your thing. And while I have heard of it happening, in stories on the internet, I've never known anyone receive anything but a warm welcome and a gentle introduction when they first walk into a new class.
@@coolbluelights may I ask in what way you are super self conscious and why this might be holding you back? I'm going to speculate here, based solely on conversations I've had with lots of people. Are you worried that martial arts schools are filled with tough guys in their prime, who are all excellent at martial arts? Because I can tell you I've trained in the same hall, at the same time, with men and women, kids and old folks (70 plus), muscle-bound athletes and people that really want to get their weight problem under control, I've seen skinny 30 year olds that can't yet do a single pushup, and old desk jockeys that breeze through the class. Martial arts are for everyone. And in my experience, nobody judges. It's generally a very supportive environment. Everyone recognises that they were once in your shoes, walking into the hall for the first time and wobbling about trying to keep their balance while others around them pull off perfect techniques all the time. They all want you to succeed. It's in their interest because a new person walking in the door is a new person to train with and potentially a new friend. Oh, and my word of wisdom for you. What do you think is the hardest belt to acquire? The obvious answer is black belt. I disagree completely. By black belt you know how it all works, you know the school, the instructors, the other students, and the style. White belt is the hardest belt to achieve. To get that, you first have to walk into an unfamiliar environment, with people you don't know, to practice a system you've never practiced. So I say, if you want to do it, but are reluctant because you are worried, just go for it. You don't have to sign up. Just go and have an informal chat with the instructor first, see how you feel, if there's more than one school near you, then go and see them all. Then just go for it. Remember, you are not captive. If you don't like it, you are free to walk away.
@@anftrew3775 Thanks for your words of encouragement. I just get shy I guess when I know other people are watching. I tend to hold back when I know people are watching. I don't know why this is. maybe it's because I fear that if I let people see me giving it my best I'll still look uncoordinated and "not good enough"
Sensei Ando thanks for sharing this information. I have one question. I am learning martial art from last one year. Problem is lot of things keep running in mind and focus shifts. I am punching the bag but thinking of office work or otherpersonal stuff. How to get 100% focused while doing martial arts?
Glad you’re training hard, Jimmy! I’d say turn on your imagination. Your brain will always find something to focus on… don’t give it any choices. Create a scenario in your head, then do what you do. 👍🏼
Sensei Ando you are like everything I imagined a Grandmaster should be, before I became disillusioned a little. This is all excellent advice. Some of it is new to me, some I'd already started to realise, but all of it, I wish I'd heard years ago. With regards to your stage 5, the only thing I'd add, which you alluded to at several points but didn't spell it out, is that when reflecting on yourself, don't fall into the trap of dwelling on your shortcomings. You have to dwell on your shortcomings in the sense that they are lessons, but not in the sense that they were mistakes. In more recent years, I've come to accept that you have to almost step outside of yourself and look at yourself as a teacher watching a student. If I see one of my students consistently making the same mistake, I don't judge them negatively, I study them, try to work out how to help, test that out, and repeat as required. So if I see myself making those mistakes, why should I treat myself any different to my students. So instead of chastising myself for not being better, I now treat myself as my own student, study myself, find the mistakes, and try to develop a strategy to correct those mistakes.
Thank you for the kind words, my friend. 🙏🏻 Yes, the way you teach your students should be the same way you teach yourself. “Do unto yourself what you would do to others!” 😄 Your students are lucky to have you guiding them! 👍🏼
This was my favorite episode thus far Ando! Although I need to work on all of these my hearts desire is to work on numbers 3&4 but I rarely find someone willing to work with me on applications, definitely need a deep dive into this area.
Size and weight are important factors in professional fighting and hence the different divisions. But how important is weight between two *untrained* people? Let's say a 6 foot 0 180 pound guy vs a 5 feet 6 250 pound obese guy in a street fight. This guy is giving me trouble and in my face. He is obese but he is does not move particularly slow. I am probably just a little quicker. Both around same age of 55. Does the weight differential put me at a great disadvantage even though I am much taller with greater reach? I know it is best to avoid, but he is a relative with a shady background and I run into him often at family meetings.
Sorry for the family stress. There are pros and cons to every shape and size. Hopefully, training will reveal what you need to know to make the best choices. 👍🏼
This is really insightful! I also have a notebook of techniques 😂 and so much that I don’t manage to use in sparring.😢 so just 6 simple steps as prescribed? 😁😁 I’m trying to figure out how I could make my sparring more like hitting pads. Now I get it, just gotta go a few steps further 😁 Thanks for the inspiration and calming thoughts :)
I watched this 3 times and I think these stages make a lot of sense. Although I wonder if it’s possible to make progress on all stages without going in sequence. I think I’m one of the least physically powerful fighters at my gym (I’m rather proud of it). It’s nice that there are many other important things that I can improve on 😃
Absolutely! Different skills are on different time tables. You may be very advanced at one skill, while more of a beginner on another. Plus, when you learn a new tip or method, you may have to step back a couple of levels for a while. The main thing is to just keep practicing and trust the process. Thanks for the kind words, Amy! 🙏🏻
![#110: Can a Closed Mind Beat an Open Mind in the Martial Arts? [Podcast]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1slL9u7ogPM/mqdefault.jpg)
![#110: Can a Closed Mind Beat an Open Mind in the Martial Arts? [Podcast]](/img/tr.png)
Sensai
This was truly a next level, eye opening, mind expanding, episode. I learned that I am at level 0.3, but am not discouraged. On the contrary, at 57 years old I still feel I have time and energy to make meaningful progress. Thank you for your subtlety genius teachings.
Yes! Plenty of time left to make "meaningful progress", my friend! Keep fighting!
What's actually impressive is that question immediately occurred to you 😏
As for 'That comes later'
Really, shouldn't it come first?
Anyway, my approach to techniques like that is to practise them against pushes and grabs, not punches.
Good idea-punches can be too much to handle for most people in the beginning. Grabs and pushes can be a safe stepping stone. Thank you for the comment! 🙏🏻
There's one more important step to making a technique work: defining what you mean by "work". There are techniques that don't "work" in the context of a fight; but that's okay, because they were never meant to. They do however work for their intended purpose. I'll give an example. I was fortunate enough to participate in your Zoom session last weekend (thank you again for hosting that). During that, there were two particular techniques or drill sequences we performed. One involved executing a series of downward circular "tiger claws", shifting into a cat stance and executing a simultaneous linear tiger claw and kick, shifting back to our original stance, executing a series of downward circular hammer fists, then finishing in a "bow and arrow" stance while executing a straight punch to the side. Another involved standing on one leg while holding our arms to either the front or rear, then reversing them. Do either of those make any sense in the context of a fight? Absolutely not. Does that mean they were a waste of time? Again, no; because they did what they were intended to do. The first one helped develop coordination and kinesthetic awareness, and the second one helped develop balance and control. While nobody would do the actual moves in a fight, the skills developed by performing the moves would absolutely help in a fight. So, they do work, in the sense that they do what they were meant to do. As long as your actions match your intentions, and your tools fit your purpose, then I would argue those tools and actions "work", even if they would fail in a different context.
Thanks for the detailed commentary, Christopher! Yes, good point-there’s a difference between working as a conditioning tool and working as a fighting technique. That said, the moves we did may be more practical than you think-but that’s for another time. For now, thanks for being here, sir! 😁👍🏼
For several years of my martial arts journey I trained in tang soo do. That's basically karate, but with a lot more emphasis on fancy spinning and jumping kicks. Younger, less experienced students would occasionally ask our instructor how you would use some of the fancy kicks in a self defence scenario. While the instructor was carefully answering without actually answering, I'd just wait there patiently for the class to resume.
See what I'd figured out is you won't do the fancy kicks involving spinning round, jumping up, and firing two or more strikes while airborne and/or spinning. That would be crazy. The sheer amount of energy those techniques take, the fact that they're really easy to see coming and evade, and the fact that it's really hard to lock onto your target while spinning and changing level, all make such techniques largely useless in a fight. However, let's consider what you need in a real fight. You need a lot of energy, you need coordination and timing, and likely if you're under attack, you might already be very disoriented before you even try to retaliate. So a technique that trains focus while disoriented from spinning and jumping while being physically demanding enough to really boost your strength and fitness is like packing in a lot of essential skills into one neat little package.
@@anftrew3775 Well said!
I may never enter a martial arts school, I'm not looking to be a great martial artist, enter competitions or do any of that fancy stuff, but using the techniques i've learned from you to defend myself against an attacker makes me feel safer when i'm out and about, and that's a very valuable and empowering thing.
Yes! I believe ANY training is better than NO training. So, keep whatever you can with you. Thank you for the comment! 🙏🏻
You can go to a martial arts school without being competitive. It's a great social environment. Lots of people go just to get out of the house for a couple of hours. While I train because I love martial arts for how it teaches what the body can do, and I love play fighting, my wife went to the same class because she enjoyed the exercise and making new friends, but has no interest in martial arts beyond that. Others in the very same class enter every competition they can because they like winning trophies. So everyone is there for their own reasons, and everyone trains together as friends despite having different personal reasons for being there. I would really recommend trying some classes. The style is largely unimportant if competition is not your thing. And while I have heard of it happening, in stories on the internet, I've never known anyone receive anything but a warm welcome and a gentle introduction when they first walk into a new class.
@@anftrew3775 Thanks for that. I'm super self conscious. maybe i'll be brave enough to sign up one day 😂
@@coolbluelights may I ask in what way you are super self conscious and why this might be holding you back? I'm going to speculate here, based solely on conversations I've had with lots of people. Are you worried that martial arts schools are filled with tough guys in their prime, who are all excellent at martial arts? Because I can tell you I've trained in the same hall, at the same time, with men and women, kids and old folks (70 plus), muscle-bound athletes and people that really want to get their weight problem under control, I've seen skinny 30 year olds that can't yet do a single pushup, and old desk jockeys that breeze through the class. Martial arts are for everyone. And in my experience, nobody judges. It's generally a very supportive environment. Everyone recognises that they were once in your shoes, walking into the hall for the first time and wobbling about trying to keep their balance while others around them pull off perfect techniques all the time. They all want you to succeed. It's in their interest because a new person walking in the door is a new person to train with and potentially a new friend.
Oh, and my word of wisdom for you. What do you think is the hardest belt to acquire? The obvious answer is black belt. I disagree completely. By black belt you know how it all works, you know the school, the instructors, the other students, and the style. White belt is the hardest belt to achieve. To get that, you first have to walk into an unfamiliar environment, with people you don't know, to practice a system you've never practiced.
So I say, if you want to do it, but are reluctant because you are worried, just go for it. You don't have to sign up. Just go and have an informal chat with the instructor first, see how you feel, if there's more than one school near you, then go and see them all. Then just go for it. Remember, you are not captive. If you don't like it, you are free to walk away.
@@anftrew3775 Thanks for your words of encouragement. I just get shy I guess when I know other people are watching. I tend to hold back when I know people are watching. I don't know why this is. maybe it's because I fear that if I let people see me giving it my best I'll still look uncoordinated and "not good enough"
Terminology note: webcasts are on RUclips not podcasts. Podcasts are strictly audio only. On that note, great info fed for us to chew on, sir.
To be fair, there’s also an audio-only version available. So, it’s both. 😁
Great advice that can be applied to other parts of life also.
I’d agree with that! 😁👍🏼
Thank you, Shifu 🙏
My pleasure! Thank you for watching, sir! 🙏🏻
You are a great speaker :3
Very kind of you, William. Thank you! 🙏🏻
Sensei Ando thanks for sharing this information. I have one question. I am learning martial art from last one year. Problem is lot of things keep running in mind and focus shifts. I am punching the bag but thinking of office work or otherpersonal stuff. How to get 100% focused while doing martial arts?
Glad you’re training hard, Jimmy! I’d say turn on your imagination. Your brain will always find something to focus on… don’t give it any choices. Create a scenario in your head, then do what you do. 👍🏼
@@AndoMierzwa Thanks Sensei Ando, I will try your advice right from Monday morning 👍. Many thanks for prompt reply 🙏
@@jasonbourne1234 Happy training!
@@AndoMierzwa Thanks Sensei Ando ☺️
wow I love it thank you very much for making this video I appreciate it
Thank you for the kind words, Augustine! 🙏🏻
Gotcha...sensai gonna find out real art,with the six steps...
Or die trying! 😄
😀
😁👍🏼
@@AndoMierzwa You're videos really help me especially when I stopped doing Taekwondo.
One way is to know and understand the tech, if you don't understand it you may not be able to do it
Fair enough. Thank you for the comment, Steve! 🙏🏻
@@AndoMierzwa your six step approach is fine , the approach I suggest cuts that down to about three
@@stevejuszczak9402 Do your thing! 👍🏼
Sensei Ando you are like everything I imagined a Grandmaster should be, before I became disillusioned a little.
This is all excellent advice. Some of it is new to me, some I'd already started to realise, but all of it, I wish I'd heard years ago.
With regards to your stage 5, the only thing I'd add, which you alluded to at several points but didn't spell it out, is that when reflecting on yourself, don't fall into the trap of dwelling on your shortcomings. You have to dwell on your shortcomings in the sense that they are lessons, but not in the sense that they were mistakes. In more recent years, I've come to accept that you have to almost step outside of yourself and look at yourself as a teacher watching a student. If I see one of my students consistently making the same mistake, I don't judge them negatively, I study them, try to work out how to help, test that out, and repeat as required. So if I see myself making those mistakes, why should I treat myself any different to my students. So instead of chastising myself for not being better, I now treat myself as my own student, study myself, find the mistakes, and try to develop a strategy to correct those mistakes.
Thank you for the kind words, my friend. 🙏🏻 Yes, the way you teach your students should be the same way you teach yourself. “Do unto yourself what you would do to others!” 😄 Your students are lucky to have you guiding them! 👍🏼
Thumbs Up from me 💙👍
Thanks from me! 😁🙏🏻
@@AndoMierzwa 😆
Superb
I appreciate that. Thank you! 🙏🏻
Thanks for sharing. Great wisdom as always. Have an Epic Day!
An epic life to you, my friend! 👍🏼
Like always great advice sensei. Thanks for the wisdom.
Thanks for dropping by, Rodney! 🙏🏻
This was my favorite episode thus far Ando! Although I need to work on all of these my hearts desire is to work on numbers 3&4 but I rarely find someone willing to work with me on applications, definitely need a deep dive into this area.
Woooooow
I feel the same way. Thanks! 😄
Size and weight are important factors in professional fighting and hence the different divisions. But how important is weight between two *untrained* people?
Let's say a 6 foot 0 180 pound guy vs a 5 feet 6 250 pound obese guy in a street fight. This guy is giving me trouble and in my face. He is obese but he is does not move particularly slow. I am probably just a little quicker. Both around same age of 55. Does the weight differential put me at a great disadvantage even though I am much taller with greater reach? I know it is best to avoid, but he is a relative with a shady background and I run into him often at family meetings.
Sorry for the family stress. There are pros and cons to every shape and size. Hopefully, training will reveal what you need to know to make the best choices. 👍🏼
This is really insightful! I also have a notebook of techniques 😂 and so much that I don’t manage to use in sparring.😢 so just 6 simple steps as prescribed? 😁😁 I’m trying to figure out how I could make my sparring more like hitting pads. Now I get it, just gotta go a few steps further 😁 Thanks for the inspiration and calming thoughts :)
I watched this 3 times and I think these stages make a lot of sense. Although I wonder if it’s possible to make progress on all stages without going in sequence. I think I’m one of the least physically powerful fighters at my gym (I’m rather proud of it). It’s nice that there are many other important things that I can improve on 😃
Simple, yes… easy, no! 😄
Absolutely! Different skills are on different time tables. You may be very advanced at one skill, while more of a beginner on another. Plus, when you learn a new tip or method, you may have to step back a couple of levels for a while. The main thing is to just keep practicing and trust the process. Thanks for the kind words, Amy! 🙏🏻