The Importance of Training with Various Instructors

March 23, 2011 – 7:12 PM

You’re driving down the road and you notice the car in front of you has the following bumper sticker, “My Child is a Straight A Student”. You shake your head, disappointed in your own child’s report card you got in yesterday’s mail. “If only Jr. could be a straight A student.” you think to yourself. “He’s incredibly smart, why can’t he bring home good grades?”

Have you often wondered why some people are straight A students and some aren’t – even though you know they are highly intelligent? Research has shown that highly intelligent individuals do not always score high on tests and individuals that score high on tests do not necessarily have high IQs. The answer might lie in the type of learner they are.

There are three types of learners; those that see and learn (Visual), those that listen and learn (Auditory), and those that do and learn (Kinesthetic). Most people use all three ways to learn but have a preference of one over the other two. Teachers/Instructors are the same way. Instructor A might be a visual learner so he teaches visually. Instructor B might be an auditory learner so she teaches verbally and Instructor C might be a kinesthetic learner so he teaches by doing.

If you are a visual learner, you will be able to learn from instructor B, but you will learn different aspects of the technique or concept than an auditory learner; or for that matter, a kinesthetic learner. However, if you, the visual learner, then ask a different instructor about the same technique, and he or she happens to be less of an auditory learner and more visual or kinesthetic, you will learn something different about that very same technique. And even if you, the auditory learner, are satisfied with your auditory instructor, you are only getting a small portion of what that technique or concept is – you are missing out on the visual and the kinesthetic interpretations as well.

This is why it is important to seek out various instructors. Each instructor has their own flavor of how they like to teach and this, combined with your personal taste of how you like to learn, means there is a smorgasbord of knowledge out there for you to enjoy. So next time Jr’s grades aren’t where you think they should be, remember they just might be a kinesthetic learner “stuck” with an auditory teacher, and know you are lucky that you have multiple instructors in which to learn Self- Defense from.

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By Miriam | Posted in Self Defense | Tagged , , , , | Comments (11)

The Importance of Repetition in Training

February 15, 2011 – 12:52 PM

Remember the game you played in the car as a kid in on that long drive…?
“I’m going to Grandma’s house and I’m taking: a Dog, a Cat, a Baboon, and an Alligator.” Then the next person would add the next animal, beginning with the letter “E” and add it to the list. The game was to get through the entire alphabet repeating all 26 items you were taking to Granma’s.

Imagine I gave you a list of 26 items and told you to repeat it back to me without looking at the list again. I doubt many people could give me all 26 items. In fact, I bet most people could only name a dozen items on the list. Why then were we able to list all 26 items we took to Grandma’s on that long drive? The answer is Repetition.

Repetition. Repetition is the key to the way we humans learn. Our brain is made up of neural pathways that work best if we reinforce the information transmitted over those pathways. Picture a path in the forest. The first time you walk through the forest you don’t leave much of a path; perhaps a broken twig or two. It takes multiple treks to make that path distinctive. The more you trek through the mental forest on the same path, the deeper ingrained that information is.

The same holds true for muscle memory. When a movement is repeated over time, long-term muscle memory is established, eventually allowing you to do the task without any conscious effort. If you are asked to open the door, you don’t think about it; you just do it. But do you realize how many actions and thoughts go in to this simple action? First you need to be able to get to the door to open it. This takes several actions; walking, balance, knowing where the door is. Then you need to be able to open the door. This means you need to know how to turn the handle, then back out of the way of the door as you swing it in toward you. Perhaps you want to look through the peep hole first. All of these are skills you no longer think about – they have become muscle memory.

In training, we repeat simple skills over and over again so that when we are in need of them, we do not have to waste time or energy thinking about them. This is extremely important in self-defense. If a punch comes at you; you want to be able to stay safe by getting out of the way of the punch and brushing it away. If you’ve been training in self-defense long, you will probably automatically trap that punch, counter strike your attacker and put him into some kind of submission hold or joint lock. So next time your instructor asks you to grab a partner and practice Hu-Bud, keep in mind that this is one of those reactions we want your body to respond to automatically, without thought.

“I’m going to Combat Hapkido class tonight and I’m going to bring; a Double Tap, a Center lock, a Break-away, and an Arm bar.”

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By Miriam | Posted in Self Defense | Tagged , , , , | Comments (9)

The Story of Anna

February 7, 2011 – 12:21 PM

When I hear someone tell me that they don’t REALLY need to learn self defense, I always think of the story of Anna.

“He grabbed my hair and pulled me backward,” began Anna. “I just reacted. The next thing I knew – he was on the ground, I kicked him and ran.”

Anna had just escaped from a convicted rapist’s grasp. She and a fellow college  student, Jane, were walking to their cars after a late night class. Jane got into her car first then Anna proceeded to her car just a dozen steps away. That’s when she was attacked.

Paroled, convicted rapist, Gerald Albright, had watched the two young women walk to Jane’s car. Albright bided his time waiting behind a pick-up truck. As soon as Anna was alone he jumped her from behind. Albright had used this MO to rape and severely beat a young girl 7 years earlier; he had planned to rape and beat Anna. However, Anna was not the average co-ed.

Before heading off to college, Anna’s parents insisted she take several self defense classes. Anna protested, stating that she wasn’t a violent person and never, ever, could hit anyone. Her parents won out and Anna went to 6 seminars on self defense. Those lessons paid off. After Albright grabbed her pony tail, Anna stepped backward, into her attacker, throwing him off balance. The keys she held in her hand became effective weapons as she struck him multiple times in the face and groin. Anna does not remember everything that happened but police state that Anna struck Albright hard enough in the face that he fell backward, cracking open his skull. She then kicked him in the back and ran to the emergency help box in the parking lot.

When campus police arrived less than two minutes later, they found Albright unconscious and bleeding from several wounds on his face. Besides the cracked skull and concussion, Albright suffered a broken  nose, a broken rib, several bruised ribs, a bruised kidney, and severe genital bruising from Anna’s repeated strikes.

Albright was convicted of assault with intent to rape and parole violation. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

                                The names in the above story have been changed.

If you EVER think you do not need to know how to protect yourself or those you love, I want you to think of Anna. Remember; had her parents not cared, she might not be alive today.

Self Defense training is not a violent act – it is an act to stop violence.

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By Miriam | Posted in Self Defense | Comments (5)