How do you learn to listen to your body?

[jarrettmeyer]

I find that I am very challenged by martial arts. I love being able to notice my own improvement, and I hate not being able to get my techniques perfect. From what I've read from so many posts and posters, this will never change.

 

Last night, we were working some basic punching combinations. As the night goes on, I notice that I do things incorrectly while I do them. Even worse, when I realize that I am doing something incorrectly mid technique, I also realize that I am not relaxed and that, once again, my brain is the way of my body. Worse yet, I get upset about this general fault. The result is I am thinking too much.

 

I'm not looking for the "practice more" response. I know to slow down and speed up gradually. I know the solution, and with time and practice, I'll get it. (I hope.)

 

I am looking for people who have learned to listen to their bodies and not their brains. What techniques do you use? I can get really relaxed during stretching and cool down, but I find myself completely unable to keep that level of calmness in the middle of class. Please help!

[smr]

I listen with my ears. What I usually hear is popping and snapping noises coming from my knees.

[cathal]

Frustration can come easy with learning any new technique. You have to calm yourself, breathe slower and deeper and realise that you aren't expected to be perfect right now. The quality of the technique only comes with time and practice.

[Shorinryu Sensei]

I listen with my ears. What I usually hear is popping and snapping noises coming from my knees.

 

Isn't the aging process fun? Not only knees, but back, hips, elbows....well...you name it, it pops and makes noises!

[Shorin Ryuu]

To answer your question directly (to be honest, I went and wrote all the stuff on the bottom, re-read your question and realized I didn't answer it)...

 

You've already answered the long term part of your question when you said

I'm not looking for the "practice more" response. I know to slow down and speed up gradually. I know the solution, and with time and practice, I'll get it. (I hope.)

 

But I'm sure this isn't comforting in the short-term. The best thing to do is to have more of a positive attitude about it. Now before you say "I do have a positive attitude", let me finish. Oftentimes, there is an insidious negative attitude out there hidden because it looks positive. Many people, without realizing it (and this kind of goes for life in general), have this burning drive for improvement in their training, especially in the beginning. Unfortunately, deep inside, it is because they don't like making mistakes and want to make things perfect. That isn't bad in and of itself, but for many people, they want the perfection because they fear the opposite, which is imperfection. Even if you realize you will never be "perfect" (which you've indicated in your post), you must still make what will perhaps be in the beginning a very conscious choice to divorce completely the ego-related negativity of mistakes from the improvement-related negativity of mistakes. As with anything in life, it truly is easier said than done. I can't say I'm fully at this stage, either.

 

Once you do that, you will be able to solve the part of your problem with getting upset over your technique. If you've truly done this, you wouldn't be getting frustrated. This will go a long ways towards the emotional part.

 

As far as the "over-thinking" side of the dilemma in regards to technique/principle analysis using the wisdom of the mind rather than the body, that's merely something you're going to have to choose to do or not do. I recommend drawing from both pools of wisdom as they have very much to offer. Whether or not you have a "natural feel" for martial arts will certainly be a factor in how easily you can transition between these modes of thinking. The only advice I can give you is when you are using the mind, you have to expand it to include not just what you are specifically engaged in thinking about, but also everything else (As usual, easier said than done). If you do not, then you are studying the technique incorrectly anyway, because techniques involve the whole body rather than a specific part.

 

Once again, I believe all this requires the subordination of emotion to the rule of reason. Whether you realize it or not, when you use the wisdom of the body instead of the wisdom of the mind, you're still using your mind. It's really not quite as dry and clinical as it sounds, but it is something that if you can't do it in "real life", you'll probably have difficulty doing it during practice.

 

(And now what I wrote originally...)

 

Many times incorrect technique comes from trying to do things too fast without having built in the proper muscle memory first. If you are doing partner drills, ask your partner to slow things down a bit, if possible. If doing solo drills to someone calling out a count, usually they will slow it down if they notice someone is lagging behind.

 

The best way to listen to your body is doing kata. When done slower, it is easier to listen what your body tells you (Tai Chi, anyone?). There are many different things you can concentrate on while performing your kata. I think having a clear, undistracted mind is important, and that is different from merely having an empty mind. I've noticed far too many people fall into the trap of merely going through the motions, thinking that they were achieving some sort of "zen moment". If you do kata merely to meditate, that's fine by me. But since kata is a study of biomechanics, I think special attention needs to be paid to what your body tells you during kata.

 

Therefore, rather than focusing on how fast or how hard you can get a kata done, try and just "record" what your body tells you while you do it. Usually, the things you will notice when first starting is what NOT to do (i.e., I do this, and my shoulder hurts or is straining). Later on, you should be able to feel what you SHOULD do (this configuration is more structurally sound, etc.).

 

Just as a note, I'm not saying this is the only way to do kata. There are several different ways that I do kata, usually each with a specific emphasis.

[smr]

I listen with my ears. What I usually hear is popping and snapping noises coming from my knees.

 

Isn't the aging process fun? Not only knees, but back, hips, elbows....well...you name it, it pops and makes noises!

 

Indeed. I feel like I'm 23 going on 53...

[Chaz]

The more I try to relax, the more useful my art comes to be. When I am relaxed things just flow and technique comes easier, are you new at your school? Just asking because the first year or so at my school it was hard for me to relax, but once I started getting used to it all, relaxing just came and it refined my technique gradually... Just one of my experiances...

[taiji fajin]

Simple answer, highly effective: meditate.

[A. Orstrom]

Practice more

 

No, seriously, when you do techniques often enough they will become second nature to you.

 

Mas. Oyama once said something along the lines of: 'When you have done a technique 100 times, you will recognize it. When you have done it 1000 times you will remember it. When you have done it 10000 times you will be able to do it.'

 

Oh, and I know this is no help at all

 

Good luck

[jarrettmeyer]

Simple answer, highly effective: meditate.

 

I really think that it's all three: practice, meditate, and practice more. Last night, I was really focusing on relaxation and breathing, and I had a much more effective practice. Only be tense for a brief moment, then be soft and quiet again. If I can keep in that mindset, I do really well. It seems that if I start to spiral out of control - get tense, get frustrated, etc. - I might as well start all over with the stretching that I do before class.

 

I had a fencing instructor in college who was really great about this. He had been on the US Olympic team. He would conduct the class at a whisper. You had to be always working on your relaxation and breathing, because even labored breathing would drown him out.