Theory versus ability gap

[Spartacus Maximus]

Everyone who has been practising karate for a few years will probably come to a point where there is a gap between what they know and what they can do. After training and practising for 3 years I find that I am less and less sure of any progress I may have made.

My techniques feel weak as if devoid of any power and seem clumsier and more awkward than when I started. Although I understand the instructions, descriptions and explanations of my instructor, I just cannot do anything in the way he says.

Assuming I am not the first or the last to be frustrated in this way, what would be the most sensible solution. How does one know when one is doing something correctly when the instructor is not there to comment? From an instructor's point of view, what advice would help a student in this stage of training?

[The Pred]

Everyone who has been practising karate for a few years will probably come to a point where there is a gap between what they know and what they can do. After training and practising for 3 years I find that I am less and less sure of any progress I may have made.

My techniques feel weak as if devoid of any power and seem clumsier and more awkward than when I started. Although I understand the instructions, descriptions and explanations of my instructor, I just cannot do anything in the way he says.

Assuming I am not the first or the last to be frustrated in this way, what would be the most sensible solution. How does one know when one is doing something correctly when the instructor is not there to comment? From an instructor's point of view, what advice would help a student in this stage of training?

Can be frustrating, but three years in the martial arts is just a drop in the bucket. As far as knowing if you're practicing a technique right. If you're not sure, don't practice it, since you may be practicing wrong. Practice what you do know. Once the instructor says you're doing the technique right, then practice it at home.

[muttley]

When I felt my technique was week, I slowed it right down. Took everything back, stripped all aspects of speed out if the technique and instead focused on each little bit. Was my stane correct, was there someway I could tweak it to get more power? Was my hip rotation correct and was the technique coming from the right place and ending correctly.

Once I was happy I gradually sped things up again.

[DaveB]

I think stripping down to technical basics is a very good suggestion. Another idea though is to take the opposite approach and forget the theoretical ideals and adjust your technique until it feels comfortable for you.

It could be that your body type is just not suited to the standard technical approach.

Also moving on or supplementing your training with something like boxing that has similar technique but very different teaching/learning methods may help.

The only other thing I can think of is practice more. I remember frequently falling into patches where it felt like nothing worked properly. I found I just had to train through it. Also more sparring, partner drills, bag work and shadowboxing to take your mind off technique and make your body flow more naturally. If you are over-thinking things this might help.

[JR 137]

Everyone who has been practising karate for a few years will probably come to a point where there is a gap between what they know and what they can do. After training and practising for 3 years I find that I am less and less sure of any progress I may have made.

My techniques feel weak as if devoid of any power and seem clumsier and more awkward than when I started. Although I understand the instructions, descriptions and explanations of my instructor, I just cannot do anything in the way he says.

Assuming I am not the first or the last to be frustrated in this way, what would be the most sensible solution. How does one know when one is doing something correctly when the instructor is not there to comment? From an instructor's point of view, what advice would help a student in this stage of training?

Or could it be that you are far more aware of your mistakes and know your body better than you did 3 years ago? Maybe looking at some video footage of then vs now would shed some light on it for you, if you have any of course.

Another thought crossed my mind after I posted...

Could it be that you and your classmates are progressing at the same rate? My CI was telling us about when he was in his kyu days, several students approached his (their) teacher out of frustration that they didn't feel like they were getting better. The same people were 'winning' during kumite, the better kata performers were always better than their counterparts, and so on. Their teacher told them that they were all improving at the same rate (relatively speaking), so it wasn't easy for them to see themselves get better than each other. He said that after owning his own dojo for close to 30 years now, he sees it all the time. If there was any video of his students, they'd easily see the improvements. We don't video ourselves often, if at all, so it's not like we're going to review the tape to confirm.

Just a thought.

[sensei8]

In time, and only in time, applicable knowledge will match up with theory, and in that, it's not consistent because we learn something new everyday; the learning curve varies as we acquire new information!!

Imho!!

[Nidan Melbourne]

There may always be a small gap between the two. But then again I have had that kind of feeling last night in class (How Ironic??).

But I went and slowed everything right down so I could find where it was going wrong. Once I corrected it, returned back to normal and was feeling better than I normally do

[GojuRyu Bahrain]

You are probably better now than a few months ago, you just don't see it that way..here is what our Hanshi tought regarding your situation:

Knowledge and physical ability are two different things that develop at different rates as one progresses in Karate.

For most people, initially the physical ability grows rapidly, faster than the understanding/ knowledge. Then, with time, one becomes aware of the finer details (knowledge). Now, one has more, and more difficult, details to master physically, which may be perceived as 'slower' progress. As you describe, this can lead to frustration.

What you may consider now is that you are in a phase where your knowledge expands rapidly, surpassing you physical ability for a while; Relax, be patient with yourself. This is good:you lay the foundation for you further progress in mastering the art.

You could compare your techniques on video (if you have recordings) against your previous self, or against others in your dojo. You should find you are better (more precise, powerful etc.) than you think. Anyway, keep practising, this feeling will pass.

[tallgeese]

At this point, IMO, the best thing you can do with a base of knowledge on is to start gearing up and doing stimulus response training in realistic scenarios. It's gonna take some gear, some contact, and some set up on the classes part but this is the kind of training that bridges the gap as much as possible.

You'll need at a minimum good caged headgear. The kind that you can elbow away on and not worry about, MMA or tempo gloves, knee and shin gear and I've always likes to add forearm pads as well. Don't forget a mouth guard.

This is for you and the attackers.

This is NOT sparring. It's you going about daily life and being ambushed. It's not consensual fighting, it's an attack. Spend some time on Live Leak, You Tube, and others watching assault videos. Build situations from there. Don't be afraid to use the parking lots, cars, etc around the gym.

Your partner will attack you, grab you, and realistically try to end you. You will not let them. The goal is not points, finishing, etc. It's escaping or escalating weapons.

Once you're rocking with this stuff, add low light, strobe light, headlights, blaring music, anything to further confuse the situation. Now do it on slick floors, in the rain, where ever. Add more stress to the situation.

Keep one guy as safety on the outside. His job is to make sure everyone stays not broken.

This type of training will help you bridge the gap and build stress inoculation to events. I might have some footage in the archives somewhere. If I do, I'll put it up as an example. Good luck and keep us posted.

[vantheman]

Everyone who has been practising karate for a few years will probably come to a point where there is a gap between what they know and what they can do. After training and practising for 3 years I find that I am less and less sure of any progress I may have made.

My techniques feel weak as if devoid of any power and seem clumsier and more awkward than when I started. Although I understand the instructions, descriptions and explanations of my instructor, I just cannot do anything in the way he says.

Assuming I am not the first or the last to be frustrated in this way, what would be the most sensible solution. How does one know when one is doing something correctly when the instructor is not there to comment? From an instructor's point of view, what advice would help a student in this stage of training?

This gap perhaps is the quintessential difference between a great martial artist and a great martial arts instructor.