| Have you ever been stalled in your martial-arts | | | | Technique Observations After-the-Fact |
| improvement? Do think about improving your | | | | From time to time, do a little writing in your |
| skills, and do you wish the process were faster? | | | | martial-arts journal after a practice session. |
| Transfer your thoughts to paper "the right way," | | | | Record your observations, both after a good |
| and you'll get better faster. Thinking about fighting | | | | training session, and also after a frustrating one. |
| more effectively is definitely part of the process, | | | | In one case, you want to remember what you |
| but it's not the only component. | | | | did right; in the other, you want to correct what |
| Martial-Arts Goals in Writing and Pictures | | | | you bungled. |
| Writing martial-arts thoughts in a journal can help | | | | I have to admit that I do less drawing or |
| you in both analysis and planning. In other words, | | | | sketching in this process, unless I am making stick |
| you can look at what you are already doing, and | | | | figures. I sometimes show sequences and |
| you can plan for what you want to do. Analyzing | | | | responses with my crude-but-quick pen drawings. |
| a workout seems like a good place to start, but I | | | | Then I make notes with arrows around those |
| prefer to do a little "creative dreaming" first. I | | | | stick figures. |
| "wish," before I "look." | | | | Martial-Arts Notebook--Small, Lined, Electronic, Or... |
| If you could do anything with supreme skill in | | | | Your notebook can take any format, as long as |
| fighting, what would you imagine? | | | | it's something that you use. You have to pick it |
| Take a few minutes to jot down these creative | | | | up and review what you recorded, IF you want |
| thoughts on paper, in a notebook. | | | | to improve. |
| It has long been known that true martial-arts | | | | Now that I am using an iPod Touch®, I do a |
| masters have minds that use both right and left | | | | little instant recording while on the go. Still, I like to |
| brain thought patterns equally. They employ both | | | | transfer those notes to a spiral notebook. And |
| sides. To incorporate both hemispheres of the | | | | this might seem a little weird, but I much prefer |
| brain, make lists, draw pictures and diagrams, and | | | | unlined paper; it's almost a "must" for me. |
| write creative little vignettes. | | | | Do you have a cell phone or electronic devise that |
| Start with an idea in the form of a page title, and | | | | you use for jotting down notes? You might want |
| then fill the rest of page from there. | | | | to go the electronic route; it's the popular trend in |
| Sometimes my brainstorming is grounded in | | | | our society. |
| reality, with a solid principle like, "Never turn your | | | | Some people insist on carrying a very small |
| back on your opponent." (So, no spin kicks | | | | notebook (5" x 7"). The idea is that its portability |
| allowed.) | | | | will encourage use. For me, 8.5" x 11" is still very |
| And other times, I let loose the reigns on my | | | | portable. (It fits in a car.) |
| brain with mini-daydreams; "If I could walk through | | | | Use any notebook that "you will actually use." |
| walls like some of the superheroes in comics, then | | | | Decorate it, if you'd like. |
| when someone punched at me, I could fade | | | | Last tip: Have one place that you always keep |
| backwards, and they'd crunch their fists into hard | | | | your notebook in your home. You want to be |
| panelling." (Of course, I translate the above into | | | | able to grab it easily, whenever you have a |
| practical application by learning to use the wall | | | | martial-arts related thought. Hunting through the |
| behind me to my benefit. The wall-phasing just | | | | mess for your trusty binder is not allowed. |
| sparked the idea.) | | | | |