John Danaher: Some moves come naturally and some don’t

Some moves come naturally and some don’t: I am sure you’ve all had the experience of learning a move and the first few times you drilled it, it seemed to fall into place very readily. Perhaps later in sparring you got it to work or came close to getting it to work against a tough opponent. It stood out as a move that seemed natural and unforced to you. I’m equally sure you’ve had the experience of being shown a move that looked valuable but when you drilled it it felt very awkward and unnatural. When you tried it in sparring not only did it not work, it wasn’t even close and perhaps even got you in trouble. It can’t be denied that we all have this kind of experience. The question is, what should we make of it? Should we only focus on the moves that come naturally and ignore the ones that feel immediately difficult? That is certainly tempting and understandable, but we can’t take that option. Some moves, for example an elbow escape, are so fundamental and determine so much of our overall potential that they simply cannot be dismissed no matter how awkward and unnatural they might feel when you begin. Some moves are interesting but low percentage, rarely figuring in top level competition. Even if they felt very natural I’d be reluctant to invest huge amounts of training time in that direction no matter how natural and easy the move felt to me. The right way to think about it is to take the intersection of both considerations. Is it high percentage - that is, is it successfully used by a wide array of athletes across all belt levels, all weight divisions and all body types over a considerable time period? And, does it feel natural in its application for you as an individual, the kind of move you could employ with confidence and power in a very tough high stakes match? If the answer to both is yes - YOU’VE FOUND YOUR MOVE - train it, research it, develop strong follow ups to it and win with it!

John Danaher

Casa De Luta FightKlub Saarbrücken (Eingang im Hinterhof) Mainzer Str. 30 66111 Saarbrücken Email: acasadeluta@gmail.com

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