Motivation: A key to your success in Krav Maga
Motivation is the key to success; self-motivation that is. It’s the inner will to improve and progress that usually drives people to achieve great things in life. When it comes to training Krav Maga, the desire to improve and progress is also largely self-dependent. Of course you have instructors to push you and challenge you, but ultimately it’s up to the student to stay focused and motivated when the instructor is not by their side.
How do you keep the necessary motivation needed to stay engaged in your training and have the will to improve every day? To start with, think of the main reason for your training in the first place. For some it is to learn how to defend yourself and loved ones. For others it is to get in better shape and stay physically active while learning something different and unique. Yet for others, it is to be surrounded by friends in a fun and supportive environment. And for many, all of these may apply. Whatever the reason maybe, it motivates you to come to class on a regular basis.
Once you are in class, you need to find the motivation needed to keep improving individual aspects of your training. If you are a new student, all the techniques, principles and drills you do are different and exciting. And there is plenty of material for you to keep you focused on learning. However, as you start seeing the same techniques again in your training, some people get complacent and are content on doing the technique the same way they did the first time they learned it a year(s) ago. Remember, proficiency in Krav Maga is not measured by how many techniques you know. Rather it’s defined by how well you execute the techniques you do. This includes your follow-up combatives, sharpness of movement, footwork, positioning, etc. Think of the analogy to boxing. There are only three punches that a boxer uses. But athletes devote years to perfecting these punches to be better than their competition.
Similarly, it’s up to the more experienced students to be self-critical and focus on the little nuances that will improve your performance. How do you know what these nuances are? Easy; we give you constant feedback in class, and we sit down with you after each test to give you more detailed evaluation of your progress. So if you heard us say that your striking mechanics are flawed or your footwork is sloppy, then fixing these should be the focus every time you come to class.
Of course, focusing on too many things at once can be counterproductive. So don’t stress yourself out with striving for perfection. Concentrate on improving one little nuance at a time. Of course there will be days when you are off on your training and are not doing as well as you normally do. These things happen and we will address how to handle these it the next month’s article.
Train hard, train safe, strive to get better every day, and most importantly enjoy your training. And remember every day in training strive to be a bit better then you were the day before.
