Years of training in martial arts make the student unlikely to forget his or her techniques in an emergency.
Do you ever forget your martial arts training?
Last month I ran into a father of one of my ex-students, who I have seen socially over the years. His daughter Jessie, was about eight years old when she started with us, and continued on until about eleven, when she dropped out as a green belt. High school became more demanding, and she was a very busy girl. I remember her as a conscientious, hard-working student with an excellent attitude, one who probably would have obtained her black belt if she had remained with us.
Jessie remembered her martial arts training
As we got to talking, the father said martial arts was the best thing for Jessie as it increased her self-confidence in a big way. He then told me a story about something that happened to Jessie, now 20, recently. At a nightclub, another girl started a fight with Jessie. Although Jessie did everything she could to avoid the confrontation, the girl took a swing at her. She responded by dropping the attacker with a front snap kick, knocking the wind out of her. She did not seriously hurt her, but after the kick, the girl wanted no part of Jessie.
This happened nine years after Jessie dropped out of karate. She remembered what we had taught her when it really mattered. The many hundreds of snap kicks Jessie performed in her classes years ago were part of her muscle memory. I was not surprised by this as I’ve had many students return to us after several years off, and they pick up where they left off amazingly fast.
Do you have any similar stories about remembering (or forgetting) martial arts training after several years? In an emergency, does it come back quickly for everyone or do most forget it? I would like to hear from you.
Hi Matt,
Katas and techniques are the first to go but if one had done a lot of fighting – and remembers critical distance and initial movement – he or she should still be able to handle most situations even if they are out of shape.
Of course going toe to toe with a top level competitor is probably out of the question.
The two almost fights I’ve had while training very little had good outcomes. In both cases the guys realized that they bit off more than they could chew and backed off (because I countered instead of getting scared).
One of my old students, Kim Kimmel had a guy bugging him at a pay phone at the trolley. He told him to wait his turn and turned away… the guy blindsided him – Kimmel was spun around by the force – he brought up his leg and rear kicked the SOB – landing him on his butt! That was the fight.
The guy never saw it coming and it was just a reflex action to Kimmel. I did give him a hard time about turning his back on an unsavory character like that! 🙂
So true John! The katas and techniques, being more complex, are definitely the first to go. Some of our assistants forget them after one term! But the basics and things you use in sparring you just don’t forget, at least in my experience. Liked your story. Always like to see the troublemakers get their just reward. Thanks John.
Don’t have any story but have tweeted it as it’s one of those story’s that should inspire people to take up a martial art. My middle daughter, Robyn 9, does karate and my hope is she will continue to train for as long as she’s able, the benefits are manifold.
Thanks for commenting Robbie. It’s great that your daughter has discovered karate. Yes, there are so many benefits it’s hard to count them!
Hi Matt,
What a tremendous outcome for your student. Martial arts can be a gift for life and this is a great example. Imagine what that did for her confidence – let alone her physical security. To have such a lasting impact on a person is wonderful
I just commented this morning that I consider myself to be an expert yellow belt as I drill very basic techniques over and over in a range of scenarios. Their simplicity makes them easy to internalize and develop a good “body memory”.
I definitely agree with the comment that kata is the first to go – unless we are talking about many years of training. Kumite/randori/sparring has a better chance of being internalized over the long term. Perhaps it is because we have a good incentive to develop lasting competence – avoiding getting hit!
🙂
So true about it being preferable to be an “expert” yellow belt versus an “average” upper belt. The basics are what we remember and what we will use in a pinch. And yes, pain is a great teacher. You learn how to cover up or evade. Good points Ash, and thank you for visiting us.