drilling

Muscle Memory... its a term every athlete knows and has a love-hate relationship with. Muscle memory simply means your body can perform the said action with you having to think about it. Its like tieing your shoe you just do it. Drilling allows techniques to become automatic and require next to no effort, that's why we love it. But it requires drilling that's why we hate. Let's face it, no basketball player wants to do 500 suicides in defensive posture. However, if you do it it'll make sure your back pedal and side step are on point. The same applies to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu sparring is the fun part so we all want to do it. However, only sparring=bad technique i know my technique was off the first three months I was training with Maguilla; I knew it was because of my two years and eight months not training. But not drilling didnt help. I must say I'm learning to love it. In my opinion its the best way to warm up because you break a sweat and refine technique at the same time. Dont get me wrong jumping jacks, push-ups, etc. whatever it is you do should still be used but drilling should also be incorparated. I cant tell you how many times I've got the arm triangle in sparring but i can tell you its because i've drilled the technique 5,000+ times literally. Now i have dreams about new ways to get the technique. I go to the gym and try it and the majority of them actually work. You dont even need to have resistance or a partner just do the motions by yourself to get your body used to it. Your partners will help your brain learn the timing later. The timing is useless if your body cannot complete the movement.

How does this apply to my average readers(non-athletes). Ever wanted to build a habit? Maybe you always lose your keys? So now you've told yourself you'll always put your keys on your nightstand after your come in from work. Guess what you are doing? You are drilling!!! Never thought about that huh?