“I hate sparring, I’d rather grapple.”
“I hate grappling, I’d rather stand.”
“I hate running.”
“I hate double-unders.”
Those aren’t statements, those are indicators. ALL THE MORE REASON TO WORK ON THEM. Here are a few things that help me improve on my weaknesses and how to NOT make them seem so daunting.
1.) Pick one and do it as your first activity in your active rest day:
For the early birds, great way to work on weaknesses is during their early morning workout routine. First thing in the morning is when you can accomplish very analytic work. Range of motion and strength training were one of my weaknesses (I am human, I HAVE PLENTY!) so I incorporated Olympic weightlifting into my regimen. Now, I look forward to snatching up the bar on Mondays!
2.) Pick one and do it as your last activity at the end of your workout:
At the end of a really tough padwork session is when I like to incorporate technical training. This makes your training mentally engaging with a more of a reflective mindset. Want to improve your hand defenses? Do it when your arms are tired! It teaches you more than just timing. If you can’t do it slow during fatigue you cannot execute this under adrenalized environments!
3.) Do it independently as your only activity
I wanted to improve on my footwork and being light on my feet but I wanted to pick up a new skill so I took on learning how to skip rope. On non-barbell days at the gym or as a great warmup before sparring I didn’t focus on “jumping” in reference of skipping rope, I focused on timing and qualitative economy of movement. It has greatly improved my stamina and my ability to move well during a spar. Double-unders are the best!
4.) Make it your only focus in class
Do you keep dropping your rear hand when you throw your jab? Make it a focal point of your training! Guard retention not so good? Make it your only focus in grappling whether win or lose. Because if you improve yourself by 1% everyday, you improve yourself 365% in a year!
There you have it folks! Join the Gateway Cities community in its pursuit of its best self by starting on welcoming weaknesses and working on self-improvement! If you found this valuable please feel free to share this with your family and friends. Thanks for your time!
-Blogalupagus
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