Tag Archives: Technique

Gabriel Dusil

Martial Arts • Fighting Science • 4 • Yin ☯ Yang of Technique vs. Instinct

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As discussed in last week’s post, combat training is about learning new degrees of freedom – adding new maneuvers or techniques that have never been tried before. But how to learn a new move well enough that it becomes natural or instinctive? Enter the 100-1000-10000 rule:
 
  • Mechanics • If you do a technique 100 times you will understand its mechanics. Your brain will comprehend how to do it correctly, and why the movement is valuable.
  • Natural • When you do a technique 1000 times it will become natural. This threshold is passed when the movement feels right in sparring. The movement becomes part of your combat portfolio.
  • Instinctive • Once you do a maneuver 10000 times then it enters your subconscious. The movement can now be executed without thinking about it.

The 100-1000-10000 rule is fundamental to combat sports
and applies to the highest levels of professional fighting.

It’s important to clarify that these movements must be done correctly for it to successfully traverse the 100-1000-10000 evolution. Counting doesn’t begin until the technique is done correctly. Doing a maneuver incorrectly leads to bad habits that are hard to break.

If fighting requires surprise and spontaneity, why practice repetition? A fighter needs repetition in order for a new technique to enter the subconscious. Once that is achieved a fighter no longer needs to think of the technique because it’s apart of them. It’s as close to “instinctive behavior” as possibly achievable.

Instinctive maneuvers are the end-game because the moment a fighter “thinks” of performing an attack, defense, or anything in between – then telegraphing occurs and time is lost. An experienced fighter can exploit this delay. Reactionary measures in times of stress, emotion and chaos are worsened, if not completely lost. Practicing a move mitigates this weakness because the “thinking” component is removed from the fighting equation and the movement becomes instant.

Techniques are abandoned in the midst of chaos
and requires confidence and experience
to regain composure.

Repetition is a challenge for students, and especially taxing on millennials. In a one hour session, even 50 reps challenge the patience of students. Reaching 1000 requires grit, endurance, and resources that fall amongst the most dedicated. Striving for 10000 is reserved for the elite among us.

To finish off, it’s worth mentioning that the 100-1000-10000 rule can be easily applied to other disciplines – e.g. dancing, learning a musical instrument, software development to name a few examples, and can be a representation of time (100-1000-10000 hours) with the same effect.

Martial Arts • Fighting Science Series

If you would like to read more articles in this “Yin Yang of Fighting Science” series, check out these posts:

• 1 • Yin Yang of Technique vs. Power
• 2 • Yin Yang of Speed vs. Timing
• 3 • Yin Yang of Fighting Styles
• 4 • Yin Yang of Technique vs. Instinct
• 5 • Yin Yang of Empty vs. Full Cups
• 6 • Yin Yang of Slow vs. Fast
• 7 • Yin Yang of Perception vs. Reality
• 8 • Yin Yang of Fear vs. Confidence
• 9 • Yin Yang of Threes
• 10 • Yin Yang of Burden vs. Privilege
• 11 • Yin Yang of Anticipation vs. Surprise
• 12 • Yin Yang of Compliance vs. Resistance
• 13 • Yin Yang of Attacking vs. Defending
• 14 • Yin Yang of Fighting 360°
• 15 • Yin Yang of Teachers vs. Students
• 16 • Yin Yang of Physics vs. Physiology
• 17 • Yin Yang of Vulnerability vs. Opportunity
• 18 • Yin Yang of Martial Arts vs. Combat
• 19 • Yin Yang of Sport vs. Violence
• 20 • Yin Yang of Rhythm vs. Random
• 21 • Yin Yang of Stability
• 22 • Yin Yang of Strategy vs. Tactics
• 23 • Yin Yang of Instinct vs. Reason
• 24 • Yin Yang of Unstoppable vs. Immovable

• Fighting Science • Fighter’s Curve
• Fighting Science • Fighting Zones

Bio

• CEO • Strategist • Entrepreneur • Speaker
• Photographer • Designer • Creativist • Writer • Blogger
• Teacher • Trainer • Geek • INTJ • Father

Gabriel is a seasoned sales and marketing expert with over 25 years in senior positions at Motorola, VeriSign (acquired by Symantec in 2010 for 1.25 billion US$), SecureWorks (acquired by Dell in 2011 for 612 million US$), and Cognitive Security (acquired by Cisco in 2013 for 25 million US$). He is a blockchain entrepreneur, with strengths in international business strategy.

Gabriel has a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics from McMaster University in Canada and expert knowledge in crypto incubation, cloud computing, IT security, and digital video technology. Gabriel also runs his own company, Euro Tech Startups s.r.o.

Hobbies include photography, video production, motion graphics, digital graphics, photo restoration, carpentry, martial arts, traveling, blogging, and trying to be better than yesterday.

Martial Arts

Martial Arts • Fighting Science • 1 • Yin ☯ Yang of Technique vs. Power

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In combat sports, it is often stated:

“9 times out of 10, Technique beats Power”

This statement is poignant from a few perspectives. First of all, the conspicuous avoidance of a perfect score. Any good fighter can be knocked out by an average fighter. We’re not perfect beings. Through life, we may strive for perfection, but we also need to be practical.

That leaves us with 90% of the time when technique wins.  That there are few caveats to mention. For instance, a powerful opponent may know a few good techniques. This needs to be a consideration in an altercation. They may not have fighting experience, but we can’t underestimate any opponent and assume they have “no” experience. Misunderestimating an opponent is one of the top reasons why fights are lost. Another aspect that mitigates this statement is when the size of an opponent overshadows in weight and muscle. A 150kg Goliath has a sizeable advantage over a 70kg David, and a winning strategy of the smaller opponent will require a balance of several factors: strengths & weaknesses, speed, vs. agility, and confidence vs. psychology. We will explore these factors and many others, throughout this “Fighting Science” series.

One practicality is that most humans have the same head size and weight.  Most human heads weight around 4.5kg regardless of how heavy they are. Why is this important?  Mainly because knockouts in combat are typically from punching laterally to the chin of the opponent. An accurate hook to the chin can bring down most fighters, regardless of their stature. Through nearly 20 years of watching UFC fights, I would estimate that 80% of all head knockouts are from a hook to the chin. I was unable to find exact statistics online, but if anyone has these details, please leave a comment below.

Martial Arts • Fighting Science Series

If you would like to read more articles in this “Yin Yang of Fighting Science” series, check out these posts:

• 1 • Yin Yang of Technique vs. Power
• 2 • Yin Yang of Speed vs. Timing
• 3 • Yin Yang of Fighting Styles
• 4 • Yin Yang of Technique vs. Instinct
• 5 • Yin Yang of Empty vs. Full Cups
• 6 • Yin Yang of Slow vs. Fast
• 7 • Yin Yang of Perception vs. Reality
• 8 • Yin Yang of Fear vs. Confidence
• 9 • Yin Yang of Threes
• 10 • Yin Yang of Burden vs. Privilege
• 11 • Yin Yang of Anticipation vs. Surprise
• 12 • Yin Yang of Compliance vs. Resistance
• 13 • Yin Yang of Attacking vs. Defending
• 14 • Yin Yang of Fighting 360°
• 15 • Yin Yang of Teachers vs. Students
• 16 • Yin Yang of Physics vs. Physiology
• 17 • Yin Yang of Vulnerability vs. Opportunity
• 18 • Yin Yang of Martial Arts vs. Combat
• 19 • Yin Yang of Sport vs. Violence
• 20 • Yin Yang of Rhythm vs. Random
• 21 • Yin Yang of Stability
• 22 • Yin Yang of Strategy vs. Tactics
• 23 • Yin Yang of Instinct vs. Reason
• 24 • Yin Yang of Unstoppable vs. Immovable

• Fighting Science • Fighter’s Curve
• Fighting Science • Fighting Zones

Bio

• CEO • Strategist • Entrepreneur • Speaker
• Photographer • Designer • Creativist • Writer • Blogger
• Teacher • Trainer • Geek • INTJ • Father

Gabriel is a seasoned sales and marketing expert with over 25 years in senior positions at Motorola, VeriSign (acquired by Symantec in 2010 for 1.25 billion US$), SecureWorks (acquired by Dell in 2011 for 612 million US$), and Cognitive Security (acquired by Cisco in 2013 for 25 million US$). He is a blockchain entrepreneur, with strengths in international business strategy.

Gabriel has a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics from McMaster University in Canada and expert knowledge in crypto incubation, cloud computing, IT security, and digital video technology. Gabriel also runs his own company, Euro Tech Startups s.r.o.

Hobbies include photography, video production, motion graphics, digital graphics, photo restoration, carpentry, martial arts, traveling, blogging, and trying to be better than yesterday.