Damn that hurt!!! My instructor had just kicked me in the ribs. He wasn't holding back either and throwing techniques that I was just about holding off. Then it happened. A moment of clarity. I could see it in slow motion what was going to happen.
I knew he was going to throw a reverse punch (gyakazuki) and as clear as day I visualised what I was going to do. With my back leg, I was going to step to his side (away from the punch) then with my front leg, bring it up underneath his punch and hook kick him in the head.
And guess what...it worked. I couldn't believe it. It looked like something out of a movie (well in my head it did anyway), and the sad thing is, I've never been able to do it again.
There is lots out there to read on visualisation techniques and how to apply them to your training, but for me, visualisation has always helped me to pick up new things.
When you're being shown a drill or a kata, instead of 'thinking' that you need to place this hand here, that foot there, try and picture what it would look like.
After all a picture paints a thousand words.
But this doesn't just need to be confined to the dojo! Have you ever tried a new sport, or even something you've done before like, football or snooker. Rather than thinking about what you have to do, visualise yourself actually doing it and what you want the outcome to look like. The brain is a really clever thing, but sometimes overthinking can cause it to become overwhelmed. By literally keeping it simple and just imagining what you want to do, it can do the rest.
So next time you come to do something technical or new, rather than thinking too much about what you have to do, try and visualise it and see what happens.
Jez
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