Details matter more than you realize….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"article":"Reflecting on my weekend in Vegas, as I always do after the World Master competition has concluded, I am constantly reminded of one thing: the details are supremely important in everything we do.\u00a0 This fact gets put under a glaring spotlight the higher the level you wish to perform at.\r\n\r\nRecapping my last 4 appearances at this event, I lost a match by not holding a scoring position for 1 more second when I was in easy position to do so.\u00a0 I lost a match because I lost focus and gave up an advantage point with 15 seconds left.\u00a0 I lost a match because my body was just not in great shape heading into the event, and this weekend I probably lost a match due to one single bad hand position while in my opponent\u2019s guard.\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s personally very painful to revisit these losses because 3 of them could very easily have been wins and could have put me on the podium.\u00a0 For those of us that spend the time and money to travel to this event, there is no reward or feeling of accomplishment by simply participating.\u00a0 That feeling goes away after a couple competitions.\u00a0 There is only reward in winning.\u00a0 Winning at this level requires almost perfect execution of technique.\u00a0 If a mistake is made, it becomes increasingly difficult to correct with more experienced practitioners.\r\n\r\nWhen you start learning any martial art, it\u2019s hard enough to just learn the basic moves.\u00a0 Just getting the gross body motion down takes time.\u00a0 It\u2019s an impossible task early on to understand the nuances of slightly different grips, or hand positions, or leg positions.\u00a0 To the new student, it all looks the same.\u00a0 However, if you want to progress as quickly as possible, focusing on the details is absolutely essential.\r\n\r\nAs instructors, we see this all the time.\u00a0 Students go through the motions but miss, or are unaware of important details.\u00a0 It is our job to correct those details as quickly as possible.\u00a0 Think about a basic sweep from guard.\u00a0 Your hands and feet have to go somewhere on your opponent.\u00a0 Whether you use good technique or sloppy technique, you are going through the motions.\u00a0 Why not focus on doing the technique as accurately as possible each and every time?\u00a0 Every time you do a technique you are reinforcing your body to do it the way you just did it.\u00a0 Do it poorly, and you are locking in poor technique.\u00a0 Do it well and deliberately, you are locking in improved performance.\r\n\r\nOften times it\u2019s hard to understand WHY a technique is done one way vs another.\u00a0 As a new student, you simply need to trust the instructors that they are showing you the best way they know how to do the techniques.\u00a0 Eventually, after many repetitions, a lot of the \u201cwhy\u2019s\u201d will become self-evident, and you will start to understand how important the details are to execute great technique.\r\n\r\nA great analogy I like to use regarding this is painting a room in your house.\u00a0 About 99% of the paint you put on the wall goes on with a roller, and if we stopped with that 99%, the room would still look like garbage because you would have missed cutting the paint in a straight line at the ceiling and the baseboards.\u00a0 It\u2019s that last 1%, the tedious part, the hard part, that makes all the difference.\u00a0 In painting, about 50% of the effort goes into getting 99% of the paint on the wall, and the other 50% of the effort goes into getting that last 1% on the wall.\u00a0 Same thing when learning martial arts, and probably most everything else we learn in life.\u00a0 Don\u2019t settle for 99%.\u00a0 Strive for 100%.\u00a0 At 99% completion, you may only still be half way to your goal.","featured_image":"","featured_image_id":"","featured_article":""},"categories":[],"class_list":["post-451","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n