Fundamentals are so important. It is true in the following phrase “A house is only as good its its foundation”. In the Martial Sciences you will only be as good as your training in the fundamentals. If you mess this up you may build a house of cards that will fall down in a light breeze. (or a self-defense situation) No, you really need to pay attention to your training in the basics and you need to constantly train those fundamental basics. It is not about the quantity of how much you train those fundamental basics but instead on how well you practice them! Take your time and build your foundation up. Once your fundamentals are solid then you can explore infinitely! As I was telling someone the other night in our system of Instinctive Response Training it takes about three years to have experience in all of the fundamentals. If you have trained well and put in considerable effort during this time and been corrected on mistakes then you should be ready to really explore and take off to incredible journeys in your Martial Science training. Of course some people may take less time and some others will take more. The point is that if your fundamentals are strong you will have the opportunity to be a good martial practitioner. Yet, if you mess them up. Well you may have a lot and I do mean a lot more training to do to ever have the opportunity to get it right. Fundamental basics are essential so do not rush to fast! Once you have them you will be happy you put in the work and will work even harder to keep these skill sets!!!
Brian R. VanCise
Note: This blog is opinion only and neither Instinctive Response Training LLC or Brian R. VanCise are responsible for any third party actions.
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Agreed 100%
I am watching my youngest, who is just starting out in Aikido, and I am so very happy that they are focusing on the basics with her and not jumping her right into things she is not ready for and because of this I now see her get into that basic stance when we play and I think it is mighty cool. I am also rather proud of her for being so patient, at such a young age, and wanting to work on the basics and not be in a hurry to get to the more advanced stuff that she sees in every class.
Many are in such a hurry to be dangerous or a master that they fly right through the basics or once they learn them they move on and never revisit them again and I fully believe this is a big mistake. You need the basics they are the foundation of any art.
Absolutely Tim! Great comment!!!
Fundamentals are the absolute bedrock of training — if you want to be successful. Too many people want to focus on the fancy stuff, the “advanced moves” before they have solid fundamentals. Without the solid fundamentals, the advanced stuff can’t work, or work right. I was fortunate enough to have an instructor who placed an the emphasis on learning the basics and absorbing them properly instead of just learning a lot of different stuff.
Well said Jim!!!