I have used muscle memory alot in training certain techniques to be automatic reponses to various attacks. Mostly using counters that are effective against a variety of punches, kicks, etc that I may have thrown at me in a situation on the street. For me it has been effective but I was wondering what everyone else's thoughts are on this? Rob
I've only experienced 'muscle memory' first hand once. It happened when someone pushed me into a door and I instantly - almost like a reflex - front snap-kicked them in the stomach and they went flying. I was just like 'Whoa!'. I'm not sure if it was just the fact that I had been practicing my kicks the night before or what. It wasn't a good thing at the time though, because I didn't want to hurt the person that badly. They just sprawled on the floor and said 'I'm sorry!' - and I'd be willing to bet they won't try pushing me again. I don't really know anything about muscle memory - but I'd guess that if you train a technique enough, it eventually becomes 'muscle memory' - in other words it requires no concious thought to 'remember' how to do the technique - it just flows. Sweeet
Muscle memory! I like that Idea. That is a good Idea, become one with the fist. One with your body so that when you need to move you just do it freely with nothing to hold you back. As Bruce said "don't think, feel" When you start to think like, well I'm gonna do this, and then I'll do that, you may hesitate, and start to think, well what if this doesnt work, or what if he counters with this. Then that could slow you down. So you should just move freely, so that when you want to punch you just do it. Without having to think, you should be able to exicute your techniques. Another quote from Bruce: "When the opponent expands I contract, and when he contracts I expand, and when there is an opportunity, I do not hit. It hits all by itself." Become one with the fist. I think muscle memory is a good thing. But don't forget that muscle memory is not all to it.
I think you’re getting mixed up between muscle memory and doing things by instinct. Its not like muscles have a memory and decided to kick the person, that’s caused by years of martial arts training which makes that your instinctive response. Muscle memory is what allowed you to move your weight onto your other leg, raise your knee and do and snap kick without thinking about each step in the movement. In martial arts everything is about muscle memory. When a student first learns a technique it's all about learning the step-by-step moves to accomplish the action. After much practice (years of practice) the technique is simply known in a non-cognitive way. It even becomes difficult to replay the original step-by-step sequence, unless you spend time learning to become an instructor. It is of course very important to get past doing it step-by-step, which is very slow and error prone, to muscle memory, which is as fast as your physical reaction is.
I think this still have to do with muscle memory to an extent, however i see what you are saying also. Very Good point. I can agree with that
I think that muscle memory is good to train with. We do a lot of what rob said. Train against types of punchs and kicks. I didnt put too much thought in it until i was at school one day getting ready to go to a class. I was standing outside of the room talking to a girl when a bud of mine came up and went to either poke, punch or grab my side to scare me and when he went for it one of my hands went for a block and the other went for a wrist lock before i even knew it. The girl i was talkin to went wow how did you do that? i was stunned and said "hell if i know" but since then ive worked with them to try to better my automatic reponses system.
Muscle memory was one of the phrases i heard in the dojang, i have come to know my body so well through this - when something new comes along my body soon lets me know, i think it actually speaks to me, especially if the new move is very alien, i have treat it firmly but with respect(my body that is); at my age it demands respect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't you speaking of "Mushin-Mind, No Mind" Thru disciplined training your movements become second nature to you. You don't think about what you are doing, you just spontaneously react. This is what every Martial Artist strives for.
Bruce Lee was probably referring here to the feely aspect of Wing Chun whereby you learn to feel what your opponent is going to do and respond accordingly. You have to train to be very soft and to use the opponents techniques against themselves. So this "feel" is actually a physical think rather than an instinct muscle thing. Desiree
Ladyhawk, that is exactly what I'm referring to. Lately I've heard it mostly referred to using the "muscle memory" term by most people I train with. I haven't become completely able to react 100% by instinct alone, and likely never will (I am only human afterall ) but I do find that I react much faster with alot less thought since I have started training like this. Especially since most of my solo time is spent this way rather than going over pre-set defense sequences. Much like pgm316 said, I spend alot of time going over one technique (or series of techniques) that works on many different attacks, performing it step by step against them and while standing, sitting, or moving in different manners and directions. Eventually it becomes something I don't think about at all, it just flows like any natural movement. Rob
It's a really awesome feeling of accomplishment when you do manage to react like that, isn't it? The more you train, the more natural it becomes. I surprise myself sometimes. It's over and done before I could think. We're all human and I'm not sure if it is possible to react 100% by instinct alone.
The feeling is undescribable. I am constantly doing something that totally blows my own mind, even if it is something simple. That's one of the main reasons I love training, I am always learning, reading, or something like that and there is no end to learning in the arts. Rob
