PRACTICAL ABILITY

By Russ Adler

To get right to the point, practical deals with practice or action geared toward useful activities while ability deals with one’s aptitude and/or competence with a given activity.  So what we are talking about is one’s competence or skill level in performing useful tasks.  While that is a broad statement regarding tasks, we will mainly focus on combative related activities in relation to training and various methods of preparation to that end.

The majority of humans are born with an inherent ability to survive by continuous learning and by performing basic tasks such as walking, eating, sleeping, etc.  The basic tasks that we perform with our large muscle groups such as crawling, walking, running, etc., are known as gross motor skills.  Conversely, the skills that utilize our small muscle groups that require coordination such as hand – eye tasks like grabbing, writing, etc., are known as fine motor skills.  In a combative situation, a comparison can be made between a front kick and a hook kick.  The front kick is more of a gross motor movement technique that utilizes the large muscles in the leg with a movement similar to walking while the hook kick incorporates multiple directions, balance and coordination (lots of fine motor elements) in order for it to be executed properly.

The question is how do you develop and/or enhance your abilities in a practical manner that will substantially increase your chances of survival in any given situation?  Studies show that it takes approximately 3000 repetitions to create a motor skill.  Does that mean a fine motor skill or a gross motor skill?

There are several factors involved in creating a practical skill.  Repetition, no doubt is key.  But don’t forget about the old adage perfect practice makes perfect.  Bad tactics and bad techniques equal a bad situation all the way around and less chance of survival when it counts.  So let’s talk about what it takes to develop a motor skill.

First, you have to have a standard from which to identify strengths and shortcomings (I don’t like to use the word weakness) in order to target areas to improve upon.  For example, we use a basic standards course of fire in all of our shooting courses.  The reason is two-fold.  One, it gives an idea of where all of the participants are and two; it gives a foundation from which to build on and compare.  I use this reason because it involves the use of simple math to calculate the results.  This process works well with exercising and weight training as well due the number/math factor whereas it is a little bit more difficult to gauge improvement or decline from a hand-to-hand combatives perspective outside of just plain operator fluidity and comfortability with the techniques over a set timeframe.  It can be done though and we do have a formula that documents these factors.

After a standard is set, one must have a specific goal in mind as to the desired level of improvement, period of time in which to accomplish said improvement and flexibility in order to accommodate other needs, move to another area of focus that may be identified as a more immediate need, or re-evaluate your goals as improvement are made or if the need for remedial training is necessary.

Once a standard is set, a training routine is developed and goals are set, met, improved upon, re-evaluated, etc.; the next step is introspection in order to go over your skill sets to identify where to go next.  Say you are a great distance runner and your strength is satisfactory.  On your next training evolution, emphasize more on the strength factor and set a goal that is not only realistic, but one that will get you out of your comfort zone and make you work hard to attain it.  If you are a great pistol shooter, focus your firearms training more on the long gun for a training cycle, or if you are a great hand-to-hand striker, focus more on your ground fighting in the next evolution.  There are many exercise programs that focus on six weeks or 90 days, but I have found that a 3 week training cycle in all areas offers good balance.  Whether it’s strength training, conditioning, shooting, high performance tactical driving, etc., a three week cycle is a good timeframe allowing a goal to be set and attained, with the opportunity to move right into another goal and if neither is accomplished in that specific timeframe, you’ll be back at it again with a new approach and focus within six to nine weeks so that it stays fresh on your mind and forward progress is always at the forefront of your efforts.

There are circumstances that a decline in skill and ability is noticed and it should be noted that this can be due to the plateau effect (which is why we conduct our training iterations in three week cycles) or it can be that you have reached maximum potential and slight degrees (between one and five percent) of improvement and decline are observed.

I have found in the training that I have conducted for people with a wide range of skill levels in various areas of fitness and combat related training, that the range of improvement levels for fine motor skills is between twelve and twenty-eight percent and gross motor skill improvements are between six and eleven percent.  Now I’m not a scientist nor do I claim to be an expert.  This information garnered from my personal observations from over twenty years of experience in the business.  With that said I will concede that those figures are not exact by any means, but I will stand behind them as being as pretty close to fact as you can get without having a bunch of letters behind your name, a staff of researchers, and the name of a major university with an important title on your letterhead.

In the end, each of us is the master of our own destiny and remember that there is always someone faster, stronger, meaner, and tougher.  So train hard, train often, and always watch your back!

Until Next Time … Take Care and Stay Aware!