In martial arts, the acquisition of skills is a complex process that goes beyond rote repetition and high repetition training, commonly known as "drilling." While drilling may be effective in embedding movements in the nervous system, relying solely on it limits an athlete's ability to adapt and ...

The world of martial arts has been long dominated by the belief that repetitive drilling leads to perfected techniques and muscle memory. However, this conventional wisdom is often contradicted by research and practices in the dynamic and complex sports of MMA, BJJ, and Kickboxing. In t...

Unlock the Power of Martial Arts with Effective Learning: The Myth of Muscle Memory The concept of ‘muscle memory’ has been around for centuries, with proponents believing that muscles can permanently store information and recall movements without conscious thought. While it is true that doing so...

Ask any coach or practitioner of Jiu-jitsu why they drill, and most will inevitably offer some typical rationales like ‘muscle memory’, ‘perfecting technique’ and the ‘importance of repetition’. And given these intuitions and beliefs, it’s unsurprising how much training time is allocated to drill...

For the next few minutes, try forgetting what you know about the skill learning process. Rather think about how a typical day starts. Wake up, move, shower, eat, get organized, go to work. Whatever. As we get moving, we begin to navigate and interact with our environment to achieve our tasks and ...

To say I was invited to be a part of this discussion would be a stretch. Rather I emailed Dr Rob Gray of the Perception & Action podcast to pester him for the opportunity. I have been a fan and long time subscriber to Dr Gray's podcast and content. Prof Rob is a researcher and educator with m...