09/14/2026
Learn It Before You Change It
One of the biggest temptations in martial arts is learning a technique and immediately wanting to change it.
"This feels easier if I put my foot here."
"It works better for me if I grab this way."
"What if I do this instead?"
There’s nothing wrong with experimenting. That’s part of growing as a martial artist. But before you start changing a technique, learn to do it the way you were taught.
There’s usually a reason for the foot position, angle, posture, timing, distance, or direction of movement. You may not understand that reason yet, and that’s okay. Sometimes you need to practice something for a while before you begin to feel why it works.
That’s also why repetitions matter.
Doing a technique correctly once means you’re starting to understand it. Doing it correctly over and over teaches your body how to move without having to think through every little step. Eventually, the movement starts to become natural.
But there’s a catch. Repetition only helps if you’re repeating the right movement. Practice a mistake 100 times and you’ve just gotten really good at doing the mistake. 😄
So give yourself time.
Learn it. Practice it. Repeat it. Refine it.
Once you understand the technique and can perform it consistently, then start exploring variations and seeing how it can adapt to different situations.
First build the foundation. Then make it your own.
Slow is smooth. Smooth becomes natural. Natural becomes fast. 🥷
