Posted by As a beginner in martial arts training, you will come to know about so many useful and different concepts that will leave you bewildered. One of the most commonly used expressions in martial arts training is that you have muscle memory.
This means that just like you can remember other details of your body, your muscle remembers some details as well. When you perform some tasks daily, you practice them to a point that your body gets to remember them.
Situations where you need to use these things your body and mind don’t have to make a conscious decision. There are so many things that are performed just because we have muscle memory. One of the biggest issues is that people usually end up mixing this with reflex action. Both these concepts are entirely different.
What Is Muscle Memory And How It Is Different From Reflex Action?
Muscle memory is the ability of your mind to remember the details of some physical training.
The focus is on the word long because unless you do not do something repetitively for a long time. You will never be able to learn something and make it a part of your muscle memory.
The reflex action is the concept that is attached to the natural ability of our body to defend us. This concept is linked with no thinking and just working.
Your mind unconsciously performs some task that falls in the category of fight or flight without you thinking about it.
However, since reflex action doesn’t involve any thinking, this is an unconscious decision that you have no control over.
A simple example of understanding this concept is through a good example. Muscle memory is an acquired training and it is usually done deliberately.
Learning to drive is one of the best examples of muscle memory. You learn to drive in several days and then polish it until it becomes part of your muscle memory.
Since this is a deliberate decision you will notice that people have some learned habits that make them stand out. This is also the reason you will notice that people usually have different styles of driving.
Even after so many years if you get back to driving, you will be able to control a situation. Because the moment you get in the driving seat, your brain starts to respond automatically according to muscle memory.
On the contrary reflex action is an unconscious defense of the system that involves no thinking. A simple example is a way you automatically raise your hands when something is thrown at you. There is no thinking involved so the way you handle a situation can vary.
How Muscle Memory Can Change Your Martial Arts Training?
You also need to know how it can change your martial arts training for good. To develop muscle memory you have to perform the task on repeat and this should be a deliberate decision.
This is exactly what you do when you train. Rather than kicking someone when they get close to you or gripping them when you have to tackle them and making a deliberate decision, you are making it a part of your muscle memory through exercise.
This way you will perfect the technique to a point that your muscle will be able to respond right away. This helps with speed, precision, and also in a clean and swift movement.
Where at the start of the learning you might struggle with completing a maneuver. Because you find it hard to estimate. Muscle memory resolves that issue and make it a very unconscious decision to estimate the distance, precious and the speed.
You will be able to make your response strong and worthy of your time without injuring your body.
The Benefit Of Muscle Memory For Mastering A Task
Muscle memory has so many different benefits.
It makes learning express a part of your daily life. And you get to benefit without thinking what is the response.
Here are benefits that will help you know why it is good for your martial arts training:
- Muscle memory helps with speed
- It helps in the perfect execution of something without draining you to injuring you
- It also helps in the precision and estimation of details
- It reduces the response time of the body
- It helps in staying conscious and mindful of situations
- It helps in handling situations in a much better way without any fumbling
- With the help of muscle memory, you also end up practicing tasks with safety
Bottom Line
When you make something a part of your muscle memory you will remember some version of it throughout your life.
When you get out of practice the body might not be able to perform the same task with same precision.
But it will remember some version of it and try to replicate it over time.
For the martial arts training, you will see that the things that you learn and the moves you will practice will also become a part of your daily routine.
You will be able to lift things easily and estimate the weight and distance of the things as well. This will become the functional training that will help you handle real-life situations as well.