Beginner students in martial arts come to ‘learn moves’ and ‘get stronger.’ It is not an exaggeration to say that most people are so inactive that anything they do — no matter the exercise or movements — they will lead them to move better and get stronger. And they will love this. Visible progress is like cocaine. In fact, learning requires dopamine which is the ‘anticipation of reward’ neurotransmitter that forms the basis of addictions. You can get hooked on making quick gains. As new students progress, however, the gains in learning movements diminish and the rush of new strength peters out, and you start hitting a ‘learning plateau.” It takes work, repeating the same moves hundreds if not thousands of times to get through the plateau. Why?
Because the body is still catching up on the ‘getting stronger’ part. The moves you learn as a martial artist are designed to condition the body, to shape and sculpt the body. For every movement, the skeleton molds itself, the neurons connect, the muscle fibers pennate and the fascia morphs like an army of collagenous amoebas. The movement, in a way, is water for the garden of all these tissues to grow into the structure that is ideally shaped for your movements. That growth happens at a regular and slow pace and requires the consistent application of practicing movement. What’s nice is that after conditioning the tissues for a while, a synergy develops. it is almost as if the shape you have molded your body now guides (dictates is too strong a word) your movement, accelerating your learning. So, go practice!