Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

This past weekend, I conducted a three-hour grading for several students. All of them are private clients. That is, they all have trained with me one-on-one since March 2020. For many, this was the first time they had seen each other since the beginning of the pandemic. The fact that they had trained only with me meant they were used to my training rhythm. So I decided to break their rhythm during the grading randomly.

Since I had trained them all exclusively on my flow drills, I decided they would pair up and go through the flow drills up to their levels. They were comfortable doing them with me.

But how would they do with those with different speeds, timing and rhythm? This was my evil plan to break their rhythm.

I thought to myself, “This is going to be fun.” HEHEHEHEHE!

I paired them up randomly and went through the flow drills, beginning with the first one. Nearly every time, they had trouble adjusting to their partner. They would initially be flustered and flub the drills. I let them all work through the frustrations. Usually, within a minute, they were on the way.

Ultimately, I was very pleased with everybody’s efforts, and they easily passed their test. Watching them push through the hurdle of working with unfamiliar partners was more pleasing than passing their exams. They successfully worked through partners with different rhythms.

In particular, Alex and Miguel smoked their black belt exams!

I also promoted Eric to 2nd Brown, Troy and Caiden to High Green, and Estelle and Joaquin to Low Green. They all performed superbly on their exams. I am very proud of them!

Miguel with his black belt certificate!
Alex smoked his black belt test!

After the grading, I pointed out that while they are enthusiastic about private lessons, there are downsides. While one can train with a highly experienced martial artist, there is a lack of variety. Training with me could help one get used to my speed, rhythm, and timing. I sometimes mix it up during our sessions, but it’s not the same as touching hands with a different person.

The grading was proof of that. They all had awkward moments with their randomly chosen partner and training with different rhythms. To their credit, they worked through those moments and went with the flow! Honestly, the grading gave me some ideas for future private lessons. One idea is to alter my timing, speed, and rhythm more often so that my students can learn to adjust to different conditions. We’ll see how that goes.

The Last Two Videos

If you are not able to view this video, click here.

It is not enough to memorize and flawlessly execute all 20 flow drills. One must delve deeper and learn which elements of a flow drill are appropriate for specific attacks. Further, you may find counters to techniques embedded in the flow drills. That’s when the flow drills reveal themselves and become truly fun!

In the above video, Alex demonstrated different responses to my low-line and high-line attacks. A palis palis response is much more appropriate for low-line attacks than high-line ones. Conversely, Abanico Corto works far better for a high-line attack than a low-line one. Once you get that down, have the feeder randomly feed low-line and high-line attacks. Most beginners will freeze momentarily to consider the appropriate response. That freeze point should disappear over time.

Admittedly, this is a basic angle recognition drill. One can either speed up the drill or insert additional responses to mix things up.

If you are not able to view this video, click here.

I love the Intercept Check drill! As stated in the video, I find the intercept check concept useful against speedy players and a change-up in my rhythm and timing! It’s pretty easy to apply this concept to other flow drills. Try it!

This Week’s Inspiration

If you are not able to view this video, click here.

What’s fantastic about this woman is that she took up sprinting AFTER she turned 100. What is the quote again? “It’s never too late to start!“

Additional Reading