Interested in learning a new dance step or knitting pattern? Always wanted to learn how to throw a curveball or how to surf?  Learning something physical comes naturally to some people.  We all know the type of person who can be shown how to do something quite elaborate and within 3 minutes is doing it themselves.  For most of us however, doing something physical may not come naturally or easy even if the motivation is there.

Learning a new physical activity can be hard. You feel clumsy and awkward, you feel like you’re being watched like a hawk, and you consider quitting when you’re not getting it right.  But remember: everyone starts where they are, and the best dancer/fighter/runner/juggler (or insert your interest here) was where you are now once in their life.  No one is born with near-perfect coordination over their body, it always takes some time to build it.

A number of years ago I did some training at the Straight Blast Gym, one of the best mixed martial arts gyms in the world.  Other than being thrown around the mat like a ragdoll by UFC champ Randy Couture (yes, I’m a name dropper), I had the privilege of training with someone who has had a profound impact on the way people train in modern martial arts.  His name is Matt Thornton and the steps I’m going to outline are based on his steps for learning a new martial arts movement as covered in his original Functional Jeet Kune Do series.  But this is certainly not limited to punching, kicking, or choking – as you’ll likely see, the same steps work just as well for learning just about any physical activity provided you want to do it well and do it “for real” (i.e. you don’t just want to pretend you can pull it off, you actually want to be able to pull it off in a real setting).

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