70 Percent

Friday, 31 July 2009

Seventy percent of you reading this won't do it but for the remaining thirty percent consider this.
When you train and you want to bring up your level of intensity in order to maximise your performance you might notice that when you get to 100% full out you may well not perform as well as you'd hoped. Take for example all the guys trying to smash the boxing pad at the amusements park. The harder they try and hit this the lower their scores are compared to the guy that just hits hard for a bit of fun.
Why does this happen? Well it's quite easy to explain really if you think about it. The harder you try the more tense and fatigued you become and this ends up acting like a big brake on your performance. The secret is to go at 70% and you will find you will perform much better. In fact that is probably where you start to peak out.
This can also be applied to rolling as well as striking. Next time you roll hard, go 70% even if the other guy is trying to monster you. You will find you will move more fluidly and will respond and see things quicker.
How do I know this?? Well apart from trying it for myself, Guru Dan Inosanto gets us to do it all the time. He will shout, "Do it at 70%!!" Why?? Well it's not because he doesn't want us to get too tired in his class or seminar but because he wants to get the best out of us.