Assessing performance and correcting errors are important internal skills for the martial arts student to develop.

But
how does one develop this skill? To do so, the martial arts instructor needs to consciously teach skill just as he or
she teaches proper execution of a side kick or using faking techniques during sparring. owever, teaching the
development of using internal sources of information for feed!ack may !e something many martial arts instructors
were not taught themselves. "o often when we teach skills, our response to the student#s performance involves
correcting errors or giving general praise, neither of which are conducive to teaching the student how to self$correct
errors. %n fact, these responses tend to create excessive dependence upon the instructor#s feed!ack and presence.
&or effective learning to occur, the individual must receive feed!ack regarding performance. That feed!ack can !e
external from a teacher or videotape or a test, or it can !e internal o!servations !y the individual learner. 'ithout
feed!ack of some type the individual may not learn at all or may learn incorrect information. owever, the pro!lem
that can occur with teaching is that feed!ack from the instructor regarding accepta!le performance can make the
student more dependent upon such feed!ack. (ast research tended to focus primarily on the importance of external
feed!ack) however, more recent research indicates that internal feed!ack can !e even more important than external
feed!ack when the student knows the skills !ut is working on consistently implementing correct performance. %n
addition, research has indicated that frequent feed!ack may increase the student#s dependence upon feed!ack from
the instructor and that when the instructor is not present performance decreases due to the lack of reliance on the
student#s internal sources of information.
How can the martial arts instructor encourage the process within the student of developing internal methods
of feedback? The first step in any type of teaching physical skills, of course, involves providing the student with a
standard of correct technique and how to perform the technique. This can !e given through demonstration,
videotapes, written materials, or physically guiding the student through the process. *ften a com!ination of these
methods can !e most effective. *nce the student has learned the !asic skill and is in the process of perfecting
performance, the issue of teaching the student to self$correct errors !ecomes crucial.
The following suggestions may !e useful in teaching this process+
,- %f the instructor notices the student reacting to an error such as through a nonver!al grimace or a ver!al
statement, he.she can ask the student what the student noticed and how the error can !e corrected. This forces the
student to focus on the internal information that was apparent to the student and to develop a plan for solving the
pro!lem. %n addition, it provides the instructor a chance to assess the student#s internal perfectionistic demands and
to help the student reframe those self$statements.
/- Teaching the martial arts student to use internal sources of feed!ack can !e accomplished !y asking the student
questions regarding his.her performance prior to giving the student feed!ack. At first, these questions need to !e
very specific to help the student focus on different aspects of the performance. &or instance, questions could
include, 01id you maintain a low stance?2 or 01id your punch fully extend?2 %n the case of correct assessment of
performance, the instructor can indicate agreement with the student#s assessment. owever, if the student is
unaware of certain performance errors or incorrectly identifies errors, the instructor could then explain proper
performance. This method allows student to !ecome more o!servant and aware of their movements and
performance.
3- An extension of the a!ove process would !e to have the student evaluate their performance !y using a videotape
or mirror as a source of feed!ack. owever, these methods are external sources of feed!ack similar to an
instructor#s feed!ack and shouldn#t !e relied upon to the exclusion of internal information sources. They can !est
!e used as an intermediate step in teaching the student to rely more on internal cues or when the skill !eing
assessed is more complex. "ome students may !e initially unaware of the internal cues and may need the assistance
of the visual information.
4- By following the a!ove procedures, the instructor is also reducing the frequency of external feed!ack which is
replaced !y greater reliance on the student#s internal information. owever, the instructor still needs to provide
encouragement !y praising specific correct actions and successes. To do so, the instructor needs to provide specific
information such as 05ou are increasing the speed of your punches2 rather than generic 06ood punch.2
7sing this type of teaching method requires more work on the instructor#s part and may !e more difficult to
implement in a group setting. owever, it pays off through greater student motivation and accurate self$assessment
when the instructor is not present which in the long run improves learning skills and performance.
/. &requently, athletes are so caught up in the excitement of their career and on developing the necessary skills and
techniques to succeed in their sports career that they don#t anticipate what may occur when their sports career ends.
"ports careers are different than many other careers !ecause they frequently end at a much younger age than
standard retirement age and often may end unexpectedly. The transition can !e made somewhat easier the more the
athlete recogni8es the issues in ending the career and prepares for life after a sports career.
&irst, it is critical to recogni8e that the athlete#s self$identity is typically insepara!le from their role as an athlete.
*ften for many years the major focus in their life is on developing as an athlete and succeeding in their chosen
sport. 'hen the sports career ends, it leaves a major hole in the athlete#s life. 'hether the career ended as planned
or suddenly, the athlete experiences a significant loss that can !e as devastating as losing a loved one. The end of
the career doesn#t mean just not engaging in the sport anymore. %t also changes the athlete#s role+ he or she is no
longer an 0athlete.2 %n addition, it affects others# perception of the individual) he or she may no longer get the
recognition for their accomplishment. *ther changes may include changes in living situation, financial status, and
leisure time. 9ven though change can !e for the !etter, all change involves loss. And whether we want to recogni8e
it or not, all human !eings react to loss. &or athletes who have suddenly ended their career due to something such as
an injury, the loss can !e even more profound.
The :u!ler$;oss model developed from o!servations with terminally ill patients has often !een used to explain our
reactions to different types of loss. The model identifies five stages of grief that individual#s experience+ denial,
!argaining, anger, sadness, and acceptance. The initial stage of denial can !e manifested in different ways for an
athlete depending on the circumstances of the career ending. An athlete with a career$ending injury may deny the
severity of the injury and insist that she will return to the sport. &or athletes with planned endings, we sometimes
see them returning to the sport after retirement. The stage of !argaining can !e manifested !y the athlete trying to
negotiate ways to continue in the sports career. *r it could !e an injured athlete trying to make a deal with 6od+ 0%f
you cure me, % will devote my life to helping others.2 Anger sets in when the athlete reali8es that the end of the
career is a reality. "ometimes the anger is clearly directed against a target such as someone who caused the injury.
*ther times it can !e more diffuse and !e manifested as general irrita!ility and a tendency to get in conflict with
others. The anger stage !reaks through the last vestiges of denial which causes the full impact of the loss to !e felt.
The grief process can occur over a few months or a person can !ecome stuck in the grief for years and never
resolve it. The final stage of acceptance occurs after the athlete has allowed him or herself to fully experience the
emotions related to the loss.
The termination of a sports career can !e easier or harder depending upon the athlete#s preparation for termination
and how it is handled !y those around him or her. %f the athlete has engaged in retirement planning which includes
developing plans for another career, for future financial sta!ility, and for handling other people#s reactions then the
termination of a sports career can occur more smoothly. Although athletes may not want to deal with it, engaging in
this process for the potential of something unexpected such as an injury can !e very !eneficial as well. The coach
can make the termination process easier !y addressing it as part of an athlete#s training) just as mental skills are
!ecoming more accepted as important to an athlete#s success, planning and goal$setting for the future can also !e
seen as an integral part of the training. The more the coach makes this clear, the more the athlete will accept it. The
coach can have experts on retirement planning talk to the athletes periodically to help with the process. After career
termination the coach can !e supportive to the athlete !y helping him or her understand the grief process and that it
is normal to experience it.
3. Training 0smart2 is more important than the amount of daily practice. Too often an athlete !elieves that the more
he or she practices, the more proficient he.she will !ecome. owever, this plan is not only ineffective, !ut it can
also !e detrimental to achieving the desired outcome. An athlete who practices frequently and hard without an
overall plan will !e more likely to suffer the effects of overtraining such as !urn$out, exhaustion, and increased
injuries rather than actually improving performance. By developing a set of specific goals and a plan for reaching
those goals, athletes can more effectively use their practice time and even reduce the time required in practice to
attain their goals. *!viously, this does not mean that the martial artist can achieve rank or win tournaments with
little practice) it means that the athlete does not need to waste time through ineffective practice and through the
harmful effects of overtraining.
"etting performance goals is !eneficial for a num!er of reasons. %n addition to improving the quality of practice, it
reduces !oredom and increases motivation. 'hen the martial artist is a!le to o!serve progress towards a goal on a
daily or weekly !ais, he or she is more likely to remain interested in achieving that goal. %f instead, he.she engages
in routine practice towards a !elt rank that is six months away, it is easier to !ecome discouraged. %n addition, goal
setting helps the athlete know what is expected which allows for greater attention to a particular skill that needs to
!e developed. Thus, practice !ecomes more focused and efficient. &inally, setting realistic, achieva!le goals
increases the athlete#s self$confidence which is crucial to the ultimate outcome of success. "elf$confidence
increases !ecause his.her attitude regarding success !ecomes more positive as goals are accomplished.
This issue of goal$setting is especially important when developing complex skills such as required !y sparring.
"parring is one of the most complex of athletic endeavors !ecause it requires the development of numerous skills
that must !e smoothly integrated with one another to achieve a successful performance. %n addition, it is an
individual sport so there is no reliance on other team mem!ers. The martial artist needs to !e completely committed
to the outcome and a!le to see him.herself as capa!le of achieving that outcome. %f all the intermediate goals can !e
viewed as leading progressively towards the final outcome, the martial artist can !elieve not only the possi!ility,
!ut of the pro!a!ility of success.
How to Set Goals
,- To set effective goals, the difference !etween performance$oriented goals and outcome$oriented goals must !e
understood. (erformance$oriented goals which focus on achieving specific skills are more effective than outcome$
oriented goals which focus on winning or achieving an outcome. "uch goals are more effective !ecause they are
under the control of the athlete which improves pro!lem$solving a!ility and increases persistence. %n addition, the
athlete !ecomes more likely to value learning over the risk of making mistakes. The outcome$oriented martial artist
will try just hard enough to or achieve rank while trying to avoid the risk of error or loss. This prevents martial
artists from truly challenging themselves to achieve their greatest potential. *utcome$oriented goals do have their
place, however, in identifying what the martial artist ultimately wants to achieve such as o!taining the !lack !elt or
winning a tournament. owever, the performance$oriented goals give him.her the steps to reach that goal.
/- The next step in goal setting is to assess the martial artist#s current skill level and to identify what specific skills
need to !e developed further to achieve the desired outcome. &or instance, if the martial artist#s outcome$oriented
goal is to win at a point$sparring tournament, he needs to determine what performance factors need to !e improved.
Through o!serving his performance of tape and getting feed!ack from others, he might determine that that he needs
to throw faster, higher kicks.
3- *nce the specific goal has !een identified, the goal should then !e stated in a positive, measura!le way that is
realistic, !ut challenging. &or example+ 0<y goal is to increase the height of my kicks !y six inches.2
4- Target dates are then identified+ 0<y goal is to increase the height of my kicks !y six inches in the next six
months. To do so, % will need to increase the height of my kicks !y one inch a month.
=- The martial artist should then determine what are the methods to achieve this goal. &or the a!ove example, she
might decide to increase flexi!ility training and to practice higher kicks on a target !ag which allows her to measure
the height.
>- As the martial artist works toward his goal, he should record his progress and share it with others. The process of
sharing the goal and progress with others increases his commitment and allows others to give him encouragement.
?- &inally, the martial artist should have a reward system in place when goals are achieved. This encourages follow
through and the development of future goals.