How to Quickly and Mindfully Work on Your Training Goals
I set myself monthly drilling goals in my MMA training, and I can feel they have an enormous impact on my performance.
When my training is over, and I have trouble standing on my feet and all I want is to eat, go home and sleep — even if it is only 11 am — I tell my training partner:
“You know what are we gonna do now, right?”
Yeah, that is a bit of a lie. It sounds more like: “Oh… Omg… I’m so freaking tired… Ugh. Hey. You know. Right?!”
And I grab my partner, who we committed to drill with after every class.
How my monthly drilling goals started
This is something my friend Loma at Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA gym taught me. Before my MMA fight at TFC in August 2022, I was working on how to catch a kicking leg, because my opponent came from a Muay Thai background so we expected she will kick a lot. After every single class we had been together, Loma dragged me to the mats half-dead and made me drill the catch and take down. Only 10x or 20x, so it was fast and sweet and I could find that bit of extra energy in me.
Four weeks later, I fought. I was not able to finish the takedown, but I caught every single kick my opponent threw — well, kicked, at me. It was just a reflex that we built. I was surprised!
I saw how just a few mindful repetitions per day can have a huge impact.
Important factors:
1. We focused on two things we drilled, not more. I think three are still OK
2. We drilled every time we happened to be in the same class, usually daily or twice per day
3. We kept this for 4 weeks. Read—framed period of time
A few months later, this developed into a routine of monthly drilling goals. I give myself 1–3 techniques or situations I wish to work on that particular month.
1. It can be a move I struggle with or am working on,
2. a bad habit,
3. or on the opposite hand a habit I need to develop.
I make a deal with a training partner to do this together and we keep doing this for a month. Then I see if I am satisfied with the results, and either keep drilling that or set up new drilling goals.
Why this works
This very short (10–20 min/day) and time-limited (x weeks) and focused exercise (techniques a, b, c) helps me to direct my attention and effort into specific techniques, and really work on them. Rather than just writing down what I need to improve at and trying to do that over time (which I do also).
As a bonus, the fact that you drill this after a session when you are tired will even help to create a new habit, a new reflex, not only to repeat a technique.
Try it and let me know!
