"Preparation - Pivotal To Success"

From: Jason Stanley
3rd Dan Shitoryu
4th May, 2003

If you have ever painted anything - a car, a house, a wall or a cabinet, then you'll know that preparation is pivotal to attaining the best result. The more time you spend preparing the surface by cleaning away any grease and grime, filling and sanding until the surface is smooth, choosing and applying the correct primer, the better the paint will stick and the nicer the finish will be. In fact many people say that the best paint finish comes from 80% preparation and just 20% actual painting.

Ok so that's great... what the heck has that got to do with karate? I thought this was KarateTips, not home improvement!

Karate is similar. The more time you spend preparing for a particular event or self defense situation, the better you will perform. Look at the best sports people in the world... do they prepare or do they just turn up to their competition after a heavy night on the town? The elite put in countless hours training both their minds and their bodies. The best competitors in the world prepare themselves to the extreme! This is one of the key factors that determines their success.

An international competitor and friend of mine changes his kata slightly depending on which referees will be judging his kata! He has done so much preparation and research that he knows particular referees are looking for specific things in certain katas. He then customizes his kata to suit them, thereby maximizing his chances of winning. This is preparation to the extreme, and it is one factor attributing to his continual success. This is a perfect example of removing any imperfections in the cabinet door prior to painting.

So what exactly is preparation?

Preparation is learning as much about something as you can before it occurs. Preparation is making the situation as predictable as possible for you. Preparation results in there being as few surprises as possible. Perfect preparation leads to having the answers to every single question asked of you.

If you know exactly what is going to occur then you can deal with it easily. Anything less results in having to adapt and change your game plan. This creates uncertainty and the result is then questionable. While it might not be possible to know exactly what is going to happen, good preparation can help you make qualified and thought out decisions that will maximize your chances of controlling the outcome.

You've probably seen people who "make it look easy". Perhaps you're even one of them? These types of people make things easy by doing the hard work and solid preparation beforehand. Sure they have talent too, but the best of the best prepare themselves exceptionally well.

So how do you prepare?

Research
Learn as much as you can ahead of time about the event that you are preparing for whether it be kumite for competition, kata for your next grading or self defense application to save your life. You need to know the rules, what's expected of you, and typically what happens in any given situation. There are several places where you can do your research.

• Books & Magazines
  Read books, books and more books on the subject you want to learn more about. Available at your local bookstore or quickly and easily over the Internet.
  
  
• Videos
  You can buy information applicable to what you want to learn simply and easily over the Internet - both DVDs and video cassettes with the information already compiled for you.
  
  
• Downloads
  If you can't afford videos there are plenty of them on the Internet that you can download for free. Make your own private collection of your favorite kata, techniques and fighting combinations and store them on your computer or on CD. Be prepared to spend a lot of time hunting down exactly what you need, but if you've got the time, this is a great way to find what your looking for without the expense.
  

Role Model
The term "role model" is commonly used, but what does this really mean? A role model is someone who you can use as a model to create your own success. Look at other people who have done what you want to achieve. Then base your actions on your role model. Do not deviate and make up your own version of their routine. If you want to achieve the same as they have, model them exactly! Do what they do. Emulate them to the best of your ability.

If you can, ask your role model for their secrets. Of course you have to be subtle about this! If you simply say "tell me everything you know" you're probably not going to get very far. However showing a genuine interest in what they've achieved and showing your willingness to learn will go a long way.

Ask them what to expect, what to do, what not to do, and what obstacles they had to overcome to attain their goals. Learn as much as you can from your role model. There is no sense reinventing the wheel. Ask them to tell you their personal experience. You'll find that most people like to share information with others who are genuinely interested.

Simulation
Simulating a situation brings you very close to the "real thing". Again this is part of your preparation. Learning to fight in the dojo teaches you the basics of sparring and doing plenty of it will certainly improve your skill level. However this doesn't necessarily make you a good competition fighter. There is a whole Pandora's box of surprises waiting for you at competition.

Simulating competition fighting will make you a better competition fighter. Fighting in the dojo under competition rules, complete with referees and judges brings you as close to the real thing as possible. Better yet, actual competition fighting will prepare you even more for the next competition.

Likewise just practicing your kata over and over may not necessarily help you win in competition, or make your kata any better for your upcoming grading. Knowing what to expect on the day, such as what time you'll be performing, the correct version of the kata, and the bunkai of the kata are just some of the things you should be researching during preparation.

Self defense training also relies upon preparation. Consider all of the techniques and applications you learn in class. Why are you learning this at all? You are learning karate to PREPARE yourself for combat. The more you practice correctly, the more simulation training you do, the more research you do about similar situations, the better prepared you'll be!

How much preparation should you do?

Generally speaking if you want to do well at something you need to do plenty of it. Sure there are the few who fluke success on their first attempt, but for long term success you must prepare. You can't "wing it" forever!

During your preparation you'll probably crash and burn a few times, but each time you'll learn more and more. Each time you'll discover something that you didn't know before. Each time you'll learn how to remove one more of the barriers to success. Simply waiting for things to change for the better is false hope. Things just don't get better automatically. You need to make the changes to bring about your own success. Prepare, prepare, prepare!

In closing I'd like to leave you with an adage that you're probably familiar with - "the more you put in, the more you get out". If you want to be certain of the outcome, if you want to control the situation, if you want to erase any doubt of failure, then it's simple - you must do more preparation than the rest. You must have answers to every question asked of you. You must make the situation as predictable as possible and have a game plan to suit every single possibility. You must capitalize on every opportunity.

When you know the answers to the questions before the test, you're guaranteed success! As my second Sensei often says, "deal with definites, not maybes".

Jason Stanley
www.karatetips.com