ways to improve your training/up your game

I think I will do a series on how I feel people can best improve their fight game.

The majority of improvement, or lack of improvement, comes from self. Basically if you want to become a better fighter its up to you. There are however a few other players in the game. They are the coaches as well as the training partners.

I feel a coach's job is 100% to help people reach their goals what ever they may be. There are a lot of ways to go about doing this. For the most part it is pointing people in the right direction by showing and explaining to them the ins and outs of good technique and giving advice on how to best go about training in order to achieve their goals. This is done through acquired knowledge and drawing on past experience in order to give better insight. A coach should have the ability to read people and adapt to individual learning types, body types and personalities, know when to push and when to ease off. I do feel the best natural athletes dont always make the best coaches. Its not always the case but I feel the more someone had to struggle to learn a technique or get to where they are the better they understand that path and the better they can lead others down it. Sometimes when things come to easy it can be hard to transfer that understanding to someone struggling with the same thing.  Coaches tend to also want to live vicariously through their athletes and I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing.

A coach can't give you a ride to your destination but they can show you the best fastest possible rout to get there.

A coach's job is not to boast, establish pecking orders, stroke their egos or feed their insecurities. Unfortunately in martial arts this can be common.

Im not big on self appointed titles to be addressed by either, but thats my opinion. First names should suffice. If you wish to call someone sir, mr, kru (teacher) or master by your own accord out of respect then go for it, but I don't think it should be required. Your an adult and an equal, its not the military, its not elementary school, you're a paying customer and respect should be earned not demanded. Of course treating your coach as well as your training partners and the class with respect is a must if there is to be a positive training atmosphere. This is done by listening when they are speaking and acknowledging the coach's role as the instructor and you the learner.

A training partner's job (and this is a dance so it goes both ways) is to support and nourish growth through appropriate resistance. Like weight training, appropriate resistance builds strength, explosiveness, conditioning and sharpens technique. Too much resistance causes injury and not enough does little at all to help. The amount of weight or resistance depends on the specific lifts and specific goals. In other words if you're learning new technique for the first time you need less resistance so you can better sharpen the new move. Same if training with some one much smaller or inexperienced. Drilling technique you need medium. If you're training for a fight or match you need someone that can apply enough resistance to create a realistic scenario for the fight. Always the correct amount to better benefit both parties. Also someone that you mesh with and makes training fun and enjoyable. Someone that has your back when you're preparing to step into the ring or on the mat.

A Training partner should not be someone who boasts, or is there to establish pecking orders, stroke their egos or feed their insecurities.

I think above all else a good coach and training partner is someone who is looking out for your best interest and who legitimately cares about you and your progress. So a quality gym with quality people in it is a must if you want to continuously improve.