Accelerate Your Learning with Truth and Play

In martial arts, most people learn the same way: You get shown a technique. You repeat it until it looks right. Then you “pressure test” it — sparring, drills, maybe a bit of sweaty chaos — and if it holds up, congratulations, you now “own” the technique. At least that’s the story we’ve been sold.

But that model misses two critical elements. And without them, your learning is limited, your understanding shallow, and your growth painfully slow.

Those two missing pieces?

Truth and Play

The Hardest Part: Truth

Let’s start with truth. Not capital-T Truth like a superhero origin story — I mean being brutally honest with yourself. Truth is uncomfortable, inconvenient and, in my opinion, foundational. You don’t own a technique until you’ve been honest about where it works, where it fails, and where you’re bullshitting yourself.

Let’s use a throw as an example. A student sees the throw. They copy it. The partner doesn’t go down. So what do they do? Add more speed. More muscle. Less thinking. That’s not learning — that’s flailing harder with conviction.

Even worse? The instructor often does the same thing — demonstrating the throw with force, against a compliant partner. Why? Because they never got taught the principles either. They learned by imitation. Monkey see, monkey fling.

Here’s the thing: if your technique only works when your partner wants it to, or when you’re muscling it through, you don’t own the technique. It owns you. Real learning begins when you stop pretending. When you slow it down, take it apart, and

feel why something works (or doesn’t). You ask, “What’s actually happening here?” and start rebuilding from the inside out.

Yes, it takes longer. Yes, it’s humbling. But it’s how you build martial arts that work — and a mindset that carries through life. Real resilience. Real confidence. Not a patch or a rank, but something you own in your bones.

The Fun Part: Play

Now for the bit we often forget as adults — play. Play is the original learning language. When we were kids, we learned everything through it — how to move, how to communicate, how not to get smacked in the head by a flying swing. It’s where we discovered boundaries, rules, rhythm, and creativity. And guess what?

Your brain still learns best that way.

I use play every single day in training — and one of my favourite tools is push hands. It looks soft, but it teaches everything: balance, timing, structure, emotional control, connection, pressure. You’re playing with your own tension, your partner’s energy, your thoughts and habits. It’s chaotic, hilarious, sometimes frustrating — and it’s genius.

We’ve even got a version we play on the ground. Adds a whole new dimension.

Does push hands make you a good fighter on its own? Maybe not. But it makes you more aware, more adaptable, and more connected to what’s really happening in your body and brain. And that kind of training carries over everywhere — into kickboxing, combatives, grappling, life.

More importantly? It’s fun. And when you’re having fun, you stick with it. You explore more.

You try new things. You get better — not because someone’s yelling at you to try harder,

but because you’re genuinely into it.

Train Smarter, Not Just Harder

So, if you’re training in martial arts in Melbourne, especially around Rowville, and you feellike you’re grinding gears — slow down. Ask yourself some uncomfortable questions. Get real with what’s working and what’s not. And then? Start playing again.

Because the magic isn’t just in the sweat and repetition.

It’s in the moments where truth sharpens your learning — and play keeps it alive.