ENDLESS DRILLING

A common question from martial arts rookies and intermediate practitioners — and, if we’re honest, even some long-timers — is “What’s next?” “What’s the next supersecret neato technique I have to master?”

- MARK HATMAKER

I get this attitude. I mean, who doesn’t want some new bit of information to chew on, some new skill to toy with and occupy the mind? For some, familiarity breeds contempt, and if most of us don’t feel contempt for what we know that we must do, we at least can admit that sometimes another day in the dojo working on variations of the same things we did last week can lead to a bit of staleness.

Despite the occasional battle with What, this again? we must come to terms with and embrace the fact that this is the way in all great and serious endeavors. Let’s look to other sports for illustration.

If we were to step onto the court of any winning basketball team during practice, would we expect to see something unlike what we see in a basketball game itself — that is, athletes working on passing, shooting, rebounding, the full-court press and so on?

In football practice with any NFL team, you’ll see variations of the same drills and plays. In tennis, you won’t see athletes forgoing tried-and-true serves in favor of developing their jump-spinning back serve with a half-gainer twist.