Repetition and Muscle Memory

I am in the process of reading a book I believe I noticed in one of Rory Miller's blog posts. Very good book. I am reading the Accelerating the Loop chapter and a quote or two got me to thinking about self-defense requirements.

In the section on ACT/Individual he asks the question, "How do you get there?," you have to get the book and read it to find out why he asks this question, he answers repetition and muscle memory. He then explains that for muscle memory (we know there is really no such thing but the actual process is a bit more involved so we assume the complex process goes under the heading of muscle memory) you need 2,000 to 3,000 repetitions to master a simple skill. He also referred to the process of 70% dry practice and 30% live. 

Now this got me to thinking of another martial artist that stated one must actually hit, strike, kick something for about fifteen minutes for each hour of practice. If you are not hitting something and simply doing the air karate your in for a bit of a surprise when you actually hit something. Anyway, I agree that you must hit something that often be it makiwara, padded shield, hand pads, heavy bags or an adversary in practice. 

Thinking about what he author said, out of its actual context, make sense in addition to the above. If you practice and train using things like visualization, etc. then you need to also apply it against a live human being as close to the real actual set of scenarios you would most often encounter in a real live self-defense situation. If your a professional then it is another whole ball game and since my experiences are more outside that realm I will stay with self-defense and martial arts. So, you need to use a similar spit of 70-30. If all you do is air karate or air martial arts then much like those air guitarist you may look cool but your not going to play that guitar in a concert any time soon. 

Now, as to the repetitions vs. simple skills. This simply speaks to what others have said for years. If you want something to work you keep it simple and I, as others have as well, add that it should be similar to what your human natural instincts would use to survive. If it deviates a bit that is ok as repetitive practices will encode it properly but remember that you have the 70-30 split so it that practice and training does not involve the 30% live acts then it may not work. 

If it takes about 2 to 3 thousand appropriate and relevant repetitions to gain experience and proficiency in a simple skill then consider how many it would take to encode, ingrain and apply more complex skills in a highly volatile and strenuous/stressful situation that results in damage, etc.? 

When you look for self-defense this and many other considerations must be known and applied to validate what you get yourself into or your possibly just deluding yourself into thinking a health and fitness program is going to provide you protection in a possible violent conflict. 

Bibliography:

Howe, Paul R. Msg U.S. Army. "Leadership and Training for the Fight." Authorhouse. Indiana. 2006.