Hitting plateaus is a natural part of training. Most people are excited to learn new techniques, improve their fitness, and earn a few belts when they start training, but that initial enthusiasm can fade. Your martial arts skills improve rapidly when you first start training since you don’t know anything, but your growth eventually slows down as your arsenal of techniques grows.
You start to feel like you’re no longer progressing despite being consistent with your training. This is called hitting a plateau, but there are ways to break through it and continue your growth as a martial artist.
7 Things Martial Artists Can Do To Break Through Plateaus
Some of the things you can do to put your training plateaus behind you include:
1) Change Your Mindset From Mastery To Refinement
In martial arts, true mastery is about refining your techniques, not just expanding them—focus on refining what you know to perfection.
You should already know there is no such thing as true mastery in martial arts since there’s always something new to learn, regardless of how skilled you are. There’s a common saying that getting a black belt simply marks the start of your journey as an advanced martial artist.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking you’ve already learned and seen it all after years on the mat, as each class you attend feels like you’re drilling the same techniques repeatedly.
The trick to avoiding this trap is focusing on refining your techniques rather than expanding your arsenal of moves. Bruce Lee once famously said, “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”
That’s the mindset you should have as a martial artist. Sharpen the techniques you already know to make them as efficient as possible.
2) Set New Goals
One of the key reasons martial artists often hit plateaus is the lack of clear, achievable, and measurable goals. Vague aspirations won’t cut it. You need specific targets like ‘improving your ability to escape after an opponent takes your back’ to guide your progress.
Your goals should not be restricted to the dojo. You can also set goals outside the gym, such as adding more recovery techniques to your training or improving your fitness by dieting.
Learning martial arts is meant to be a lifestyle, not just a hobby you partake in a few times a week. Improving your life outside the dojo can help restart your progress.
3) Explore New Training Environments
Cross-training can be a great catalyst to break you out of your plateau by introducing new challenges, improving different skill sets, and preventing burnout from repetitive training routines.
Training with the same partners, with the same instructors, in the same dojo can lead to complacency, which negatively impacts growth. However, this familiarity also creates a strong sense of community in martial arts spaces, where everyone is on the same journey.
Sometimes, all you need to push past a plateau is training with different people, visiting other gyms, or cross-training other martial arts. For example, if you’re a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, consider taking boxing or Muay Thai classes.
Each combat style offers unique experiences that can change your perspective on the main style you train.
4) Be Mindful About Your Training
Engage fully in your training by focusing on details during technique breakdowns and drills, making even basic moves feel new and impactful.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of going through the motions when you’ve been training for years. You show up for class, drill techniques, spar, and return to your daily activities, but your mind isn’t fully engaged. Mindful practice can make a massive difference in your growth, and it doesn’t mean you have to meditate before each class unless you want to.
Mindful practice can make a massive difference in your growth, and it doesn’t mean you have to meditate before each class unless you want to.
Mindful practice is about fully engaging in everything you do when training, from paying attention to small details when instructors break down techniques to analyzing every movement you make while drilling techniques. Even the most basic drills in any martial art can feel brand new to you when you’re fully locked in.
5) Embrace Sparring With No Ego
Sparring is often the most intimidating part of martial arts training, yet it’s essential for growth. One reason martial arts like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu have considerably become more popular in the past few decades is the heavy emphasis on rolling (sparring).
BJJ students are expected to roll after each class and regularly test themselves against other BJJ players. This gives them a massive advantage over regular people and fighters from other backgrounds who are less skilled than their training partners.
Here’s the thing: it’s virtually impossible to grow in almost any martial art if sparring isn’t a regular part of your training. It’s like learning how to play sports like basketball without ever playing a game. Sure, you can learn how to dribble, pass, and shoot the ball on your own, but you’ll be in for a rude awakening when you find yourself going against other players trying to block your shots and steal the ball from you.
Bruce Lee had an iconic line, “Boards don’t hit back,” in the movie “Enter the Dragon,” when the character played by Chuck Norris tried to intimidate him by breaking boards.
Sparring regularly exposes holes in your game, highlighting the areas you need to work on and helping to prevent your growth from stagnating.
6) Mentor And Help Your Training Partners
Teaching and mentoring others enhance your skills by deepening your understanding of techniques as you break them down and explain their mechanics. In the process, you’ll also refresh your memory of the technique.
Teaching is one of the most overlooked ways to improve your skills as a martial artist. Ask any instructor if teaching students has improved their game, and the answer will be “yes.”
It’s not that difficult to learn how to execute most martial arts techniques, even if you don’t understand what makes them work. Many of us have physical attributes that make learning some techniques easier than others.
Explaining how techniques work forces you to see them from new perspectives, improving your understanding of their mechanics.
7) Prioritize Recovery And Longevity
Prevent physical burnout by prioritizing recovery with proper sleep, balanced nutrition, and rest when needed to keep your body performing at its best.
Physical burnout is another major factor that contributes to martial artists hitting plateaus. Years of training take a toll on your body, and recovery can impact your performance if it isn’t a priority.
Simple things like getting enough sleep, eating a balanced diet, and taking breaks when your body tells you it needs rest help to prevent physical burnout.
Plateaus Are Part Of The Journey
Breaking through plateaus can be challenging, but it’s also an opportunity for personal growth. Martial arts training isn’t a race; it’s a journey of self-discovery, and the ups and downs are part of what makes it so rewarding.
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