I recently listened to Episode #53 of The Primal MMA Coaching Podcast where host Scott Sievewright interviewed Andy from The School of Grappling. Andy is well educated, well read, very articulate and seems to have a strong reputation in the grappling community. Very early on in the interview Andy made the following statement: “I basically have emersed myself in this whole topic about how we learn, how we perceive, how we act from a philosophical interest, and it is cool that I can apply it to grappling. What I have learned over the years is that many theories have many great insights, but the “one theory” just doesn’t exist, and every theory right now has many holes.”
In one of my conversations with Chris Cushion PhD he explained to me that all the pedagogical models and theories of learning are just that, theories. Some are backed by a greater body of research than others, but ultimately, they are all theories.
Being a trainer is challenging enough without having to wade through the dogmatic arguments regarding theories of learning, teaching, and coaching and pedagogical models.
I have written before about the dangers of dogma in police training; thinking there is only one model, philosophy, system, or way to teach, coach, and train. I have also shared my support for the philosophy of Professional Judgement and Decision Making (PJDM) in Coaching / Training. PJDM is also known as, “It Depends Coaching”.
Personally, I am not concerned if trainers can memorize the often-confusing terminology of some pedagogical models or philosophies of teaching, or if they can recite the textbook definitions. If they can, great, but I don’t believe it is necessary. What I do care about is whether trainers understand the underlying principles and concepts of the various philosophies and can continually find ways to incorporate them in their training.
“It is well appreciated that while skill acquisition research can inform coaching practice, coaching is not akin to following a cook-book recipe. Significant craft knowledge and intuition are needed to decide the best approach at that time with each athlete.”
Mark Williams PhD.
Regardless of the pedagogical model or theory there are several common elements including, but not limited to:
- The importance of variability.
- The importance of struggle / desirable difficulties.
- The importance of context / specificity / representativeness in the training.
- The importance of transfer of training to the real world for the learners.
- Training at the appropriate level of challenge for the learner.
- Understanding the difference between performance and learning.
- Appropriate timing and content of feedback and intervention by the coach / trainer.
Other elements that are continually mentioned in the literature are problem solving, critical thinking, decision making, spaced repetition, random practice, and the importance of mental skills training. Mental skills training includes things like imagery, self-talk, goal setting, breathing protocols, and mindset. When I refer to mindset I like to use a definition from Davie Gray, “Mindset refers to our core beliefs which act as lenses that guide our future emotions, thinking, behaviours and actions”. This involves adopting a Growth Mindset, a Stress as Enhancing Mindset in relation to acute stress, and a Challenge Mindset instead of a Threat Mindset. It involves understanding that emotions are natural and normal and while we may not control emotions, we do have control over the power we give to them and how we manage them.
When it comes to subject control tactics (defensive tactics) help your people explore and understand the principles and concepts of balance, power, and mobility so they can disrupt these in the subject and maximize them for themselves? Seek to understand the principles and concepts that underpin the techniques you teach. Once you do, you can create drills or mini scenarios where officers can explore various applications of those principles and concepts, in a variety of contextually relevant situations, and figure out how to solve those challenges on their own, or with minimal guidance from you.
“There is an art that goes into coaching and that art can be informed by the science. While we can provide some guidance through science there is still a huge experiential component.”
Mark Williams PhD.
Read the research. Talk to other trainers about the What? So what? and Now what? from the research. Reach out to the lead author of the research paper with questions you have about the application of that research to training. Attend conferences like the ILEETA Conference and learn from a wide range of experienced trainers who have run and are continuing to run the training experiments to help us all gain a better understanding of how to effectively apply the principles and concepts identified in the research. This is where you can work to develop the craft knowledge related to training and coaching that Mark Williams talked about in the first quote.
Once you understand the principles and concepts, What’s Important Now is to act. Start to run a series of small experiments guided by the question, “Where might the smallest change make the biggest difference?”. With every experiment, assess and iterate as necessary, then run the next small experiment and continually repeat the process. It is through continually reading, reflecting, teaching, running the small experiments, assessing the outcomes to determine how you need to change or build on the changes you implemented that you develop the experiential component that Mark Williams talked about in the second quote.
Think of this as the Infinite Game, a never-ending journey of learning, exploring, and experimenting. I have been involved in delivering training for almost 35 years. If there is a mistake you can make as a trainer, I have made it. I am continually learning, experimenting, struggling, refining, and then running the next experiment.
As a community of trainers, we are in this together. Seek to learn from as many of your brother and sister trainers as possible through meaningful dialogue, discussion, and debate. Stay curious. Keep an open mind. Have strong beliefs, loosely held. Be willing to change and focus on principles and concepts.
Take care.
Brian Willis
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