Transitions

In order for anything to get better, there has to be an act of change, a transition from the old to the new.

This is not an article about how everything it bad and needs change. On the contrary, a lot of things that we do on a regular basis is fantastically good. However, this does not negate the necessity for positive change to insure that our core values and goals are maintained.

With that in mind, these very-necessary transitions - when not executed correctly - can be the source of some irritation. 

Look at past major changes that we have in our culture can show how tough some of those.

For instance, the transition from typewriter to computers was an enormous change. The change revolutionized how the workplace functioned in the 90s, and this rippled from small businesses to major corporations.

That being said, it didn't come without some growing pains! Some of you may be old enough to remember the 5 1/4" floppy disk that was the essence of computer operations. Most of you probably don't remember office works rolling the disks into the typewriter to put the labels on!

Computers in the 90s took away the need of most day-to-day office workers, but created jobs in other areas. There was hardship and growth with that transition.

Going further back, I’m sure most of you Catholics will remember those great transition in the Catholic community called Vatican II. Loads of controversy to go along with that ultimately the church was a lot stronger as a result of those changes.

Even something as highly structured as the military has issues when dealing with transitions. I can remember one person writing about a transition that an elite force went through in order to change how they deployed and the quote he said was "no transitions are great and this one wasn’t as bad as some other ones!"

And these are highly-trained elite operators!

So transitions are not fun, but they are extremely important for the evolution process.

That being said, it doesn’t mean that transitions themselves cannot be useful. A good transition done correctly helps minimize the awkwardness and maximize that time and space in between.

If you’re talking about a major transition like a religion changing policies are or someone moving from house to house how to fill those transitions into make them easier requires a little bit of mental work, but a lot of the smaller transitions that we deal with like changing from one exercise to another or making sure that it has proper water breaks is a lot easier.

What is important when dealing with transitions is to understand what it is you’re trying to accomplish with the end result and what you would like to accomplish during that process.

For instance, when running a class and shifting from a high pace exercise to go to kata work, it may not be a bad idea to let the class have a second to catch their breath. This is especially true with a class with a mix of ages, but realistically is true for all classes.

There’s loads of ways of facilitating this type of transition a classic “match chat” where you can talk about history terminology, what’s coming up next and so on!

Another way of doing this type of transition is to put one person, preferably a candidate for a upcoming test on the spot where you want to put a little more pressure on that person anyway well everyone else, weights, and watches while catching their breath.

Bare mind always remember what the purpose of the transition is for there’s a difference between a two minute, a five minute and a 30 minute break. They all have their own pros and cons. If the goal of the transition is to give everyone a quick breather break, then going into a long mat chat or a long correction to the person in the middle of the class may not work ideally, as people watching might start drifting off.

However, if you’re talking about a massive training event and you want to make sure everyone leaves the room catches their breath, gets a drink of water and hits the restroom, then it will be important to make the transition longer like ten or twenty minutes.

You could also use these transitions to make a point for instance it is quite common in the middle of a class some people to grab a drink just for the sake  leaving the room for a moment. In that scenario, hydration is 100% necessary

Rest assured, teachers and leaders in all communities have to deal with us not just martial artists!

So to make a point a teacher could say we’re not doing water breaks right now is a solid point, but you run the risk of the fact that this kid or adult may actually need that water break. So that tactic still holds just make sure the next transition comes up soon where a person would have an opportunity to actually go get a drink of water. That way you can make the point without putting the flow of the class at risk.

Transitions are like gift boxes. They could be really good. They can be really poor. They can just be there. It’s up to us to decide how we’re going to shape and bring in point that in that direction.

The transitions themselves don’t have to be particularly complicated, but it’ll be very important to be thorough with your thought process of what you’re going do in the transition.

Lastly, transitions are three parts. One, what you’re currently doing. Three, what you’re going to end up doing. Two, how are you going move from one to the other and get some benefit out of it.