Pros And Cons Of Randomized Training For Martial Artists

I recently read an article that was critical of randomized training as it relates to the CrossFit Games.

- Mark Hatmaker

My immediate response was: A) I agree that the randomized CrossFit protocol does not “tunnel in” — that is, adhere to specificity to create skill mastery in a given sport. Such mastery comes only from sport- and skill-specific training.

B) It’s not surprising that the majority of CrossFit Games winners, as well as those who excel there, don’t adhere to the randomized protocol. Instead, they “gamify” their training to do better in competition. The Games are no differ-ent from any other sport in that they ask athletes to perform specific tasks and the athletes must gear their training to those tasks or fall to competitors who have focused on those tasks.

THE CONCEPT behind randomization — and the reason it should appeal to martial artists — is to prepare for real-world situations rather than competition. In the real world, we have no specific task on the horizon, yet we may be called on to perform virtually any skill on any given day.