Table of Contents
How memory works
Without going into too much detail, you must know that our memory can be split into 3 categories, namely the procedural, the episodic and the semantic memories.
To put it simply, the procedural memory handles our automatic gestures. This is the memory we rely on when riding a bike.
The episodic memory collects our souvenirs of past events.
Finally, the semantic memory holds the general knowledge we acquired through learning. This is how we learned and still know how to speak.
In other words, these are bits and pieces of our global memory.
Therefore, our ability to pick and choose souvenirs is conditioned by the type of memory we are trying to access. The degree to which the souvenir is entrenched in our memory also plays a part.
The connections between our neurons – also known as synapses – create, renew and disappear on a regular basis.
This is why a souvenir we often recall is easily accessible, because the neuronal connections associated with it are regularly renewed.
It has also been found that souvenirs with a high emotional charge are imprinted more strongly in our memory. It can be the case of the souvenir of an intense fear, for instance.
This goes the other way round when connections are rarely used, they can eventually break down.
This results in the forgetting phenomenon.
Anchor your self defense techniques
The information in itself does not disappear, it is our ability to access it that fades over time.
This is why repetitions are so important in training, because they are intended to consolidate the souvenir of an action and to anchor it better in your memory.
This is how automatisms are created, and this is how they become accessible much more rapidly in a stressful situation such as an attack.
We must recall how crucial this reinforcement is since automatisms appeal to the brain, contrary to reflexes which work through the spinal cord. The processing time of an automatism is therefore considerably longer.
This radically changes the way we react to an aggression since we try to use our automatisms rather than our reflexes, that is to say the self defense techniques we strive to assimilate and master, for latecomers!
Moreover, when we are stressed out, our heart rate increases, leading to the tunnel effect, and so on.
Optimize anchoring
When working on techniques, we use 3 types of memories: the procedural memory (when doing a specific and complex gesture), the episodic memory (in the heat of the action) and the semantic memory (a preliminary explanation is given, breaking down the technique).
Working “in a situation” (i.e. through role-playing) adds an additional emotional layer. Naturally, one can find it more or less difficult to get into the right condition, to simulate a reaction that is as close to reality as possible, but it is an ideal to achieve.
Visualization (or mental imagery, which consists of mentally representing the scene in maximum detail) is also a very effective way to boost your performance. Although it is less effective than real physical exercise, it is still complementary and provides significant gains.
The benefits of this practice are such that mental preparation is almost systematically used in high-level sports.
