How to Practice Fundamental Fighting Skills

When practicing fundamental skills, strive for perfection in every step of the movement. Break down the movement into its most basic components and practice each stage with careful attention to detail. Every movement has five stages:

1. Preparation is the action you take to ready yourself for the movement.
2. Execution is the initiation and path of the movement as it advances to the target.
3. Impact is the culmination of the execution when you deliver the total force created by your weight and momentum to the target.
4. Follow through is the action that follows the impact to complete the path of the movement.
5. Finish is the relaxed and natural withdrawal of the body part used in the movement.

Practice each skill in the fundamentals section according