One of the most commonly misunderstood concepts in training is intensity.  Often, students believe that high intensity means high volume, high damage, high violence, and high risk.  You know, a real intense round.

Now, that is a form of intensity.  But the type of intensity we want to use in training is often quite different.

Intensity is the act of keeping something in tension.  Capturing something and holding it place.  That’s it.

Intensity can be the act of silence and stillness – holding silence and stillness in your body can be an absolutely intense effort.  It can also be threading a needle, keeping your composure when you’ve lost your keys, or any other mundane task that requires your total focus and effort.

In combat sports, something like just holding your hands in the right position throughout the chaos of sparring or pad work can be equally challenging.  They want to go here, there, and everywhere – but capturing them and holding them in place is intense.

Which leads us to intention.  Your intention is what you plan to hold in place (i.e., in-tension).

What is your intention for practice?  What do you intend to hold in place on any given day?

These are questions you should ask yourself – and have answers for – before you step on the mats each day.

Your intention doesn’t have to be anything grandiose; it can simply be to give yourself more room to make mistakes (if you’re a perfectionist, you know how icky it feels when you screw up a technique or combination).  Or, perhaps, to allow yourself space to slow down, turn the power down, and really focus on the minutiae of a skill – which can be just as intense as a hard roll or round of sparring.

Whatever it is – capture it, and hold it in place.  Over time it will take root, and that is how we grow.