The mill filters the techniques that come naturally to you through pressure testing.

Pressure testing eliminates the nonessentials!

Contrary to the tradition trap, void of all formalities and unconventional!

Forcing you to adapt to the resistance levels and overcome by whatever means necessary, all within a set time frame. The training needs to be realistic and pressure tested.

Contrary to fostering an environment of cooperative learning, training needs to be in real-time, where attacks are random and facing training partners attempting to resist (vs compliance). Attacks will be when you are at your weakest. The objective of the mill and the cycle training is to break you down mentally and physically; when you are not at your total capacity, you are thrown into the mill. Serving a dual purpose, one is conditioning and forcing you to think, act, and move spontaneously! Despite the deficiency! 

The more you train this way the stronger you are getting and it gradually desensitizes you to the threat of physical aggression while building up your resistance levels.

Forcing you to react with gross motor skills vs fine motor skills. Gross motor skills are total body movement and momentum behind your initial strikes vs fine motor skills, which are intricate combinations and techniques to defend against specific threats (where you have to get set first). The gross motor skills have more of an impact and distance you faster from the initial threat. Pressure does change everything! Two things you will never have on the street are time and space.

No one cares about giving you a chance to practise!

The importance of pressure testing.

It is perfectly well to feel clumsy and awkward and not get it right the first time; it is a process. There is no magic formula or instant coffee approach; it takes time and effort to filter down the essentials for you; you have to find the truth for yourself, by going through the mill. Pressure testing puts you on the spot, forcing you to summon your ability without thought; remember, we are building off instinctive reactions to flow and bind the techniques that come naturally to you. You are not, judged on how esthetically pleasing your technique-form is executed.

Remember, it is not quantity but quality; we are looking for intensity over extensity. The last thing we want is paralysis due to over-analysis! Spontaneous and free-flowing over supposed pre-arranged reactions; you never know how someone will attack you. Confrontations on the street are about survival, not ego! I cannot state it enough; martial artists were some of the worst fighters i have seen on the street. This is not to bash any particular style or traditional system; where they fall short is the practicality of their training. Training in an environment that fosters not only cooperative learning but a false sense of security will fall short on the street, leading to disaster. The determining factor is the training method and intensity of the individual; often, when cornered, technique goes out the window, and what you retain is approximately 1- 2 percent. It comes down to anything you know vs everything you know; whatever works is what counts because you are under pressure! By honing into that environment which is training under pressure, it predetermines the likelihood of you adapting faster. Fighters on the street, without training, were some of the best I have seen because they did not hesitate to respond. They relied on instinct, instinctive reactions and relentless in their attacks; the only problem was they had no technique. They just did whatever seemed appropriate, fueled by rage!