Most everyone in the martial arts & Karate/training industry has used the term 'muscle memory'. Muscles don't have memory. The brain has memory. Specifically, the motor cortex of the brain is what has memory for functions of the body, including the head, trunk, and extremities.
The motor cortex is: The region of the cerebral cortex most nearly immediately influencing movements of the face, neck and trunk, and upper and lower extremities; it corresponds approximately to Brodmann areas 4 and 6 of the precentral gyrus and anterior paracentral gyrus, and immediately adjacent portions of the superior and middle frontal gyri; its effects on the motor neurons innervating the skeletal musculature are mediated by corticospinal fibers (pyramidal tract) and corticonuclear fibers and are particularly essential for the human capacity to perform finely graded movements of the extremities, especially the upper.
The various areas of the motor cortex control voluntary movement, extremity sensation (the feel of the bo in your hands or the feel of your keys when you unlock a door), gross voluntary movement and fine voluntary movement (gross and fine motor skills).
Muscles don't have memory. The brain does. Parts of the brain shut down during fight or flight that is why fine motor skills are lost in life or death or serious injury situations.
In truth, for the ease of instruction and understanding the term ‘muscle memory’ should take on an additional definition just for the training and practice discipline. I would venture to say that muscle memory is:
“The manifestation of physical actions derived from a concerted effort in training and practice the fundamental principles, specifically physiokinetic’s sub-principles, that create a encoded memory in the brain, the cerebral cortex and associated brain functions, etc., that is a conditioned reflex able to overcome the adverse effects of the adrenal stress-conditions found in conflict and violence or through the participation in contests against other humans.”
It should be noted that the critical part of my definition is the, “Conditioned reflex,” that takes the place of another misnomer used in the martial arts and karate disciplines, “instincts or instinctual.” Neither of these are realistic or factual as to the manifestation of physical actions in conflict and/or violence.
Where I like to stress such terms or phrases is when I express my personal definitions as to what I want students or practitioners to use in training and practice so clarity of mind is created. It is often a lack of clarity and the natural human condition of not questioning authority or authority figures, as can readily been perceived in dojo with sensei and senpai, etc., when receiving instructions or demonstrations of martial arts and karate especially for self-defense.
We, in martial arts and karate especially for self-fense, train our minds through our bodies and in conjunction with our spirit to condition such reflexive actions of what we term the lizard brain to react or act in any situation and under any circumstance so that an appropriate action or response is triggered.
It is why I also ignore the culturally driven theme of teaching by Asian martial artists who rely heavily on shi-kata or observation of things set so questions are not required and harmony is maintained. I use as much explanation in verbal and tactile communications along with a huge dose of cooperation to achieve objectives of self-fense of martial arts and karate regardless of what one may or might expect of a more traditional venue or discipline.
It helps achieve understanding; it requires participation of both mind and body; it supplements the tactile with the cerebral; and it makes the practitioner think in a training environment so they act or react reflexively in a hot situation.
Read also: https://mymartialselfdefensephilosophy.blogspot.com/2015/07/skill-n-critical-thinkingskill-or.html
Read also: https://mymartialselfdefensephilosophy.blogspot.com/2016/12/teaching-coherent-comprehensive.html
“Memory is the faculty of the mind by which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968).”- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory
Random Meandering Thoughts on Muscle Memory:
THOUGHT: Using muscle memory is like saying our computers have, “Monitor memory.” Everything we experience, do and create on computers happens on a monitor so if we go with the definition of muscle memory as if muscle actually have a memory, as defined in medical sciences, then our computers being the brains rely on the monitors memory to display all those icons, open those browsers and find all those interesting web sites, right?
THOUGHT: Like computers, our brains generate impulses of say electrical type that are sent by the brain to our muscles making them do one of two things, either flex or relax as needed; the computer itself generates an electrical type of signal, mostly a set of one’s and zero’s, that like our body travel to the monitor to create and display things. Although not scientifically exacting this type of analogy should help to understand that when we use a term like muscle memory we are in truth talking about encoding our brains, the cortex, etc., to send signals to our bodies so as to act or perform as training and practiced have conditioned our minds to do.
THOUGHT: Sorry, muscles don't have what it takes to have memories. Memories are, "The faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information." Memory is exclusively a brain function or a chip function for RAM and ROM, in the computer industry (In truth, they call it memory but it isn't because it is unable to store and remember without external work by code).
THOUGHT: Muscles depend on certain characteristic traits such as fast twitch vs. slow twitch. It is more about how one conditions those muscles rather than some dysfunctional belief they have a memory. A reason why ‘intent’ in training and practice go a very long way toward properly conditioning muscles to act as a result thereof. Once the muscle is conditioned, say to twitch fast for speed, then it is incumbent on our brain, the cortex and its associated parts, to send the appropriate signals and messages to the muscles, skeletal system and the tendons, etc., so they perform as intended. These physical characteristics can and are influenced by what training is conducted but as to memory, it doesn’t exist regardless of how one uses bias to manipulate a definition to meet and confirm their current beliefs.
THOUGHT: Lets view it this way,
▪ if you remove the brain completely from the body, what happens?
◦ Will the muscles rely on their memories to perform as in defending the body against the means surgeon and researcher removing one’s brain from his or her skull?
◦ Does the heart still pump fluids throughout the body?
◦ When you put a lit-match under one’s finger does it result in the body jerking its hand back away form the hot flame?
◦ Can your body now walk, run, climb and practice martial arts and karate?
▪ The body simply ceases to remain animated because the signals that drive it come from the brain and without the brain it all comes to a sudden and complete halt - you die!
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