Telegraphing
Telegraphing is the unintentional communication of your intentions via body language. This term is a carryover from Western boxing, which came of age when telegraphs were the fastest means of communication.
Telegraphs or “tells” are unintentional, reflexive physical actions. By definition, a premeditated tell is feint or fake. Tells are commonly associated with poker players, who must conceal their reactions to being dealt a bad hand in order to bluff their opponents. Karateka must do the same, and avoid looking at their intended targets and/or “winding up” techniques by pulling back before performing them. Likewise, slow techniques are essentially telegraphed, since they offer the opponent the time they need to discern what is happening, and how to counter it.
Tells are dangerous because they are extremely subtle; people are typically unaware they are telegraphing their actions. These tells must be discerned by experienced training partners, or else they will be discerned by experienced opponents. Once identified, telegraphing can be minimized with conscious, deliberate practice in front of a mirror. The ability to suppress telegraphing is a sign of professionalism, because mastery isn’t about doing complicated things; it’s about doing simple things extremely well.
