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**DIAGNOSING AND REPAIRING PERFORMANCE ISSUES WEBINAR**

**INTRODUCTION**

Performance failures do not all occur for the same reason.

A practitioner may fail because they cannot properly execute the technique, because they recognized or identified the problem too late or incorrectly, or because they selected the wrong response.

What we **see fail** is not necessarily what **caused the failure**.

Effective coaching requires determining where the problem actually occurred and prescribing training that specifically addresses that deficiency.

This webinar uses three simple models:

**THE TECHNIQUE TRIANGLE**  
Mechanics — Distance — Timing

**THE COGNITIVE TRIANGLE**  
Recognition — Identification — Decision-Making

**THE RESULTS TRIANGLE**  
Effectiveness — Reliability — Efficiency

Together, they provide a practical method to:

**DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM → REPAIR THE DEFICIENCY → MEASURE THE RESULTS**

 

![Technqiue Triangle](https://tomsotis.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Technqiue%20Triangle.jpg?width=432&height=541&name=Technqiue%20Triangle.jpg)

**DIAGNOSING & REPAIRING TECHNICAL FAILURE**

A Technical Failure occurs when the practitioner **knows what to do but cannot successfully execute it**.

**HOW TO DIAGNOSE**

Remove the Recognition, Identification, and Decision-Making demands. Let the practitioner know **what is coming and what response to perform**.

If the response still fails, determine which component of the Technique Triangle is responsible:

**MECHANICS** — Was the movement performed correctly?  
**DISTANCE** — Was the technique performed at the appropriate range?  
**TIMING** — Was the action performed at the correct moment?

**HOW TO REPAIR**

Match the training directly to the deficiency:

**MECHANICS → Direct Application**  
Isolate the attack and response and develop correct physical execution.

**DISTANCE → Positional Drills**  
Develop the movement and positioning necessary to create, maintain, close, or change distance.

**TIMING → Prescribed Timing Circuits / Flow Drills**  
Develop the timing relationships between actions and responses.

Once the deficiency improves, progressively return the practitioner to more realistic conditions and **retest the performance**.

 

![Cognitive Triangle](https://tomsotis.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Cognitive%20Triangle.jpg?width=408&height=510&name=Cognitive%20Triangle.jpg)

**DIAGNOSING & REPAIRING COGNITIVE FAILURE**

If the practitioner possesses the necessary technical ability but still fails, examine the **Cognitive Triangle**.

 

**RECOGNITION — Did they detect the problem soon enough?**

**Diagnose:** If they perform successfully when they know what is coming but become late when the attack develops naturally, the problem may be Recognition.

**Repair:** Use Recognition Development Drills with authentic attacks, beginning at manageable speeds and progressively increasing speed and intensity.

 

**IDENTIFICATION — Did they correctly determine what was happening?**

**Diagnose:** Did they recognize something was happening but incorrectly identify the specific attack or problem?

**Repair:** Use Identification Development Drills with increasing uncertainty—begin with one possible attack, then two, three, and progressively more possibilities.

 

**DECISION-MAKING — Did they select an appropriate response?**

**Diagnose:** If they recognized and correctly identified the problem and possessed the necessary technical ability, but selected an inappropriate response, the failure is Decisional.

**Repair:** Use Scenario and Fighting Drills that require actual choices under uncertainty, opposition, and changing circumstances.

**Predetermined responses train execution—not decision-making.**

 

![Results Triangle](https://tomsotis.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Results%20Triangle.jpg?width=515&height=643&name=Results%20Triangle.jpg)

**MEASURING THE RESULTS**

After diagnosing a performance problem and making the appropriate repair, determine whether the repair actually **improved performance**.

 

**EFFECTIVENESS — Did it solve the problem?**

Did the practitioner achieve the desired outcome against the problem, threat, or challenge?

 

**RELIABILITY — Does it work consistently?**

One success demonstrates possibility, not capability.

Can the practitioner reproduce the result across repetitions, opponents, conditions, and increasing levels of difficulty?

 

**EFFICIENCY — At what cost?**

How much time, effort, movement, exposure, or complexity was required to achieve the result?

 

**MEASURE THE REPAIR**

Return the practitioner to the conditions that exposed the original problem and ask:

**Did Effectiveness improve?**  
**Did Reliability improve?**  
**Did Efficiency improve?**

If results improve, the repair is working. If not, reassess and repeat.

**DIAGNOSE → REPAIR → MEASURE → REPEAT**

 

 

 

![](https://tomsotis.com/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined.jpeg?width=717&height=478&name=undefined.jpeg)

**THE COMPLETE PROCESS**

Diagnosis and Repair follows a simple progression:

 

**OBSERVE THE PERFORMANCE**

Watch what happens without assuming that what failed is what caused the failure.

 

**DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE**

Start with the most visible elements—**Mechanics, Distance, and Timing**.

If technical ability is present, examine **Recognition, Identification, and Decision-Making**.

 

**REPAIR THE DEFICIENCY**

Match the training method to the **specific cause of failure**.

 

**MEASURE THE RESULTS**

Use **Effectiveness, Reliability, and Efficiency** to determine whether the repair improved performance.

 

**REPEAT AS NECESSARY**

If performance improves, continue developing it. If not, reconsider the diagnosis or repair.

 

**OBSERVE → DIAGNOSE → REPAIR → MEASURE → REPEAT**

**Don't simply practice what failed. Identify what caused it to fail and repair it.**