Mike Sigman wrote:
Well, the question was more along the lines of how training to exhaustion would make your *movements* more efficient, particularly in terms of "moving from you center". You've listed "drive, toughness and stillness" and "receptive to understanding the technique" as benefits... and while I'd would take your word for it, those are subjective valuations and not the same thing as the movement that was being discussed.
The closest I've come to experiencing this was while practicing bokken cuts. As my arms and shoulders became more tied, I became more aware of how they were being used. Visualizations of a direct line of force from my front foot to my hands helped somehow when it came to raising the bokken.
The usual form exhaustion takes in my dojo is randori training, at which point things just get sloppy. My sensei does believe in the importance of seeing what people do when they run out of steam, and the rhetoric in place is that this 'teaches' proper movement. IMHO, at least in the way our dojo practices, exhaustion is more the exam than the actual teaching. We try and learn correct movement slow, and exhaustion tests our ability to keep doing it.
Spontaneous revelation is always possible, especially under pressure (or exhaustion). But at least in my dojo (I can speak on no other martial art experience), exhaustion seems to build the ability to keep correct movement rather than correct movement itself.