GETTING THE BEST FROM TRAINING?

What we are ‘really’ learning is how to access our skills, not learn some specific Sport or Martial Art style.

This post is not meant as a tongue in cheek jab at anyone, that is not my way, it is simply sharing things I know and believe, things that may help you.

What are the unseen benefits of Martial Arts training?

Self-confidence, good decision making, dependability the list goes on, where do these attributes come from.

The secret is, as my Sifu told me, turning up to training and paying attention.

Rain hail or shine, sick or healthy, hangover or tired.

This is not a secret.

When you watch an interview about a world-class sportsman or sportswoman one thing that all their contemporaries say is that they were always the first into training and the last out of training?

Not that they trained any harder.

Martial Arts training is at heart about training to be a better version of who we are, it is not an investment in our style, our club, or our Sifu it is and always has been an investment in ourselves.

And we must understand that over time it will be a considerable investment.

But we are worth it.

We only have one life, let’s be the best we can be.

When prospective students ask me if I give any kind of “Free Trial” or free uniform or free anything I just tell them to go somewhere else.

This is not arrogance on my behalf, but if they are not willing to put their hand in their pocket to benefit themselves and their lives why would they be willing to listen and pay attention to me.

Again quoting my Sifu, he would tell me that “People put no value in things they get for free”, I have seen this first hand for years and years.

Something that chips away at a student’s chance of fulfilling their dreams is when they turn up late, leave early and generally chat more than do the training.

Let me clarify something, turning up late is not according to any particular clock at any particular training hall, we all have life pressures that dictate what, where, and when, if the class starts at 7pm but you cannot get there until 7.45pm that is your time, 7.45pm, always be on time to your own clock, to yourself.

What makes some people so good?

I have played in a number of competitive “Social Level” Sports Teams in my life, Ice-Hockey, Five-a-Side Football, Tennis, and of course as a kid I fancied my chances to become a Boxer.

Like everyone I was as keen as mustard and put in the hard yards but despite the effort, I did not make it past “A” Grade in any sport I competed in, which is a long way from State Grade and a universe farther away from what is needed to be a pro.

But I would train like I was in with a shout.

Come ‘Match Day’ there was always one guy, sometimes two, that was simply streets ahead of the rest of us and somehow did it without trying too hard.

It is an easy excuse to say that they were just more skilful than the rest of us but that is not true.

They were better at accessing their skills that is all.

They knew what their skills were and they believed in their skills.

We do not learn this on ‘Match Day’.

We learn this at training.

And of great importance, we learn this over the days and weeks later by reviewing what we did.

What we are ‘really’ learning is how to access information, not learn some specific Sport or Martial Art style.

The physical side of what we do in training is just playing.

The goal of all training is to play to our strengths and avoid our weaknesses and not learn some new trick.

Play hard.