…..Your training is a priority but you have to manage it carefully. I have often seen someone come into the Martial Sciences become gung-ho and burn themselves out quickly within some times even a month or two. I have seen people allow outside forces to really influence their training and eventually they quite. (I have seen this even with long time practitioners) I have watched while someone overtrained to the point where they simply burned themselves out. I have been burned out myself at times and needed a break. When you decide to go down the path of training in the Martial Sciences you need to be real and understand that your training needs to be managed effectively and that you will have to take a long-term managerial approach to it. Why do I say long-term? Well one thing about the Martial Sciences is that if you stop training, you lose these skill sets. Sure, they will come back fast if you resume training again but do not fool yourself into thinking you really practice the Martial Sciences if you quit and expect your skills to be there six months down the road! So long-term management is a skill set you have to develop as well. Simply put, write down your goals each year and every month check to see if you are on track. If you feel burnt out take a little time off like a week to rejuvenate that interest. Everyone that knows me understands that I use a lot of different tricks to keep my motivation up. I read books with a martial arts slant in them. I watch combative martial sports like MMA or K-1. I take vacations and teach in different locals to meet new people and experience training with them. I also try to never rest on my accomplishments and go out and experience new training with a new teacher. No doubt when I get out to Vegas I will be training privately or semi privately with someone out there. Bottom line you need to be creative in the managing of your Martial Science training so that you can always keep that ember burning! Be proactive in this area and it could pay off for your entire life!
copyright Instinctive Response Training LLC 2009
Brian R. VanCise
Note: This Blog is opinion only and Instinctive Response Training LLC nor Brian R. VanCise is responsible for any third party actions taken.
Visit Us At:Instinctive Response Training
I have been burned out, I have been frustrated and I have been injured and I have stopped training at one time or another for all of those reasons and you do lose skills but sometimes it is necessary to stop for a bit to keep going on the path.
Maybe I have been training CMA to long and reading way too many things about Taoism, but I have recently (this past week actually) came to the conclusion that in the training of martial arts there is no perfection no real mastery if you truly train martial arts. There are stops along the way, levels to attain but no true destination (Mastery/Perfection) or end to the training. You can travel along the path of martial arts training and take time to look at where you have been and when you turn to look where you are going the path is just as long in front of you as it is behind you and that never changes, the further you go the further you have to go and it takes a lifetime. To me training martial arts is more about the journey than the destination.
OK…Now I sound like a fortune cookie so its time to stop
Nice post Tim with quality insight as always!
Brian