The Martial Sciences involve learning to protect yourself or your loved ones from violence! They also help to connect the mind/body/spirit as well as give you fantastic fitness when done right! In practicing the Martial Sciences you need to constantly evaluate what you do and how you do it! What is your goal? A combative sport practitioner’s goal is very different from someone who wants to build skill sets to protect their loved ones. (though it can certainly give you skill sets that will succeed in that area) Someone looking to just lose weight will have distinctly different goals from someone whose sole aim is personal protection or combative sports. No as a Martial Practitioner you need to evaluate what you do and how you do it and eliminate Dangerous Practices that may harm you! What are dangerous practices? Depending upon your goals they could be some thing that will not allow you to reach the level that you are looking for in your goal! If you are looking for fitness then you need to have longevity! Meaning that things that injure you during practices will ruin your longevity and they should be avoided when possible! If you are in a combative sport and that is your goal then you need also to stay as injury free as possible but you also need to specialize in the areas that your sport demands. (Judo, MMA, Boxing, Kickboxing, etc.) If you are looking for serious, real world personal protection skill sets then what you need to avoid is doing things that could impair your ability to function in a moment of violence! One aspect would be helping training partners up. Do you know if you lift or assist someone up you keep them from practicing standing up in base and take away the muscular benefit of getting up from them! If you constantly hand back training knives, gun’s, etc. to a partner it may become habit-forming and you may just take away a knife or hand gun from someone and then hand it right back to them. This has actually happened to police officers! Another dangerous practice in the Martial Sciences is elevating people beyond what they are. A Combative Athlete is just a person! A Senior Student is just a person! An Instructor of a system is just a person! In other words admire someone if they merit it but do not put them on a pedestal! Instead treat them well and of course they should treat you well! That is how we should always approach people to treat them like we want to be treated! Always evaluate your training and look within it for Dangerous Practices! Understand that if you do not do so you may place yourself in a position where your goals are unattainable! Whittle at the corners of your practice and you may just notice some great improvement!
One parting thought! Always remember that nothing is perfect! Instead try to be perfect through perfect practice but remember that in the end you can only do your best!
See You On The Mats!
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.
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