Personal training in uniforms

[ramymensa]

Hold the phone !!

 

ramymensa says "Don' let Karate take over your life."

 

What kind of advise is that? Karate should be so interwoven in your life you can't tell where it starts and stops. It's not a hobby or a sport it is a life style.

It's a way of life, not your entire life. We are not in the woods like Tarzan practising all day more ways to swing from tree to tree. Humans are social animals We live in society and have something else than Karate. He is at school. I wouldn't advice him to leave it on a second place just to become the second Bruce Lee. School is VERY important and one must take all from it. I'm at my second college and all my life I've knew knowledge and mastery can take me from misery and give me a warm way of life. At his age he should prepare for life and try to have a decent and why not easy job. He should make friends and live his youth.

 

Karate is a way of life, I don't deny it. I use Karate all day. It makes me happy, smarter, focused, agile and so on. But I have a life. I am a woman, I work at a radio station, I spend time doing web design stuff, I have some time to spend with close friends (not much, but enough to keep me in society), I can have a place for my family and the problems in everyday life, I spend a bit with my boy friend as I dream of getting married and having kids, and still I go to train.

 

Advising someone to leave all aside and just train in Karate is ... don't get upset ... a bit imature. The outcome would be ... lack of friends (besides those in the dojo), no girl friend, lots of complexes, he'll be singled out, without any social life, with a job that is hard and demanding ... probably not so well paid (because he left aside school and learning) ... and many other things.

 

With the school I speak from the experience (of another ). One of my instructors focused mainly on Karate when young so he became a worker at a electrical plant. He is 34 now. And in college. He knows edication can bring him a more "pleasant" job and is doing a hard work to learn at 34 what he avoided at 18. It's hard. He is married and father of two. Goes to his hard job, comes home and goes to school.

 

Some things must be done at their time. Do karate all your life (that's what I intend too), but make sure your life would be a nicer one.

[markusan]

I never wear my gi outside formal TKD training, mostly because the only time they look any good is when everyone else is wearing them. They are generally not very cool. Wearing a gi outside the dojang would feel like going to a black tie party in fancy dress. I also think that if you need your gi to feel motivated that's a problem. You have to let go of that idea and learn to get motivated in anything you're wearing. I wear my gi trousers when I am bag training at home because they are good for kicking but I don't wear a gi top, just a singlet. Definitely ditch the belt, anyone outside the martial arts who desn't know its significant, will think you look like a clown.

 

If you train in your gi and belt I guarantee your mind will be pre-occupied with how you look and what other people think of you, when you should be concentrating on your training.

[markusan]

I never wear my gi outside formal TKD training, mostly because the only time they look any good is when everyone else is wearing them. They are generally not very cool. Wearing a gi outside the dojang would feel like going to a black tie party in fancy dress. I also think that if you need your gi to feel motivated that's a problem. You have to let go of that idea and learn to get motivated in anything you're wearing. I wear my gi trousers when I am bag training at home because they are good for kicking but I don't wear a gi top, just a singlet. Definitely ditch the belt, anyone outside the martial arts who desn't know its significant, will think you look like a clown.

 

If you train in your gi and belt I guarantee your mind will be pre-occupied with how you look and what other people think of you, when you should be concentrating on your training.

[Kaos666]

well, well... quite some responses... thanx guys

 

but here is what more i have to say... as some of you may have not read, i wrote that i may have an opportunity to be "virtually alone" in the workout room in the mornings. The only other ppl are the gym teachers and hardcore weightlifters (not steroid jerks, but dedicated responsible ppl, most anyways). Besides i only plan to go there once maybe twice a week at most, the 4 times at the dojo take out quite alot

 

Secondly, i'm one of the oldest students in the school, in grade 13, there is just no other ppl that feel so much superior to me as to start trouble. As for all those brain-dead muscle heads that are alwways around, i'm on good terms with them because we weightlift togther. As for the rest, I outrank them in the "social hierarchy" they themselves created... if anything they might even look up to me

 

Thirdly, i'm not at all worried about ppl making fun of me, even if the do it to my face, i've learned to completely ignore that. As for unconciously showing off... well you may see it that way, but i know i won't in the least... i am simply gonna be there to practice my forms, stances and kata so i may become better at mastering them, i'm there for myself, to become better.

 

On similar note, we just got our fence built around our house so i may practice in the backyard without all the neighbours flocking as if to a circus (every morning for weeks now). As a matter of fact, after i got over these "spectators", i started to study the way the look at me and i was pleased to see that most that an expression of awe and respect and admiration... although some seemed to mock and scorn (they truly are everywhere, such ppl)

 

maybe these new facts will change the way some view the situation, and provide different feedback

[Rotten Head Fok]

I think anywhere, place or time you can devote to training is necessary, do what you can. The Gi I would leave home, grab some sweats or something comfortable. I have yet to hear of anyone learning an art by watching another person work out in a public place. If it was that easy I could have saved my-self alot of money. Keep training and don't forget your school grades !

Edited August 15, 2004 by Rotten Head Fok

[aefibird]

Even though you're one of the oldest in your school I still wouldn't suggest that you train in your gi. Buy a tracksuit/sweats and train in those. That way you'll definately avoid unwanted attention. Even though the other students are younger than you, you might have to put up with them gawping at you; more so if you wear your gi.

 

 

I have yet to hear of anyone learning an art by watching another person work out in a public place. If it was that easy I could have saved my-self alot of money.

 

lol, me too!! If only learning a martial art was so easy...

[monkeygirl]

I train in my gi pants all the time at the gym, just because they're great pants...even if I'm not practicing MA that day. If not too many people are there, I practice on the punching bag. During warmer weather, I like to retreat to an unused sports field and practice. They're usually pretty deserted and secluded, so I'm never bothered, and it's nice being outside where there's quiet, fresh air.

[CanuckMA]

You are the oldest and in grade 13. That implies younger grades in the school. Leave the gi at home. You also mention that you'd be doing it only a couple of times a week, because you're in the dojo 4 times a week. Have you considered just training at the dojo? Even if you train in seats, in the weight room, some immature idiot will see you and hassle you. Use the gym for normal workout, push ups, sit ups, stretching. Maybe you can make use of their weight training equipment.

[Red J]

I'm with Monkeygirl as I see nothing wrong working out with gi pants and a tee, especially if you are relatively alone.

 

The whole deal though, that's another story. I remember seeing a mom and her son at the ballpark last year, both of them dressed in full gi with their belts, watching a baseball game. Even I thought that they were dorks.

[Kaos666]

well, last year two asian dudes where doing sword practice in the park near my house each morning while i was doing my runs... i only looked at them with understanding and respect...

 

once again, what other ppl think is not important to me, unless it is positive feedback or constructive critisism...

 

idiots will be idiots, and if i were to fear them making fun of my training i would not have gone into MA at all. If your only concern is that i will somehow be insulted by morons because of my uniform, then let go of your worries, i've grown over that.

 

My real question, once again, was wether wearing your gi outside the dojo is somehow insulting to teh school or disrespectful to the art...