Secluded Training

[scottnshelly]

I have been thinking a lot about those that go into seclusion for an extended period of time to train. Although this isn't a very real possibility for me right now, i would like to eventually. I have a couple questions about it.

 

1) How plausible is it to stay secluded for a year these days? Think about the growing population and decreasing unexplored land in America, bills that everyone has...

 

2) if you had the opportunity, would you do it?

 

3) what would you take?

[SevenStar]

1. how deep are your pockets?

 

2. no. To be effective, you need constant drilling with resistance, and IMO, sparring. I can do neither by myself. If a training partner was going with me, cool. But you're not gonna increase your fighting skill much by training alone for a year.

 

3. whatever I could fit into the camper.

[Shorinryu Sensei]

I live in Northwest Montana in the middle of the Rocky Mountains...how much more secluded can you get? Heck, my internet connection is two soup cans and a string pulled tight to the phone company!

[Dijita]

You should check out the book, "The Kyokushin Way" by Mas Oyama. He talks about his seclusion and the challenges of it, you may find it very interesting. It is a very good book, even if you are not a Kyokushin student as it deals with a lot of important philosophical issues of being a martial arts student.

[aefibird]

I'd train secluded if I had no other option, but I wouldn't do so out of choice.

 

I trained on my own when I lived in Tanzania for a while, but that's because I had no one else to train with. Even though the locals probably thought that I was a crazy woman, some of the wanted to learn karate from me and were getting a good grip of it by the end of my stay. So there's karateka in the Tanzanian bush who have all my karate bad habits...

 

I enjoyed training on my own, but I wouldn't wish to do so again for an extended period of time. Having someone else to train with is a good thing - you can work off each others "rough edges" and challenge one another to become better.

[Shane]

There is now way I would want to train alone, you just cant cover the full meal deal of the physical aspects. You could cover more mental aspects but you also need partners and trainers to get the full mental part also. Sparring and working with different types and sizes of people is very important. And if you were to take a group out to train in the middle of now where for a year eventually you would probably have to truly test your fighting skills on a few of them hahahaha.

 

TRAIN HOW YOU FIGHT, FIGHT HOW YOU TRAIN

 

Your not going to find yourself in a fight that only includes you!

[scottnshelly]

I appreciate all of the responses.

 

I can see how training secluded would leave you coming up short on your sparing techniques. However, I think it would provide an excellent training mentally. Mas Oyama's skills obviously didn't suffer any from training secluded for so long.

 

so, aside from the lack of interaction with a sparing partner, do you see any advantages to secluded training?

[Drunken Monkey]

the point is, you're no Mas Omaya......

[scottnshelly]

Well, that was rude. just kidding.

[Rathe]

I kind of believe that secluded training is a romanticized ideal. Sitting there meditating and training by yourself for a year would get really lonely. Only advantage would be you might perfect forms and kata but you will miss out on the kinship that makes training so great. Unless of course you've mastered all things physical and wanted to build your mental balance and contemplate the meaning of a blade of grass.

 

In my opinion for what its worth. Leave seclusion to the ancient masters while you go punch a friend. We are a social society.