Secluded Training

[iolair]

I do plenty of short burts of secluded training.... what I would have loved to do (before I was married with kids & mortgage) though, is spend an extended period (3/6/12 months) in Japan training in Dojos there. (Of course the destination would depend on your art). Depending on your resources, you might also need to think about taking a part time job at your destination to help with accommodation or dojo fees.

[Musse]

After doing some thinking, I think the seclusion training also has an aspect similar to the whole "1000 suburi for 1000 days" thing, which is that if you do suburi 1000 times a day for 1000 days, you'll reach enlightenment - ultimate technique - blah blah blah. I mean, how many of us could benifit from practicing all day every day? .

It's saturday, I could've practised the whole day. What I'm trying to say is that you don't need to go to Siperia to train often. Why not train in your backgarden "all day every day"?

 

And anyway, how long could you last in a secluded place, all by yourself, with just the bare necessities ? A day ? Two days ? Week ?

 

- Musse

[Hudson]

It's saturday, I could've practised the whole day. What I'm trying to say is that you don't need to go to Siperia to train often. Why not train in your backgarden "all day every day"?

 

And anyway, how long could you last in a secluded place, all by yourself, with just the bare necessities ? A day ? Two days ? Week ?

 

The concept seemed to blow right by you. Yes, you could have practiced all day TODAY. But at some point you will have the responsibilities and burdens of jobs, bills, society, etc;, that will interfere with training. Why not train in my backgarden "All day, every day"? Because it's impossible to train all day every day in my back garden! The key words are "every day". Doing it on weekends is not every day.

 

I'm no stranger to the woods. Provided I set up a good camp, I could go for months. I didn't grow up in the city - I can swim, camp, carve, all that good nature-like stuff.

[SevenStar]

I do plenty of short burts of secluded training.... what I would have loved to do (before I was married with kids & mortgage) though, is spend an extended period (3/6/12 months) in Japan training in Dojos there. (Of course the destination would depend on your art). Depending on your resources, you might also need to think about taking a part time job at your destination to help with accommodation or dojo fees.

 

Now, doing that would be AWESOME. much better than training in seclusion.

[SevenStar]

Why is everyone so tied up with the sparring aspect of the Martial Arts? Sure that's one major aspect, but not the only one. I have to side with Hudson a little and say that one's power would increase dramatically, as well as one's attention to detail.

 

okay - you spend a year in the mountains. I spend the same year in the gym, working with a coach, lifting weights, running, etc. Do you REALLY think you'd have more power than me when we met up again? If so, why? There's not one power building exercise you can do in the mountains that I can't do in the gym. The only real advantage to seclusion is that you would have nothing to do other than eat and train, but many of us train constantly already. for example, I'm in class several hours 5 days a week and I'm also in the gym hitting the weights and doing cardio every day. I think that cuts into the advantage a lot, as I have access to more and better training aids than a person stuck in the woods.

 

 

 

So what if you don't spar as well when you get back, think of everything else that would be better.

 

like?

 

 

As stated above, physical ability, mental ability, meditation, the list goes on.

 

but what's stopping you from achieving those things now?

I think it would be a nice change of scenery for a while. I don't have the opportunity right now - job, family, bills. but if the opportunity ever arose - like if i lost all of the above - i would do it.

 

exactly - it's a nice change of scenery...something different to do - a new experience. No real advantage, just something seemingly cool that you haven't done before.

[scottnshelly]

okay - you spend a year in the mountains. I spend the same year in the gym, working with a coach, lifting weights, running, etc. Do you REALLY think you'd have more power than me when we met up again? If so, why? There's not one power building exercise you can do in the mountains that I can't do in the gym. The only real advantage to seclusion is that you would have nothing to do other than eat and train, but many of us train constantly already. for example, I'm in class several hours 5 days a week and I'm also in the gym hitting the weights and doing cardio every day. I think that cuts into the advantage a lot, as I have access to more and better training aids than a person stuck in the woods.

 

Point to secluded training is getting away from your everday responsibilties so that you can train like that. Some of us have a full time job, family, etc that doesn't allow us to be "in class several hours 5 days a week" and "in the gym hitting the weights and doing cardio every day."

 

being away from everything for a year would allow one to train like that.

 

"There's not one power building exercise you can do in the mountains that I can't do in the gym."

 

same works the other way. And yes, i do believe that someone secluded for a year would have more power than someone who trains everyday. Someone who is secluded wouldn't have the benefit of an obsessed training coach, but would have the mentality to beat someone who works out when he is not doing dishes, paying bills, mowing the yard...

[SevenStar]

lol.... I'm 26, married, have a full time job, pay bills and have a kid. I manage to do okay. Time is there for those who look. My kid LOVES martial arts. I take him to class with me. I'm going to allow him to start training next year. I lift weights and do cardio on my lunch break. Class isn't a big issue - I just go. I have my son with me, and it doesn't take alot of time away from being with my wife.

[SevenStar]

same works the other way. And yes, i do believe that someone secluded for a year would have more power than someone who trains everyday. Someone who is secluded wouldn't have the benefit of an obsessed training coach, but would have the mentality to beat someone who works out when he is not doing dishes, paying bills, mowing the yard...

 

What works the other way? What can you do that I can't? Also, let's define power.

[AngelaG]

I think one of the problems with secluded training is what if you develop a bad habit? Imagine that you decide to go for a year, a few months in you accidently leave a chunk out of your kata and spend the rest of the year practicing it like that; by the time you come back it's engrained in your system that your kata no longerhas that chunk in it. Similarly your technique may suffer if you have no one there to correct you.

 

I think you would have to be very confident in your abilities to do this.

[Nick_UKWC]

I agree with AngelaG here, my greatest worry would be going in there with a mistake and coming out with that mistake forever worked into your techniques.