Training and state of mind - Advice needed

[Bruce WillPete7]

Manabimasho1 wow thats a great story, has to be one of the worst feelings when your body wont respond to something that serious.

Now to this discussion! I agree with Aodhan with the scientific look on it, but i also believe it has a great deal to do with the mind. First let me ask this question. When you are obstructed in you day to day or routine plans do you not instantly freak! Or at least get grumpy or cranky? Ex 1: Joe doesnt get his morning coffee, Benny doesnt get to play his pokemon like he does every day. For some of us here its not getting the satisfaction and benefits of a great MA class that really gets us ticked. I think its a great habit to be bothered when we dont get to do something as healthy as training when we are so used to it. If you believe you should keep doing it, your mind will want to keep doing it.

[Muaythaiboxer]

what your talking about is called "runners guilt" in the athletic comunity because it most oftain effects runners. i have a big problem with it if im not able to practice for a couple days i feel terrible and although im always a nice guy i find it very hard to be nice during these training breaks. if you dont got this when you stop training you arnt training enough.

AMITABHA

[Ben Martin]

if i dont train much like the last few months due to different reasons but when i do i also notice a change in me, i become either short tempered or kinda low/depressed and i dont feel like doing anything. i also get bursts of energy from time 2 time and id give anything just to spar with someone so i just throw a new punches and kicks, does anyone else get that?

[White Warlock]

Manabimasho1, i hope you take the time to go to a doctor and get examined. It seems to me that you received an injury... and that your body is screaming at you to seek medical help.

Do you experience the same when you do not train for a while?

I used to, but nowadays i can take a long break from the 'traditional' training scene without any significant side-effects. i still find myself training, in that i sit in an elevator and practice techniques in close-quarters or workout on my steering wheel while i'm driving down the road, or any of the other odd habits i've picked up as my 'all-the-time' drills, and i think these little spurts of activity help me to alleviate that 'guilt' Muaythaiboxer mentioned.

If you do, what do you do to alleviate the stress and irritability when you just don't have the time or possibility to train?

Well, i think i answered part of that with the comments above. I know that when i'm injured, i can't train in the traditional sense. Instead i have to work around my injury, and i've learned... over the many years... that i have to be very 'strict' with myself, or i'll merely aggravate my injuries. Anyway, if it is an injury-related hiatus, i work all the 'other' parts of my body, as if the injury were permanent. I.e., i try to function as efficiently as possible, utilizing my injury as a vulnerability. In doing this, not only do i gain 'respect' for the injury, but i also develop my ability to function 'despite' the injury i have.

Every day we do things to strengthen our skills and don't pay attention to that. Not merely our martial art skills, but our other skills, such as communications, writing, math, etc. What is important to realize, to help alleviate the 'guilt' associated with direct non-performance, is that you can grow, expand, build on your knowledge base, and in turn expand your physical base... without putting you through the ropes. You don't need to pummel yourself to gain insight and growth. All you need to do is 'allow' yourself to go beyond the restraints of your normal studies. Take those moments to 'expand' your knowledge.

For example, i've received many injuries over the past almost 30 years of my studies in the arts, and in many cases they were not martial-arts induced. In some cases i was bed-ridden, on crutches, in body-wraps or in a cast, wearing braces/supports, unnoticeably injured or merely doctor-ordered to 'chill.' In every case, the circumstances presented were different, the options deviated accordingly. In some cases, the best i could do was sit down and read a book, or watch a video (ended up owning a good collection of books and videos because of these circumstances). In other cases, only partial immobility was in order, so i would find some specific thing to practice, like knife-throwing or study of anatomy and the application of pain to various regions of the body. Even other times, it was merely watching people, in the streets or on television, to gain insight into their behaviors... their triggers.

And for those who like to tout Bruce Lee, he wrote the majority of his notes for "Tao of Jeet Kune Do" while bedridden in the hospital.

The limits you pose to yourself are more of what creates your frustrations, than the actual limits that exist.

[shotochem]

Hey, I thought it was just me!!!

I get real cranky when I don't get my classes in. You just feel lousy and don't have the same amount of energy that you do when you train.

[A. Orstrom]

Thank you all for your great replys, I think I can use them to overcome this irritability or runner's guilt that I feel.

I will, however, try not to miss out on any training.

[welshdragon]

thank god it aint just me that feels like that!!! i get that when im not training.....i just came back from a weeks intensive course away, and there was a gap before i could train again.....man was i evil! yet as soon as i put my gi back on to go to the dojo, i felt so so much better. strange.....but true!! i thinbg all of us get it after a while!!! when ever i get told to take time off...i usually flip!!!

[BJJShotoshe]

What I have noticed in my training behavior is that when I do not train I feel lazy, fat, and mad at myself, compared to when I do train, I feel light, enlightened, and happy. I think it is just the stress training adds to your life for those few hours of training a day and then after you are done training, the stress is pretty much lifted from you and you feel free. At least that is the way I feel.