When Does Karate Become Second Nature

[Buster]

I was just wandering when karate becomes second nature to someone who has been training for x amount of years.

Have any of you ever been in a position where it has helped you out ? and at what point did karate become second nature?

[lordtariel]

I would have to say it depends on the person and the amount of training they do. Personally, I find bits and pieces of my karate training coming out at odd moments, and I haven't been training that long.

That's not meaning I'm fully aware of what the each and every person is doing around me every second of the day, and can put the smack down on anyone without thought... it's just that things like moving, balance, speed, and accuracy tend to improve a bit. It's usually hard to tell though because it's a gradual change.

Some day I'll become the fully integrated karate warrior, doing katas down the grocery isles, with kicks and strikes, knocking products from the shelf to the cart.

[bushido_man96]

People catch on to different things at different rates. Some people are natrual atheletes, and tend to take to these things like a duck to water. Some, however, are not as apt to pick up things as quickly, no matter what it is. Then, it takes some more time. With time and training, things start to pull together. Others may not be able to see it, but the practitioner will begin to notice little things on the way that they didn't really notice about themselves before. It may be because it is something new, or because they are just more aware of themselves, and of what it around them.

[G95champ]

I think that is the main goal to react without thinking.

How quickly that happens I think depends on the person. Their age, intellagence, athletic ability, etc...

[marie curie]

Ummm... it depends what you mean.

I've been doing martial arts maybe collectively 11 or 12 years and have had some immediate responses.

1. Once I was doing my nails on my couch and this guy was punching me (he was very much like a little brother) and he punched me when I wasn't expecting it, and I stood, spun, and front snap kicked his nose into broken.

2. When I was walking along, someone grabbed me from behind (later determined to be an acquaintance) and I spun, arm-barring him.

3. Once I was waking my fiance up and trapped so as to arm-bar, but I was faster (due to being awake) and countered.

One might consider those "second nature" but I was also once grabbed by a friend from behind, and did nothing. I have a friend (an instructor who is married to one of my girlfriends) who fake punches at my face, and I block on his way out

So I think that a lot of it is situational, and some of it just where you are in your day/mood/etc.

[Daisho]

By secondnature, i assume you mean something similar to the buddha-mind, where without thinking your mastery of the martial skills, and clear thought allows you to utilize your training in an instinctual manner. This is a passage from a fav book of mine:

"Knowing all this, I shouldn't be surprised when a newcomer to our school asks, 'How long will it take me to master aikido?' Still, the question leaves me speechless. I have practiced aikido for more than twelve years, during six of which I have also taught, and I feel considerably further from "mastering" the art than I did after my first six months. Perhaps I should simply respond as Master Deshimaru did when he was asked a similar question:

"How many years do I have to practice zazen?"

"Until you die."

-----The Zen Way to the Martial Art

[Stormstaff]

Some day I'll become the fully integrated karate warrior, doing katas down the grocery isles, with kicks and strikes, knocking products from the shelf to the cart.

Man, that would ROCK!!

[a_ninja]

Well i am still working toward that second nature of karate, but i find that things come more natural in the 1 year i have been active in karate.

[dete]

when you live it

that sounds like myth,

but when you understand the principals and you have been applying them to your everyday life for years now.

Some intuitive people will recognize it in you right away, they will say you move differently than regular people.

I remember in college I took a class, intro to gymnastics, my coach told me he noticed it in my movements.

My parents don't see me train but they notice it in my behavior when something critical happens, they say I'm abnormally calm.

Just working out in the gym, I've had people tell me, don't try to hide it, I can tell you train.

And then here are more automatic examples of benefits:

I was on the track team, they changed the track to this weird bouncey

tire tar like stuff, a week later, everyone got shin splits, except for me,

I credit the shin conditioning.

Another time working as a over night stocker in home depot,

my partner and I had to carry buckets of paint, he was a big strong

guy, and I'm a little guy, he thought it was odd that I would sit down

and push the buckets with my legs instead of shoving them in with my

arms, I'd always think of leverage & keeping the body tight as one unit

rather than over extending or reaching. He ended up with back surgery,

aside from being a little sore everynight I was fine.

[marie curie]

OT- Wow if working at Home Depot caused me back surgery I'd be quite cranky at them!!!