Discontinuing training

[Johnlogic121]

Gichin Funakoshi, the man who is called the Father of Modern Karate, is recorded as saying that that if you don't train continuously to keep your skills "hot" they will quickly turn "cold." In other words, if you take a vacation or are forced to discontinue training for a certain legnth of time, then the quality of you karate performance goes down dramatically. People say you never fully forget how to ride a bicycle, but karate has a hundred skills in its skill set that are equally as challenging as riding a bicycle, and karate ability really does diminish if you leave it alone. Nevertheless, some older people who have given up active training can still fight well if they are called upon to defend themselves. Does anybody know of a standard formula for how rapidly your skills diminish if you stop continuous training? Knowing such a formula would be handy if someone is considering a long vacation or moving to a new area where they might be out of active karate classes for at least six months. Does staying away from class for six months take away as much as a year of your ability, if you have put about five years in? How does staying away from class effect someone's flexibility? Does anybody have experience with being away from class for a long time? How long would you have to train to get back in shape if you have been out for three months? Would the dojo you train in allow you to keep the same rank if you forget key parts to certain kata forms? If so, how would you make up the lost time? Thanks, -JL

[Dobbersky]

Johnlogic-san,

Yes I see your points and yes I do agree that if you leave it alone you loose it.

I stopped training in Tang Soo Do about 3-4 years ago, and for the life of me I am unable to practice Hyungs/kata that I now wish I still knew, I would love to be able to practice the Chil Sung Hyungs and Dumon Hyung but I cant remember its format, even with books and DVDs as some of the techniques are done with their back facing so I am unable to decipher the techniques.

Regards still being able to fight and defend yourself then I would say that your body always goes into a fight or flight mode and it will recall anything that will allow you to WIN. Note your brain remembers everything it is subjected to, but its how you store the information is to how you recall it.

Osu

[ps1]

Most of us know that martial arts is about creating new habits. Reinforcing the good habits and replacing undesired ones.

As long as a new habit was created...and not replaced by another one, it will remain indefinitely.

What will change, however, are the physiological responses. The most specific one will be reaction time. That's the ability to identify a problem, sort through your options to handle the problem, pick the option you want, and execute that task. Let's look at each part of this one by one.

First is the ability to identify the problem. We'll use the example of a punch. Without the continual input of having to identify a punch velocity and trajectory, it will take you longer to do the longer you've been out of training. Furthermore, a connection exists between how long you trained and how long you have been without training. That is...a person who only trained for 5 years may notice problems in this area in a relatively short period of time (just a few weeks or months). Whereas a person who trained for 20 years is usually able to go much longer (perhaps a few years).

Part 2 and 3: The ability to sort through and choose the options. This is also a problem area when training is ceased. However, this is a difficult one to track because it is directly to both the number of options learned, and the amount of time training those options. In short, a person will fall back on what they trained the most. We all know about information overload. The idea that having too many options can slow reaction time. Again, there is a correlation between how much time was spent in training and how much time has passed. This is because a person who spent 20 years training had time to learn several options, then to figure out what worked best for them and train that option over and over. The person who spent only 4 or 5 years training may have learned several options, but never learned what works best for them. Thereby making them more susceptible to information overload.

Lastly is the ability to execute the defense. Physiologically, you lose cardiovascular training more quickly than you lose flexibility, and flexibility quicker than you lose muscular strength. Assuming you stayed healthy and in shape. Your ability to execute the movements should not change. It's the timing related to the first three steps that will hold you up. However, if you stopped training completely, there will be obvious decreases in your cardiovascular endurance within 3 or 4 weeks, changes in flexibility within 1 to 2 months and changes in your strength within 2 to 5 months. Yeah... it can happen that quickly. There are, however, genetic traits that are not accounted for in these basic guidelines. That is, some people just stay in shape longer because they have some good genetics.

Good topic. I can't wait to see some other responses.

[NewEnglands_KyoSa]

I have had to take time off from PRACTICING my MAs since september due to my ankle injury and surgery. I will be back in three weeks. But all this time i've still be teaching my classes. I feel that a lot of my ability is gone, yes. But my memory has not failed me, i know all my forms just as well as i did. and as my muscle memory kicks it, it will become even easier.

[bushido_man96]

ps1 has a good post. Some people will be more naturally talented and athletic, and some people are just naturally better fighters than others. So, those things will all go into the formula of how long it takes to lose what.

Best to just find 20 mintues, twice a week, to keep things maintained, even when on vacation.