Effective solo training

[Spartacus Maximus]

Any serious martial arts practicioner will eventually reach a point where training alone becomes more difficult. The hardest part about training solo is knowing what to do, how to track progress and above all how to avoid boredom or exhaustion from overtraining.

I believe being organized is the first step. Knowing where and when in the day one has time to train is essential. Next is deciding how much time one can reasonably use without compromising vital activities such as meals or sleep.

Once all that is clear, the next step is deciding how to make use of that time. This can be the most important yet difficult thing to do. Here are questions to think about:

What is effective and productive practise? How much time should be spent on a single technique (a punch or a kick, for example)? How many times should it be repeated? Is simply repeating each technique or kata until exhaustion really effective or efficient?

What is efficient solo training, to you?

[muttley]

I used to love solo training, even as a shodan in shotokan. It gave me the opportunity to do what I want, I'd set aside a good couple of hours, start with fitness, do some cardio then I moved onto kihon and kata.

At one stage I set up a camcorder and recorded my sessions so I could self criticise later and reflect on it. I found it most useful.

[Wastelander]

I'll be honest--organization and planning are NOT my strong suits! I train at least a little bit every day, but it's pretty random. A kata here, a drill there, an exercise there, all scattered throughout the day. Sometimes, I will set aside a long block of time for training, but most of the time I just wing it and do what feels right, when it feels right. Efficient? Maybe not, but it works for me.

[JR 137]

A strength & conditioning coach told me that the exercise you need to do the most is the one you hate the most. Why do you hate it the most? Because you're not good enough at it to like it or be indifferent to it. It's very hard to hate something if you get really good at it. You're not truly good at something until it feels natural to you.

When I train on my own, I try to do the things I need the most work on. Right now it's hip flexibility/mobility. It's still pretty uncomfortable to kick higher than waist height with roundhouse kicks.

But that doesn't mean do what you need most exclusively either. Mix it up in a single session.

Going to exhaustion can be counter productive. When you start overdoing it, your mechanics suffer, thereby risking engraining poor mechanics into muscle memory. Overdoing it can also cause injury faster than almost anything else. There's a fine line between doing enough and doing too much; the better you know your body, the easier it is to find it.

The only thing I won't do in solo training is stuff I'm not fully confidant with. I've found out the hard way that if I do a kata or any other new echnique wrong 100 times, it'll take doing it right about 500 times to correct it to the point I no longer have to make a conscious effort not to do it. It kills me to learn something new in the dojo and not come home and practice it right away. But I learned that I'm better waiting.

[Luther unleashed]

Jr137 I like that, especially the part about doing what you don't want to do. Personally when I get burned out I practice a different style, it offers me something new and interesting. This is part of the reason I have learned so many wildly different styles. Also, if I'm just burned out on martial arts period I'll pick up a skateboard or something to stay in shape and stay away from the couch lol.

This is what works for me anyways!

[sensei8]

AHA moments occur when solo training; it happens, more often than one might imagine. Inasmuch, that feedback is lost, or suspended, and that AHA moment loses its flavor and spark because that necessary feedback isn't immediate. Therefore, that found AHA moment is forgotten!!

What is effective and productive practise?

Effective practice becomes productive when one's able to improve; no matter how big or small that might be. Punching harder, going longer, compacting more, and so on and so forth; any improvement must be awarded!!

How much time should be spent on a single technique (a punch or a kick, for example)?

A LIFETIME!!

How many times should it be repeated?

Until it's perfect, and that, takes more than a lifetime because we aren't perfect. Now, that technique is almost perfect....wait...now it's not...wait...it is perfect again...no...wait... So you see, what is now, won't last because we're seeking to improve...ALWAYS!!

Is simply repeating each technique or kata until exhaustion really effective or efficient?

NO!!

Mundane repetitive techniques until exhausted worsens the technique, and KATA, well kata is comprised of said techniques. Once tired...STOP...REST...then resume training.

What is efficient solo training, to you?

It's everything!! I can't improve my MA betterment without it, but again, feedback must be in concert. Train solo, then get with your Instructor to get that feedback. How? Go to class, and if that solo training is getting the approved nod, then you're good to go, but if you don't get that approved nod, speak to your Instructor and let him know what you've been doing during your solo training, get his/her valuable help, and return to that solo training!!

All of this speaks about Shu Ha Ri...all of it, even if, and especially while training solo!! Moments will peak; that's the reward, yet, the diligent will endure daily.

[Titanium]

My main solo training consisted of a lot of kata and basics.

I have always considered basics, kihon, something in which should be done no matter what grade.

Even at 3rd Dan, I will be doing a gyakuzuki for hours on end to ensure that it is perfect.

The most important thing in solo training is perfecting what you know.

It's better to do one punch perfectly flawless than 10 punches poorly.

[Spartacus Maximus]

Sometimes it can be difficult to decide what or how long to spend on each item chosen for a day's training. Ideally, I try to do everything on my schedule but if I'm not satisfied with one part I will end up doing that one thing almost the entire time. Punching, kicking and blocking techniques are probably the bulk of what I practise outside the dojo. It is always those plus whatever else I decided to focus on for that day. The biggest challenge is trying to balance everything because there is so much to work with.

[JR 137]

Sometimes it can be difficult to decide what or how long to spend on each item chosen for a day's training. Ideally, I try to do everything on my schedule but if I'm not satisfied with one part I will end up doing that one thing almost the entire time. Punching, kicking and blocking techniques are probably the bulk of what I practise outside the dojo. It is always those plus whatever else I decided to focus on for that day. The biggest challenge is trying to balance everything because there is so much to work with.

There is a lot to work with. If you work out regularly outside the dojo (say every Monday, Wednesday, Friday), you can plan ahead on what you'll do - Monday kicks, Wednesday punches/hand strikes, Friday kata. Then you can rotate that, get more specific within that, do other stuff like combinations one day, cardio another, flexibility another day. The possibilities are endless. If you don't have a set schedule, that's when things get tricky.

Having a 2 year old and a 4 year old, I'm lucky I get to the dojo 2-3 times a week. My wife also tries to go to yoga and/or Pilates 2-3 times a week. Not very much time left for focused and productive work outs outside the dojo. No complaints from me; I wouldn't want it any other way.

[Spartacus Maximus]

Regular Life and family takes up a lot of time but I still somehow manage to train/practise a minimum of four days. On a good week I train every day for an hour at least. This is in addition to dojo time which unfortunately for me is only feasible once a week.