What is a martial hobbyist?

[Spartacus Maximus]

It is a well known and easily verifiable fact that the overwhelming majority of people in martial arts are just doing them as a casual activity or hobby. In general, most do not train or practise between sessions.

How much and how often must one train and practise to be considered more than a hobbyist?

There are many different ideas on this but there is an obvious difference between the bi-weekly-dojo only type and the fanatical one.

[JR 137]

I'm not big on textbook definitions, but I'd define a hobbyist as anyone who's not getting paid. If you're paid (be it competition, instructing, or simply as a financial office type), it's not longer a hobby. If you teach for free, you're a volunteer.

Now as to the end of your question...

There's varying levels of commitment of the student (and teacher). The varying levels of commitment of the student are very closely related to the student's goals and reasons for training. Some view it as group exercise. Some view it as strictly self defense. Most view it as a combination of those and other factors.

When is a student a serious student or even fanatic as you put it? It's all in the eyes of the observer. People can and will train outside the dojo very earnestly but still view it as exercise primarily. It's all about the mindset and goals. And that mindset and those goals can and will change.

I love the martial arts. I'm very passionate about them. But I'm still a hobbyist. Why? It's not earning me money. I practice it out of love for it, not out of financial need nor any other true need.

[MAfreak]

yes normally its called professional when someone gets paid for it.

if not, its a hobby. thats it. no matter, how often you do your hobby. maybe you can call it your passion or lifestyle to make clear that it means alot to you.

[sensei8]

It is a well known and easily verifiable fact that the overwhelming majority of people in martial arts are just doing them as a casual activity or hobby. In general, most do not train or practise between sessions.

How much and how often must one train and practise to be considered more than a hobbyist?

There are many different ideas on this but there is an obvious difference between the bi-weekly-dojo only type and the fanatical one.

The answer to the bold type above will vary from practitioner to practitioner, imho.

A student that attends class 3 times a week, week after week...month after month...year after year...isn't a hobbyist.

A student that attends class 1-2 times per month...after month...might not be a hobbyist either, based on parameters. However, year after year in same routine...isn't a hobbyist either.

Should a MAist be gauged by how much and how often one trains/practices? The important issue, imho, is that they ARE practitioners of the MA; while it's full time or part time, but they're out there on the floor doing what they're suppose to be doing...training/practicing/attending classes.

I've students, that due to their work schedule, can only attend class 1-2 times per month, but they've been on the floor for many years; their heart is in it, and not just for a season, but for a reason.

Do the MA once in their lifetime, for a very brief moment, and never again...there's the hobbyist, imho.

[Wado Heretic]

A word us dojo bunnies use for people we don't think show up often enough. A bit like Gym bunnies deride new people to the gym, or marathon runners mock joggers just trying to get into shape.

Any amateur is doing it as a hobby; the non-hobbyists are the people who rely on such skills for a livelihood, and in the case of police officers and soldiers sometimes to stay alive.

Time spent on the floor is important; but simply marks the difference between someone practicing at a mediocre level, and someone practicing at an elite level.

Better to train at an elite level in something you love, then at a mediocre level in something everyone else loves. That I suspect is where this annoying distinction arises from.

[Spartacus Maximus]

Very interesting opinions indeed🙂. Although it was to be expected, the opposite of a hobbyist is not necessarily the professional who is paid to teach or train. There are plenty of fanatical practicionners who are not earning a living from martial arts.

The biweekly-dojo only type is but one example of what could be called a hobbyist. On the other end of the scale is someone who trains/practises for hours every day in addition to being at the dojo teaching or training.

Those types are rare, it is true, but whatever a hobbyist my be they are not. What is truly worthy of admiration is those who have continued at that pace from youth well into "old age".

Before these examples, it is almost embarrassing to admit to training a measly 8-12 hours a week.

[JR 137]

I'm in the dojo 2 nights/week. Actually, 1 night (typically Wednesday) and 1 Saturday morning. Having a job, a spouse and 2 young children (3 and 5 y/o) can do that to you. In the summer, I'm in about 3x per week. Time spent doesn't always equate to dedication, as Sensei8 put more articulately than I can.

I think a more accurate way to state you case would be serious student vs leisurely student instead of fanatic vs hobbyist. But it's all semantics.

[IcemanSK]

I'm not one to label someone who doesn't train as much as I do as a hobbyist (or anything else that is less than how I choose to train). Everyone has their own desires, ambitions, abilities, & life priorities. Someone walks into my school & wants to train, fantastic!! I will teach you. If that's one day a week, it will limit the amount & pace of progress, but it doesn't mean they are somehow less than I am. As sensei8 is fond of saying, "The proof is on the floor," & I'm not going to put that person in a tournament. But I'm not going to marginalize someone who wants to train by how much they choose to train with me.

I've had times in my life when I worked a non-MA 40+ hour a week job, but still trained 3 hours 6 days a week. I was in the gym when it opened until it closed for no other reason than love for it. But it didn't make me any better than the folks who could only make it a few days a week. Love for MA is caught, not taught. Some get it & some don't. But none that train are second class.

[bushido_man96]

I don't really like the idea of relegating most of the Martial Arts practitioners in the world to merely "hobbyist," but based off the definitions filling in here, that is how most of the practitioners in the world would end up being labeled. But I don't think it has to be a career in order for it to be considered more than a hobby, either.

[Spartacus Maximus]

Martial arts neither have to be a career or professional activity for somebody to be considered more than a hobbyist. By definition, a hobby is a casual activity that is mosty limited to a person's leisure time, regularly but not part of the usual day.

The simplest explanation, and it is a broad one; is that a hobbyist trains a couple of hours per week. The serious martial artist trains a couple of hours per day. It is a very simplistic defenition, but it appropriately describes the types of people involved in martial arts.