GRR! A martial artists nightmare!

[Beer-monster]

Excuse me while I rant momentarily.

 

BUT I'M GOING INSANE!!!

 

I've just returned home to my sleepy town after a year at uni, so I'm back with the fo0lks for the summer. No more equations

 

But no more martial arts. NOOOOOOOO!!! I think I'm starting to get withdrawal symptoms .

 

My old karate club packed in when my because of a lack of students and injury to my sensei's knee. The only club in town is a TKD Mc Dojo, (no offense to any TKD students but this club is really a buisiness with gis, not a school of martial arts).

 

I have no drivers liscense, very little money (uni parties drained my funds) and no way to travel to any other clubs for either Jiu-jitsu or Karate. from three or four sessions a week to nothing.

 

I can't even put up a punching bag or makiwara (well I have one of those executive air filled office punch bags, but its not much for power or impact). And I'm ashamed to say there is a limit to how many times a persona can do the same techniques on air and do the same kata. Besides without my club mates my dedication is starting to wane (how Mas Oyama trained in the wilderness on his own I don't know.)

 

The martial arts are the most important thing in my life, and they've been taken from me for 3 monthes. Perhaps its a test of my warrior soul of some bushido stuff like that, but I'M GOING CRAZY .

 

Sorry about that I just had to vent. Anyone else go through something like this and have any advice. Any other opinion of MA nightmares. Anyone else need vent anything. C'mon you'll feel better I did.

 

Advice please , how do I deal with this?

[TKDLadyInSC]

So the martial part is taken away. Improve the art part. Excersize your mind. I just had knee surgery. It has been a month since I have been able to kick and i'm going nuts. But I am working the mental attributes in the mean time. To be a martial artist you must have physical, mental, & ki training.

 

The person who practices only physical is just a fighter.

 

The person who practices only mental is just a scholar.

 

The person who practices only ki is just a philosopher.

 

The person who practices all is truly a warrior.

[granmasterchen]

look for some friends to practise with....get some friends involved and see if you all want to make a trek to another class together sometime to check it out, save up some money by cutting grass or something and get a bus ticket, or hike to a class, that is fun to do and it also shows your dedication to the arts, hopefully the class isn't too far away.... but i would try to train with friends and work what you can, set up some boards with rope wrapped aroundit or get a sand bag and use these for punching bags....there are many things you can do, just put your mind to it.

[tommarker]

look at what you know from a different angle.

 

My instructor used to spend hours in the woods training. How the heck did he do it? He would start by training forms. Pick a form, any form... do the form until something doesn't feel right, and then work on it until it slides smoothly into the move before and after it.

 

Pull away from the techniques, and look at the transition: what gets you from the last move until the next.

 

Look beyond the obvious interpretation of the technique you're doing. How does the technique before and after it change the outlook?

 

What happens if you play with the rhythm of the technique. Instead of going 1...2...3... try 1-2...3, 1..2-3, etc.

 

What happens if you start with the last move of the form and work backwards to the beginning.

 

What happens if you do the form in it's mirror-image?

 

I know the feeling of getting lax in the training. I've had a bit of a downer time in the last 2 weeks.. Haven't been motivated to do squat, and it shows when I do stuff, too. I'm just starting to get back into the flow of things.

[tommarker]

Other stuff: running, biking, swimming, mountain climbing, weightlifting, or just stretching. Nothing better than when people leave for the summer, and come back a heck of a lot stronger than when they left. Much better than the guy who comes back, has forgotten his forms, etc.

[focus102]

I recently had to take a couple of months off due to an injury so I feel your frustration. You can spend some time just reading up about the arts or about your art. There's a ton of information out there that you can pick up. I spent my time surfing MA sites and reading MA books and magazines and I find that my training now makes much more sense and has more meaning than it did when I didn't really know the background.

 

Also, set up a specific schedule or plan of what you want to do. I find it's easier to practice when you are following a schedule as opposed to just training when you are in the mood. There's more discipline that way and less laziness.

[Shotokan_Fighter]

man all i can say is thats gotta suck. try the TKD dojo lol

[G95champ]

List of things I did when my old school closed and before I started teaching.

 

1. Kata - you can never do it enough. You will always learn something and you get good basic work in it.

 

2. Read - buy some books about your MA and learn as much as you can about it. You may also want to look into some books but other famous MAists or styles just for the reference.

 

3. Stay in Shape - Could be running, lifting weights, playing sports, doing exercise in your room at night, etc. Just don't get lazy and wish things would change.

 

4. Find someone - get up with a person in your clas and train with each other. Spar, teach the other kata you don't know, etc. Im sure their is someone in your old dojo who still wants to train.

 

5. Meet with you teacher - see him as much as you can and aske for his advice.

[telsun]

Life without MA I just can't imagine it.

 

The thing with MA is that you do require practice. Yeah I think all of us go through the spell of getting lax in training when there is little to no motivation.

 

When my old instructor left I opened my own club

 

Others have already given good advice, please excuse me for repeating some of it.

 

Keep in shape. What do you lack at the moment? If you want to build up some bulk now is a good time to do it, as your body will have a more relaxing time recovering. Alternatively you may wish to work on your fitness. Set a goal and go for it. The goal part is important to keep your motivation.

 

Read, read, read. Buy some MA mags, read those old MA books you have (you must have some surely). Personally I don't get much from reading 'How to' MA books. I got hooked on motivating, self improvement books. I recently read "The great escape" by Geoff Thompson, which was very good. Gives you a real feeling of self worth. I also enjoy reading biographies. I just finished reading Inside the Cage which is the true story of Carl Merrit who was involved in illegal prize fighting. That book was a real eye opener. Next I'll be reading Mohamed Ali's biography. Visit the library and get some good books to read. Alternatively I will send you a couple you might enjoy, under the condition that you return them to me

 

There must be people from your old Karate club in the area. Get together. Hire the hall if you like (I used to hire a squash court for some extra training). If you was friendly with your old instructor then go visit him. It is surprising gow much you will learn at a social level.

 

Of course do not neglect your karate training. If you can't get combo's together etc, then just concentrate on kata. Everything is in them study them and things just seem to come to light.

[telsun]

Oh and watch MA movies. Lots of 'em.