BrianBrief #11 (What Are You Training For?)
It seems many are not sure why they are training or shift their thinking about training.
Some examples:
- Are you training to collect tournament trophies? Nothing wrong with that!
- Is it for personal development?
- Do you desire to learn self defense?
- Are you chasing a bucket list item (getting a black belt)?
- Are you chasing the latest martial arts fad/trend?
- Do you desire the social environment that comes with training?
Many can’t decide whether they are training for martial arts or for self-defence. My opinion is that martial arts is very different from training for self-defence. While they are fun to practice in the dojo, many martial arts techniques will not work in real-life situations.
So what are you training for? Let me know!
Worth mentioning that sometimes the reason(s) you start training isn’t/aren’t the reason(s) you continue training – and the reason(s) you continue training can change over time!
First karate journey – 1983 to 1987ish
Started because:
Just plain curiosity. My parents tossed a Parks & Rec catalog at me and told me to find something to do.
Continued because:
Other kids picked on me, and once I stood up for myself physically in 8th grade nobody laid a finger on me again. However, the verbal insults etc. continued. The dojo was the one place where people respected me. Where my hard work and achievements weren’t weird.
Quit because:
I didn’t know I had a medical condition, and truth be told, that condition was unknown and undiagnosable back in the day. I started teaching little kids and was ill all the time due to IgG3 deficiency. My parents gaslit me, my school rewarded perfect attendance, therefore I was not at all confident in communicating with my sensei that teaching little kids was not a good idea for me. I ducked behind the “school’s keeping me busy” excuse when really I shold have only quit teaching little germ factories and gone back to just training and teaching the new beginners.
Second karate journey – 2014 to present
Started because:
My older daughter and her sensei(s) were bugging me. Finally I surprised my daughter by setting foot in the dojo the first class after her birthday. I also felt the need to be my younger daughter’s bodyguard (she’s autistic).
Continue because:
I love it that I can still do this karate stuff even though I’ve passed the half-century mark. It’s vital for my health. My karate friends mean a lot to me. I can get three needs met all during the course of one class – social, physical, and mental needs. I love cross-training now that I have a solid foundation in a base art. There’s so much to learn!