# Training at home, any suggestions?



## wimwag (Jan 1, 2014)

This thread is directed more towards practitioners of the Ryu styles since Shorin Ryu is the style I am focusing on.

I'm having a financial crisis and am unable to make it to the dojo, but I do not want to let anything I've learned deteriorate by laying off.  I go through the general workout, kata, form, and working the body bag, but I feel there's something else I am forgetting or should be doing.  Sparring would be nice, but I am all by my lonely self for now.  Can anybody suggest a training regimen?  Is there something any of you have been doing that seems to work?  I am open to almost any suggestions, but would really prefer input from active practitioners of any of the Ryus.


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## jks9199 (Jan 1, 2014)

Sorry -- but I've got to laugh at you a little.  "Ryu" simply means school or style... so you're asking for advice for anyone in a style.  

You're doing the practice you can -- you're missing out on correction.  There's not much to be done, because the reality is that depending on your point in training, the amount and necessity of correction can vary.  A senior practitioner can often get away with lengthy periods between getting corrective advice, while someone on their first night of training needs nearly constant tweaking and refinement.  Continue to practice your basics, and your kata.  If you have access to a makiwara, that can give you feedback that isn't necessarily available from a body bag, though you need to be properly instructed in it to use it that way.

Have you discussed your problems with your instructor?  Many times, an instructor can work with you in some fashion.  It's not a certainty -- but little is lost by asking.


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## Grenadier (Jan 1, 2014)

If you have no access to your teacher, then practice your fundamental technique as much as you can.  If you keep your fundamentals sharp, then re-learning a kata sequence, or the techniques used in ippon kumite drills isn easy thing.  If, however, you let your fundamental technique atrophy, then that's going to be more difficult to get back up to speed.  

As stated above, you really should speak with your instructor, and see if you can work something out.  He may have employment opportunities for you, or might let you defer payment until later, etc.  You aren't going to lose anything by asking, after all.


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## wimwag (Jan 1, 2014)

jks9199 said:


> Sorry -- but I've got to laugh at you a little.  "Ryu" simply means school or style... so you're asking for advice for anyone in a style.
> 
> You're doing the practice you can -- you're missing out on correction.  There's not much to be done, because the reality is that depending on your point in training, the amount and necessity of correction can vary.  A senior practitioner can often get away with lengthy periods between getting corrective advice, while someone on their first night of training needs nearly constant tweaking and refinement.  Continue to practice your basics, and your kata.  If you have access to a makiwara, that can give you feedback that isn't necessarily available from a body bag, though you need to be properly instructed in it to use it that way.
> 
> Have you discussed your problems with your instructor?  Many times, an instructor can work with you in some fashion.  It's not a certainty -- but little is lost by asking.



Oh...lol. I meant the Okinawan styles.  We sometimes train with dojos from the other okinawan styles though all I can think of is Goju.

As for the correction, I have been using a mirror and breaking down the katas into sections.  This way I can focus on what I was told to correct during the last class.  It's not foolproof, but better than letting it go.  I caught myself getting sloppy with the stances and made a list of screwups in my home dojo/exercise room.

I would ask, but my pride...I'd feel terrible if things go from bad to worse and I don't find employment soon.  I've been working temp jobs, but that ain't gainful employment.

On a side note, my kid also enjoys the training but doesn't want to train with me.  She prefers the dojo and if I could afford it, she'd be there.  Any suggestions on how to get her to train with me?  She was up to Naihanchi Shodan and professing fairly well when we ran out of money...and she was pretty proud of it since I had trouble with it at first and she nailed it.


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## wimwag (Jan 2, 2014)

Grenadier said:


> If you have no access to your teacher, then practice your fundamental technique as much as you can.  If you keep your fundamentals sharp, then re-learning a kata sequence, or the techniques used in ippon kumite drills isn easy thing.  If, however, you let your fundamental technique atrophy, then that's going to be more difficult to get back up to speed.
> 
> As stated above, you really should speak with your instructor, and see if you can work something out.  He may have employment opportunities for you, or might let you defer payment until later, etc.  You aren't going to lose anything by asking, after all.



I should add that the dojo is also a 20 mile trip, 40 round trip.  My car gets 30mpg but...short on gas.


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## Instructor (Jan 2, 2014)

What others have said is correct.  Talk frankly with your instructor, he or she will guide you best here.


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## jks9199 (Jan 2, 2014)

Talk to your instructor; they may know of work, among other things!  There might be students around you who would like to practice together outside the dojo, which might motivate your daughter. 

While this doesn't go for all martial arts programs, many are more than mere businesses for the instructors, and the students are more than mere clients.  I'm at one end, in that I'm lucky if I get a few bucks from my teaching now and again (OK, in fair disclosure, part of that is because I let my teaching partner handle the money, and figure she knows what's going on and when the club dues can be spared for my pocket vs. expenses).  We've worked with students in financial hardships over the years.  Sometimes, they've paid their dues late and caught up, other times they've done tasks or chores to contribute.  That's not always a possible for legal and practical reasons -- but you don't know what your teacher might be able to do until you ask.  

And, like I said -- your teacher may even have info on work prospects!


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## dancingalone (Jan 2, 2014)

wimwag said:


> This thread is directed more towards practitioners of the Ryu styles since Shorin Ryu is the style I am focusing on.
> 
> I'm having a financial crisis and am unable to make it to the dojo, but I do not want to let anything I've learned deteriorate by laying off.  I go through the general workout, kata, form, and working the body bag, but I feel there's something else I am forgetting or should be doing.  Sparring would be nice, but I am all by my lonely self for now.  Can anybody suggest a training regimen?  Is there something any of you have been doing that seems to work?  I am open to almost any suggestions, but would really prefer input from active practitioners of any of the Ryus.




I practice Okinawan Goju-ryu so hojo undo is an obvious suggestion.  You can rig a bunch of training tools by filling jars with sand or pebbles to clutch as you practice walking in one of your kata.  Or just perform kata slowly with a set of dumb bells in hand.  The idea is to train your body and make it stronger so that you will be ready when you can return to the dojo,  The old stories are full of tales saying students only practiced body conditioning and basic stances for years before finally getting to learn something else.


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## wimwag (Jan 2, 2014)

dancingalone said:


> I practice Okinawan Goju-ryu so hojo undo is an obvious suggestion.  You can rig a bunch of training tools by filling jars with sand or pebbles to clutch as you practice walking in one of your kata.  Or just perform kata slowly with a set of dumb bells in hand.  The idea is to train your body and make it stronger so that you will be ready when you can return to the dojo,  The old stories are full of tales saying students only practiced body conditioning and basic stances for years before finally getting to learn something else.



I had not even considered using weights...thanks!


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## Carol (Jan 3, 2014)

dancingalone said:


> I practice Okinawan Goju-ryu so hojo undo is an obvious suggestion.  You can rig a bunch of training tools by filling jars with sand or pebbles to clutch as you practice walking in one of your kata.  Or just perform kata slowly with a set of dumb bells in hand.  The idea is to train your body and make it stronger so that you will be ready when you can return to the dojo,  The old stories are full of tales saying students only practiced body conditioning and basic stances for years before finally getting to learn something else.



True, but even the old stories also implied that the student is still part of class.  Even doing basics it is possible to burn in a bad habit without an instructor's correction.

Wimwag, do you have a way of filming your practice sessions?  Doesn't have to be production quality, a smartphone or a webcam should be suitable.  Reviewing the video of your practice will give you a better way of assessing how you are performing in practice.  That's something that can benefit just about every practitioner, whether they currently have an instructor or not.


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## wimwag (Jan 3, 2014)

Carol said:


> True, but even the old stories also implied that the student is still part of class.  Even doing basics it is possible to burn in a bad habit without an instructor's correction.
> 
> Wimwag, do you have a way of filming your practice sessions?  Doesn't have to be production quality, a smartphone or a webcam should be suitable.  Reviewing the video of your practice will give you a better way of assessing how you are performing in practice.  That's something that can benefit just about every practitioner, whether they currently have an instructor or not.



I have an Xbox Kinect in the.room and I could watch myself...nothing to record.  My only cameras watch the doorways and yard.


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## PhotonGuy (Jan 8, 2014)

wimwag said:


> This thread is directed more towards practitioners of the Ryu styles since Shorin Ryu is the style I am focusing on.
> 
> I'm having a financial crisis and am unable to make it to the dojo, but I do not want to let anything I've learned deteriorate by laying off.  I go through the general workout, kata, form, and working the body bag, but I feel there's something else I am forgetting or should be doing.  Sparring would be nice, but I am all by my lonely self for now.  Can anybody suggest a training regimen?  Is there something any of you have been doing that seems to work?  I am open to almost any suggestions, but would really prefer input from active practitioners of any of the Ryus.



How much experience do you have? What's your belt rank? I know it can be tempting to do lots of homework with the martial arts, but doing too much homework at the beginning levels can lead to bad habits which can be hard to correct.


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## wimwag (Jan 9, 2014)

PhotonGuy said:


> How much experience do you have? What's your belt rank? I know it can be tempting to do lots of homework with the martial arts, but doing too much homework at the beginning levels can lead to bad habits which can be hard to correct.



I have about 12??? years of training under my belt, but I am only a 7th kyu in Shorin Ryu, 2 years in.  I believe that my dan in TKD is redundant since I took too much time off.  Yet it does lend a certain level of awareness and I do know when I am doing something wrong.


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## PhotonGuy (Jan 9, 2014)

wimwag said:


> I have about 12??? years of training under my belt, but I am only a 7th kyu in Shorin Ryu, 2 years in.  I believe that my dan in TKD is redundant since I took too much time off.  Yet it does lend a certain level of awareness and I do know when I am doing something wrong.



It sounds like, with your experience, you can do all the homework you want without it being all that detrimental to your technique, if it is at all. You of course would be the best judge of that. You said yourself that you know when you're doing something wrong so training on your own shouldn't be a problem. I would recommend using a mirror during training so that you can see what you're doing. Aside from that, what state are you from? Maybe I can help?


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## wimwag (Jan 10, 2014)

PhotonGuy said:


> It sounds like, with your experience, you can do all the homework you want without it being all that detrimental to your technique, if it is at all. You of course would be the best judge of that. You said yourself that you know when you're doing something wrong so training on your own shouldn't be a problem. I would recommend using a mirror during training so that you can see what you're doing. Aside from that, what state are you from? Maybe I can help?



In from Wisconsin, St Croix county.

Sent using Tapatalk 2.


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## PhotonGuy (Jan 10, 2014)

wimwag said:


> In from Wisconsin, St Croix county.
> 
> Sent using Tapatalk 2.



I see, a bit far from me.


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