# How often do you train at home?



## Bushidofryer70 (Jan 7, 2017)

I'm curious how often and for how long other Karate practitioner's train at home. I go to the dojo twice a week for 1.5 hours each, but some of this time is spent as an assistant instructor. I train at home 4 days a week for 1.5 hours each session. Im lucky my wife supports my training because it takes so much time. Sometimes,if I'm feeling good I don't even take a day off if ,but at 46 I know I need to recuperate now and then.

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## Mujician (Jan 8, 2017)

I have only just come back to Karate - I can only currently afford the time to go to one training session a week - this is for two hours. Any time free at home will now be spent studying kata, and a little bit of weaponry for fun! I don't have a great deal of time spare, due to having a one year old daughter, and being an active musician.


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## Gerry Seymour (Jan 8, 2017)

I never had a regular at-home practice. When I had more time, I went to the dojo more often, or I did some fitness training. I'd occasionally grab a partner (for a while my first wife) and go practice in a park or someplace where we could practice throws and takedowns on grass, but that was probably a couple of times a month during temperate weather.


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## Bill Mattocks (Jan 8, 2017)

I tend to 'practice' at home by doing informal things - such as non-walking kata in the shower (yes, it can be done, but you don't need the mental image) and practicing stances at various times during the day.  On weekends I sometimes do weapons or empty-handed kata in the backyard.


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## Gerry Seymour (Jan 8, 2017)

Bill Mattocks said:


> I tend to 'practice' at home by doing informal things - such as non-walking kata in the shower (yes, it can be done, but you don't need the mental image) and practicing stances at various times during the day.  On weekends I sometimes do weapons or empty-handed kata in the backyard.


I've recently started working on some of the new kata (mainline NGA doesn't have long-form kata) from home. It's one of the reason I added them, because there's a relatively small part of NGA that can be practiced effectively alone (and less if you don't have a heavy bag or other substantial target to work with).

(As an aside, can someone pass me the brain bleach?)


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## hoshin1600 (Jan 8, 2017)

I'm done with the muriatic acid if anyone needs it......
I usually don't really practice at home much. Too many distractions with two little boys.  The exception is when my mind is working on something and I need to physically work it out. Usually when everyone is in bed.


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## JR 137 (Jan 8, 2017)

My hours were cut to part-time last year due to enrollment (private school teacher).  The only benefit was I could go to the gym every day and hit the bag there.  I went at it about an hour a day, 4 days a week.  My speed, power, and combinations fluidity (if that's an actual phrase) improved a lot.

Now that I'm back to full time, I don't have that luxury.  I'm buying a bag for the basement.  I'll hopefully be able to spend a half hour or so down there the days I can't make it to the dojo.  Having an almost 4 year old and a 6 year old at home doesn't make it easy to find spare time.


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## marques (Jan 8, 2017)

I could say almost every day if 5-10 min here and there counts. Plus some watching, listening and reading about the subject.
Or never if we are talking about a planned and regular training.


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## Bushidofryer70 (Jan 8, 2017)

marques said:


> I could say almost every day if 5-10 min here and there counts. Plus some watching, listening and reading about the subject.
> Or never if we are talking about a planned and regular training.


Any training is good. The fact that you try to do some everyday proves your dedicated. As far as planned workouts, I just get them in any time I have free. Usually its evening's but early morning weekends work too!

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## JowGaWolf (Jan 8, 2017)

I rarely train at home too many distraction.


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## KangTsai (Jan 8, 2017)

Every standing minute.


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## Gerry Seymour (Jan 8, 2017)

marques said:


> I could say almost every day if 5-10 min here and there counts. Plus some watching, listening and reading about the subject.
> Or never if we are talking about a planned and regular training.


This is a decent description of my current practice. I often take time to work out sequences for the next class, to experiment with some body mechanics, etc.


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## Juany118 (Jan 9, 2017)

I think this would actually be good for general martial arts, as I no longer study Karate, but you would be surprised how just little things help all martial arts. Something as simple as standing in a horse stance (if not too low lol) while brushing your teeth, shaving in the mirror etc.  A big thing with the two arts I currently study is equal use of both hands, armed and unarmed.  So while brushing your teeth off hand.  Once you get good enough, if you are brave enough , shaving with your off hand etc.  So you can actually turn everyday tasks into training.


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## KabutoKouji (Jan 9, 2017)

i try to do the first part of Yang TaiJiJuan form 3 times a week 9 times, and also do 'Embrace Moon To Chest' for four minutes, as I think it is good for my back.


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## Gerry Seymour (Jan 9, 2017)

Juany118 said:


> I think this would actually be good for general martial arts, as I no longer study Karate, but you would be surprised how just little things help all martial arts. Something as simple as standing in a horse stance (if not too low lol) while brushing your teeth, shaving in the mirror etc.  A big thing with the two arts I currently study is equal use of both hands, armed and unarmed.  So while brushing your teeth off hand.  Once you get good enough, if you are brave enough , shaving with your off hand etc.  So you can actually turn everyday tasks into training.


I found shaving off-hand easier than brushing off-hand. Well, until I went to an electric toothbrush, anyway. To your point, I often recommend everyday habit changes for students to develop certain areas. I remember an instructor telling me he rarely passed an electrical outlet in his home without kicking it with a low kick, and that he often turned lights on and off with a careful kick to the switch. These little changes in how we do things can build up a lot of practice. For a few years I used weight shifts to open every door I went through. For a while, I used just arms and rooted stances. For a few months I opened them only so far as necessary then used footwork to slip through (sometimes discovering I hadn't opened them far enough). I'm probably amusing to those watching me pass through doors at those times.


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## marques (Jan 9, 2017)

JowGaWolf said:


> I rarely train at home too many distraction.


And also not the best resources (and partners...) for the must of us. Or... at least, for me.


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## JowGaWolf (Jan 9, 2017)

marques said:


> And also not the best resources (and partners...) for the must of us. Or... at least, for me.


Yep. For my wife kung fu = mistress. If I'm at home then I'll get interruptions that breaks my training.

If I'm at the school there is only 2 things I can do.  Sit around and do nothing or train. It's the same if I'm in the park.


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## Juany118 (Jan 9, 2017)

JowGaWolf said:


> Yep. For my wife kung fu = mistress. If I'm at home then I'll get interruptions that breaks my training.
> 
> If I'm at the school there is only 2 things I can do.  Sit around and do nothing or train. It's the same if I'm in the park.



My wife sees it the same way.  The problem is I can't be as dramatic with a comeback as I was with another obsession.  When I first got crazy into cycling my wife called the bike "the other woman".  So one day she is working night shift and I was off.  I had washed the bike the night before, woke up early and wrapped the drive train in rags so as to not get lube on anything.  I then put the bike in bed with me on her side of the bed and watched some TV until I heard the front door open.  I turned the TV off, rolled over and spooned with the bike.  The wife came up stairs and was not amused.  

I thought it was funny though.


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## Bushidofryer70 (Jan 9, 2017)

gpseymour said:


> I found shaving off-hand easier than brushing off-hand. Well, until I went to an electric toothbrush, anyway. To your point, I often recommend everyday habit changes for students to develop certain areas. I remember an instructor telling me he rarely passed an electrical outlet in his home without kicking it with a low kick, and that he often turned lights on and off with a careful kick to the switch. These little changes in how we do things can build up a lot of practice. For a few years I used weight shifts to open every door I went through. For a while, I used just arms and rooted stances. For a few months I opened them only so far as necessary then used footwork to slip through (sometimes discovering I hadn't opened them far enough). I'm probably amusing to those watching me pass through doors at those times.


Even when not technically training I still go through the house punching blocking and kicking as I go about my daily routine much to the amusement of my family [emoji12] 

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## Bill Mattocks (Jan 9, 2017)

Bushidofryer70 said:


> Even when not technically training I still go through the house punching blocking and kicking as I go about my daily routine much to the amusement of my family [emoji12]
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk



I do it at work also.  I try not to do things like kick open doors, but yeah, I practice the crescent step and so on at work.


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## Buka (Jan 9, 2017)

It's varied over the years, depending on where I was living and what I was doing. But there has never been a day that I haven't thought about Martial Arts, not passing thoughts, but long complicated thoughts about everything. There has never been a day my hands haven't moved in a martial arts related way while having these thoughts and walking through the kitchen or doing this or doing that. I think more about Martial Arts than I did about sex when I was 15 years old.  There has never been a day I haven't flexed my core, or fast twitched a partial turn, or slipped my head while raising a push block. Never been a day I haven't gripped my feet on whatever service I was standing on, regardless of what I was wearing. Never been a day I haven't sized somebody up, studied how they move, what hand they were favoring, what their expression said or what they were looking at. It all runs on some sort of automatic tape, sometimes consciously, sometimes not. It's just always there. It's like thinking about food, or the movies, or the weather, it's just there.

I've also done at least a million pushups at home over the last forty years. And enough planks to build a board walk from here to Tibet.


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## Tony Dismukes (Jan 9, 2017)

I do some training at home almost every day, but it's usually not a full workout. Just little bits here and there as I walk around the house - a few kicks, some shadow boxing, a run through my WT form, a bit of footwork, etc - it's not that much, but it does add up over time.


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## Flying Crane (Jan 9, 2017)

At times I have been known to put in two or even three full workouts each day, if you count swimming and running in the mix, tho of course they are not martial arts.

Now I've got some other circumstances and obligations, and my priorities have needed to shift dramatically.  For the last couple of years my training has been erratic, at best.


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