After 5 years, still looking for the "spark"

[dcroteau]

Hi guys/girls.

First post here so bear with me.

Here's my situation: Been doing Wing Chun for more than 5 years (Siu Lim Tao, Chum Kiu, Biu Jee, Chi Sao, even been initiated to Luk Dim Boon Gwan (staff/pole form).

Been practicing with cool people and a real Sifu (great and humble martial artist who doesn't shy on questioning what work and what doesn't, and great at teaching and ensuring that both him and his students evolve throughout their practice).

My issue is that I feel like I'm still searching for that elusive "spark" which would make be passionate about training. I have problem finding energy and discipline in my life to train consistently, let alone practicing daily. It's always a struggle and I feel like everyone around me is passionate to train Wing Chun as if it was an enjoyable stroll in the park. I've seen countless of students getting better than me after 6 months to one year and I would be lying if I was saying that it doesn't affect me seeing how easy it seems to be for others (I still struggle to be relaxed but explosive and to be mobile but rooted/stable).

Anyone has hints on how to approach this? Please don't say "practice, practice, practice"...

Thanks!

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Practice practice practice.

Joking, but a couple questions to think about:

First set: How would you define the spark? Are you basing it on what other people have told you the 'spark' is, from past experience, or just your own imagination of it.

Second set: have you felt that spark for other hobbies in the past? If you tried them again would it come back? Or is the spark generally gone from your life at the moment?

Third set: is wing chun the only style you've practiced? Is this school the only school you've practiced at? If not, how did practicing the other style/school feel, compared to your current. I know you said that you've got a really good teacher and training partners, but how does your energy/motivation/enjoyment compare to other schools (or this school in the past even).

 

[yak sao]

Your problem is you're trying to find the spark , when you're supposed to be looking for "the glow"

 

[yak sao]

OK, enough kidding around.

Why are you practicing Wing Chun?
Exercise? Self defense? Something to do?
All of those are valid reasons, but what motivates you to go?
As for having no motivation to practice , maybe you have information overload.
That's a lot of material for only five years of training, and maybe you feel like you're juggling it all.
Instead of setting out to practice everything you know in a given practice session, go into a practice session with the goal of only practicing one thing... Maybe a punch or a pak dar or whatever. Give yourself 10 minutes of training just that one thing. If after 10 minutes you're finished, then you're finished. But you've actually accomplished something by perfecting something a little better. If after those 10 minutes you're feeling loose and a little more into it, move on to practicing something else, maybe a front kick, or take one thing out of one the forms and practice that over and over.

The cool thing about WC training is it's very synergistic, even though you've only practiced one thing, when added back into the whole it's made everything else better.

 

[Highlander]

In my experience training MA is never a stroll in the park. It's a long jog up a never ending hill. Sometimes you just need to set and rest and really see how far you've come. Seems like you're comparing yourself to others in the class. But compare yourself to you 5 years ago (or even 3 months ago). Everyone learns at different speeds.

Honestly, some of the best training I've ever done is just walking away, take a break and only train during class. Take the time after class to talk to your sifu and brothers about your problem areas and really break them down on a deep level. BUT DO NOT TRAIN THEM ON YOUR OWN. This might allow your body to drop some bad habits. After about a month of only supervised training try slow jumping back into training at home.

Being a martial artist is a choice. It's hard and sometimes down right annoying. But the love for the art and my desire to grow is what brings me back. Not the pleasure of training.

 

[ks - learning to fly]

ONLY my opinion here.. but I seriously think
I understand what you're talking about..

I took judo when I was 20 years old and while it
was enjoyable - going to practice felt like an
obligation

I started TKD in June 2009 and going to
practice feels like a gift - it totally lights me up!!

Have you considered trying different arts..
a few trial lessons to see if something clicks..?

Just a thought..

 

[_Simon_]

Welcome to the forum! Hope you enjoy your time here .

Some really great responses here already! It very well could be a range of things, but the most crucial thing out of everything, is that you're totally honest with yourself. Not the answer you think you should say, or that others think you should feel, but what you know within yourself.

Do you still enjoy training? Are there parts of training that you still enjoy?

Why did you start training, why are you training now? Is it the same intention/reason? (Don't have to answer these to me haha, moreso prompts of inquiry for yourself)

Often through life our values and priorities can shift dramatically, and reasons we do things can fall away completely as we evolve as people.

I was training for years until I hit a place where I just felt like I was training out of pure obligation. I completely lost motivation, BIG time. Just want lit up by it and want enjoying doing it anymore... I did this (dragging myself to training) for maybe 1-2 years before I fiiiiinally started to question whether this was for me. I kept denying it, but it just became more and more obvious and painful over time. There was also a big shift within myself and an opening where I wanted to live and follow the heart rather than constant pressures and expectations (all of which are self made). I wanted to live a different life, one of passion and joy rather than dead loyalty.

And one thing I did was bring it up with my instructor, and I found that really really helpful. I talked to him about it a fair bit and he was really supportive. Never pushing me to continue but trying to understand me and why I was training, and trying to find ways to motivate me and find joy within training. And also incredibly supportive to me when I decided to move on.

So it's worth bringing up with your instructor, as it really is a common feeling I'm sure alot of students go through.

And some time passed after I left... and I realised something super cool.... that that fire and passion for training was still there. It was very much alive, and I wanted to pursue it. I knew I wanted to move on from my old style and way of training, so I feel now that fire is there more than ever, which may have never come about in full force if I didn't leave!

So this may not be relevant at all to you, perhaps you've feeling a bit stuck and stilted in your training, and perhaps you still absolutely love it but are struggling with motivation. I would recommend talking to your instructor, and also an important thing is clarifying what it is you love about the training and the art itself, clarifying your intention and purpose, and also doing training stuff at home that you love doing! It may not be something you cover often in class, but find things that are a joy to work on or train. Get creative and train a drill you just really enjoy training!

Please let us know how you go!

 

[ShortBridge]

I've seen this before. It just takes some people longer than others. Sometimes I see those same people leap passed the people who it came more naturally to in the beginning.

There is other really good advice, like 'maybe Wing Chun isn't your thing and you should try..."

but, sometimes it just takes longer or some elusive moment for it to snap into place. If you feel like you're in the right place, just keep going and be patient.

 

[Robert Agar-Hutton]

Worst case scenario - you never get the 'spark' but you keep on at it and it's an OK way to spend some time and it helps you get and stay fit.

Maybe, it's one of those things that one day you will go 'YES' and get it?

As others have said, don't be afraid to try other martial arts.

Talk to your Sifu and other senior students and ask them for advice.

Whatever, I wish you all the best.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

ONLY my opinion here.. but I seriously think
I understand what you're talking about..

I took judo when I was 20 years old and while it
was enjoyable - going to practice felt like an
obligation

I started TKD in June 2009 and going to
practice feels like a gift - it totally lights me up!!

Have you considered trying different arts..
a few trial lessons to see if something clicks..?

Just a thought..

I like this post.

To the OP: maybe (as KS suggests here) this just isn't the right art for you. You might be learning well, and really like the guy you're learning from, but even the best teacher out there isn't likely to make me a long-term student of mathematics - it's just not something I get all that enthusiastic about.

 

[JP3]

Please don't say "practice, practice, practice"...

Thanks!

I won't say Practice, Practice... practice.

I will say Attitude, attitude... attitude.

Easy for me to say, hard to do at the sharp end. I get it.

Rule No. 1: Stop the comparison game, as it works against you. Judge yourself against yourself. Are you better today than you were 5 years ago? Certainly. Did you learn something this week that you didn't know or understand last year? Like that.

 

[PiedmontChun]

Assuming you are passionate about Wing Chun but sometimes it can be drudgery.... then you are certainly not alone. I hardly ever made it to class more than twice per week, and others around me got better faster which was a bummer. Some days would be fantastic and I felt like I was progressing, but that was only 10 to 20% of the time. An equal amount of the time was very frustrating, and the remainder of training time somewhere in between, just ho hum. Like others commented above, I always tried to remind myself I was not in a competition with others, only myself, so I could handle feeling just so-so about training from day to day.

 

[Yoshiyahu]

I say do two things, One mix it up, Find some non-wing chun guys. An train with them doing light sparring or heavy sparring with safety equipment and keep using your wing chun, if you haven't trained other styles before you will suck at first. But if you spar for an hour daily you will find yourself getting better. Now of course im not saying you have to spar five days a week once or twice a week is fine depending on your work schedule, family and time in your kwoon. This will excite you once you start to feel grounded, Able to disrupt others force, able to trap them, uproot them aka off balance them an learn how to defend with one hand leaving the other hand free for attack, when you can make attack/defend and yin yang principles work and start to get into flow and feel that high from sparring it will make things work it. if you can from time to time get some real sparring in with your WC brothers too. It only makes you better. Now if your looking for a short cut to increase skill i say take up Tai Chi Quan. This is a good thing to do if you find yourself in a rut. Disinterest in training can be solved by sparring others attempting to use WC, improvement in WC can be had by learning Tai Chi...People always recommend it. I started Tai chi early when i was a teen. I dont practice as much now. I just teach people the WC. I suggest finding someone you can share your art with too. A friend, A girlfriend or someone outside of your WC school who wants to learn some WC since you know all the forms and weapons you have a wealth of knowledge and should past the art on in some way or form. Share with one or two or more people your art. Make it a scheduled thing once or twice a week. By having a set schedule and someone depending on you to teach them starting with the basics. It will refresh your memory, force you to practice and think about why your doing what you doing and what you need to share to make them better. Once you start teaching you will instantly be able to see errors, both theirs and yours. You will see needed body corrections and any flaws you may have to correct

Hi guys/girls.

First post here so bear with me.

Here's my situation: Been doing Wing Chun for more than 5 years (Siu Lim Tao, Chum Kiu, Biu Jee, Chi Sao, even been initiated to Luk Dim Boon Gwan (staff/pole form).

Been practicing with cool people and a real Sifu (great and humble martial artist who doesn't shy on questioning what work and what doesn't, and great at teaching and ensuring that both him and his students evolve throughout their practice).

My issue is that I feel like I'm still searching for that elusive "spark" which would make be passionate about training. I have problem finding energy and discipline in my life to train consistently, let alone practicing daily. It's always a struggle and I feel like everyone around me is passionate to train Wing Chun as if it was an enjoyable stroll in the park. I've seen countless of students getting better than me after 6 months to one year and I would be lying if I was saying that it doesn't affect me seeing how easy it seems to be for others (I still struggle to be relaxed but explosive and to be mobile but rooted/stable).

Anyone has hints on how to approach this? Please don't say "practice, practice, practice"...

Thanks!

 

[jobo]

Hi guys/girls.

First post here so bear with me.

Here's my situation: Been doing Wing Chun for more than 5 years (Siu Lim Tao, Chum Kiu, Biu Jee, Chi Sao, even been initiated to Luk Dim Boon Gwan (staff/pole form).

Been practicing with cool people and a real Sifu (great and humble martial artist who doesn't shy on questioning what work and what doesn't, and great at teaching and ensuring that both him and his students evolve throughout their practice).

My issue is that I feel like I'm still searching for that elusive "spark" which would make be passionate about training. I have problem finding energy and discipline in my life to train consistently, let alone practicing daily. It's always a struggle and I feel like everyone around me is passionate to train Wing Chun as if it was an enjoyable stroll in the park. I've seen countless of students getting better than me after 6 months to one year and I would be lying if I was saying that it doesn't affect me seeing how easy it seems to be for others (I still struggle to be relaxed but explosive and to be mobile but rooted/stable).

Anyone has hints on how to approach this? Please don't say "practice, practice, practice"...

Thanks!

the question is I believe more fundamental than which art, rather are you passionate, really passionate about anything ? if not there no reason why you would develop passion about any ma. there's lots of people quite possibly the vast majority of people who just 70% their way through life,it, just their personality type, they are never going to achieve as much as people who commit rather more passion/ effort , determination into things.

if you can't develop passion. then you need to develop determination and discipline, set goals and strive to achieve them, then as you tick of success. a level of passion/ motivation for greater success may emerge, a, positive feed back loop, there's no greater motivation for success, than feeling sucessful

 

[_Simon_]

the question is I believe more fundamental than which art, rather are you passionate, really passionate about anything ? if not there no reason why you would develop passion about any ma. there's lots of people quite possibly the vast majority of people who just 70% their way through life,it, just their personality type, they are never going to achieve as much as people who commit rather more passion/ effort , determination into things.

if you can't develop passion. then you need to develop determination and discipline, set goals and strive to achieve them, then as you tick of success. a level of passion/ motivation for greater success may emerge, a, positive feed back loop, there's no greater motivation for success, than feeling sucessful

... that's actually a great point, and something clicked for me in your post. To not force yourself to try and be passionate about something in which you're not, follow what you actually are drawn to and enjoy. Life's too short to force yourself into enjoying what you THINK you should be doing.

Cheers for that reminder bud

 

[vince1]

Hi guys/girls.

First post here so bear with me.

Here's my situation: Been doing Wing Chun for more than 5 years (Siu Lim Tao, Chum Kiu, Biu Jee, Chi Sao, even been initiated to Luk Dim Boon Gwan (staff/pole form).

Been practicing with cool people and a real Sifu (great and humble martial artist who doesn't shy on questioning what work and what doesn't, and great at teaching and ensuring that both him and his students evolve throughout their practice).

My issue is that I feel like I'm still searching for that elusive "spark" which would make be passionate about training. I have problem finding energy and discipline in my life to train consistently, let alone practicing daily. It's always a struggle and I feel like everyone around me is passionate to train Wing Chun as if it was an enjoyable stroll in the park. I've seen countless of students getting better than me after 6 months to one year and I would be lying if I was saying that it doesn't affect me seeing how easy it seems to be for others (I still struggle to be relaxed but explosive and to be mobile but rooted/stable).

Anyone has hints on how to approach this? Please don't say "practice, practice, practice"...

Thanks!

I went through something similar about 4 years ago. I trained in various martial arts over the years but had left martial arts many years ago to raise a family and focus on my career. I tried Chow Gar Southern Praying Mantis which I enjoyed but unfortunately the school closed and no sifu to take it over. I decided to go back to my first martial art which I received a red belt in TaeKwonDo as a teenager many many years ago. I tried out 3 local TaeKwonDo schools and stuck with one for about 4 months, got bored with it and felt I needed something more or what TaeKwonDo didn't have to offer. I tried out a couple of local Karate schools which sparked an interest until I found Aiki Jiu Jitsu.
I found that Aiki Jiu Jitsu challenged me mentally, focus on learning correct technique and could take my time getting physically stronger given my age of 53. I have also discovered that my body type is more suited for Aiki Jiu Jitsu and have a feeling of this is what I was supposed to be doing all along.

 

[Buka]

I went through something similar about 4 years ago. I trained in various martial arts over the years but had left martial arts many years ago to raise a family and focus on my career. I tried Chow Gar Southern Praying Mantis which I enjoyed but unfortunately the school closed and no sifu to take it over. I decided to go back to my first martial art which I received a red belt in TaeKwonDo as a teenager many many years ago. I tried out 3 local TaeKwonDo schools and stuck with one for about 4 months, got bored with it and felt I needed something more or what TaeKwonDo didn't have to offer. I tried out a couple of local Karate schools which sparked an interest until I found Aiki Jiu Jitsu.
I found that Aiki Jiu Jitsu challenged me mentally, focus on learning correct technique and could take my time getting physically stronger given my age of 53. I have also discovered that my body type is more suited for Aiki Jiu Jitsu and have a feeling of this is what I was supposed to be doing all along.

Isn't it great when you find that out? Rock on, man.

I've always really liked Aiki Jiu Jitsu. I'm a huge fan of Miguel Ibarra.