Could be I'm old and been at this too long

[Xue Sheng]

Am I missing something, have I been at MA to long, am I a dinosaur or is it just that I have trained Traditional Chinese Martial Arts to long.

I see a lot of posts about how many times you go to class or how often does your teacher work on that in class or I’m to lazy to get to class to train.

Most of your time training on any thing in TCMA is by yourself you should not need to see your teacher everyday to work on basics, you should do those on your own. And if you can see your teacher everyday that is great but if you can’t you really should be working on what he/she has shown you outside of class as often as possible.

 

[ATC]

Xue Sheng - I agree with everything you stated but I see no wrong in also going to class and getting that feed back that is so needed to correct your techniques that you should be also practicing at home.

Easier to creat good habits rather than break them.

 

[Xinglu]

It's very much a TCMA thing, however, I agree with you. Even in TJMA they expect you to train outside of class as often as possible. However with the popularization of the arts, you're seeing more and more instructors who seem to not be as pushy about it, thus students who don't do it.

 

[chrispillertkd]

Heh. I remember being a yellow belt and my instructor asking the class how many people trained on the days they weren't in class. She was very surprised when not everyone raised their hand (well, she acted surprised, anyway).

She then asked us why we all weren't practicing on "off" days, to which I had no good answer. I "tie my belt" everyday even if just figuratively. As you get higher in rank in ITF Taekwon-Do there's just too many things that need to be practicedd on a consistent basis if you want to keep a good level of skill. My Master Instructor turned 60 last year and he trains daily (and is more powerful now than he was a few years ago and can still do all sorts of crazy flying multiple kicks).

Pax,

Chris

 

[Blade96]

Am I missing something, have I been at MA to long, am I a dinosaur or is it just that I have trained Traditional Chinese Martial Arts to long.

I see a lot of posts about how many times you go to class or how often does your teacher work on that in class or I’m to lazy to get to class to train.

Most of your time training on any thing in TCMA is by yourself you should not need to see your teacher everyday to work on basics, you should do those on your own. And if you can see your teacher everyday that is great but if you can’t you really should be working on what he/she has shown you outside of class as often as possible.

AMEN to that. There isnt a day goes by that i dont do something shotokanny. Today I practiced my ushiro geri that I learned last night.

Heh. I remember being a yellow belt and my instructor asking the class how many people trained on the days they weren't in class. She was very surprised when not everyone raised their hand (well, she acted surprised, anyway).

She then asked us why we all weren't practicing on "off" days, to which I had no good answer. I "tie my belt" everyday even if just figuratively. As you get higher in rank in ITF Taekwon-Do there's just too many things that need to be practicedd on a consistent basis if you want to keep a good level of skill. My Master Instructor turned 60 last year and he trains daily (and is more powerful now than he was a few years ago and can still do all sorts of crazy flying multiple kicks).

Pax,

Chris

Ha! On jan 8, first day back from Christmas, sensei asked how many trained over the holidays? I was the only one who raised a hand. and the fact that they didnt train did show up in class because they were rusty - even black and brown belts! and sensei said to me after, "Buncha wusses, slackin' off" LOL.

 

[Stonecold]

If you want to get better and really know your art you train on your own, if you go to martial arts class so you can brag to your friends that you do, there no need for extra training, till one day you really need your skill.
The effort pay's for itself, the choice is yours !!!!

 

[MA-Caver]

Sometimes we can end up getting the feeling of being burnt out... doing it for years and years and thus nothing new seems to come in. This is with almost everything else. So perhaps it's not that you're too old or been doing it TOO long ... just need a change. You do cross train don't you? If not then maybe try something radically different from TCMA. Or take up a new hobby/activity and get into that for a while. You can still practice at home your art but now you got something different to compare it to.
Even trying to incorporate your art into something else. I apply many of my MA techs to caving... not fighting techs but flowing movement, energy conservation, balance, concentrating, etc.
I know you got your knee to think about, so find something that is less strenuous on your knee or something that will help BUILD UP that knee strength...
Change is good when you get started feeling like you are right now.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Hey Xue like you I am often amazed that more people do not practice in some form every day. I know personally for myself and the close people I train with it is an every day thing. Constantly on our minds and constantly making the time to train and try to polish that stone and get better. At the core of that is of course constant attention to those basics and trying to keep them sharp and ready to go if needed. Still, throughout the years I have noticed that not everyone has this mind set. I guess we are just the lucky ones! The older dinosaurs!!!

 

[Rich Parsons]

Am I missing something, have I been at MA to long, am I a dinosaur or is it just that I have trained Traditional Chinese Martial Arts to long.

I see a lot of posts about how many times you go to class or how often does your teacher work on that in class or I’m to lazy to get to class to train.

Most of your time training on any thing in TCMA is by yourself you should not need to see your teacher everyday to work on basics, you should do those on your own. And if you can see your teacher everyday that is great but if you can’t you really should be working on what he/she has shown you outside of class as often as possible.

Xue Sheng,

Yes you are Old. But so am I.

I also find it frustrating to read about there are no clubs near me. Within 1 to 5 miles of their home or to and from work and or school. Those who are serious drive an hour once a week or more and or drive longer to get good training in teh art they want.

People want spoon feeding and to just sit through it and get better. Working out alone is critical, and most people think that they can only learn in class. Do your homework and make it your own. If you do so then you will have a better insight into your training and will ask more insightful questions to your instructors and the time spent will be mroe value added as they will be able to address your questions. But if you cannot practice the basics at home by yourself and get that down then the insturctors have to do it in class and this could seem very boring as they always have to go over the basics. "Why can't they just teach me what I want?"

Well can you integrate the area under the curve if you do not understand basic mathematics? Nope.

But you already know this.

 

[Drac]

When I got into a real dojo full time I had to train everyday..I had just recovered from a serious injury and had to learn how to walk again about a year prior..When I wasnt in class I was at home practicing what I had been shown in the previous lesson..

 

[kidswarrior]

Most of your time training on any thing in TCMA is by yourself you should not need to see your teacher everyday to work on basics, you should do those on your own. And if you can see your teacher everyday that is great but if you can’t you really should be working on what he/she has shown you outside of class as often as possible.

I think maybe the difference is between those of us who can't live without it, and those just passing through.

You don't put in the longevity to become a dinosaur unless you're the former.

 

[kokanut]

Am I missing something, have I been at MA to long, am I a dinosaur or is it just that I have trained Traditional Chinese Martial Arts to long.

I started martial arts about 46 years ago and am still learning every day. l earned shiatsu about 26 years ago and think that it is one of the best things that I have learned. I still practice TCM "shiatsu", don't quit what you have learned and keep on learming.

 

[xJOHNx]

Practising forms/kata outside of class without a decent knowledge of the basics can cause some bad habits. And getting rid of a bad habit is a long process. So I rather add the nuance: people who already control the basics and have experience with the system. They should do it every day.
White belts too, but they should read up and look up on their art instead of copying things they don't understand and have a chance of doing badly.

But I try to do something each day, even if it is just mental practice while I'm in the car.

 

[seasoned]

In this busy environment called reality, time is short. Sometimes classes are geared toward expedience. I feel that class time teaches from the outside in, while alone time gives us the opportunity to realize the feeling of our training, from the inside out. Just a thought.

Re: Could be I'm old and been at this too long

I have found that if you reach a certain age, we actually begin to become younger. Well, maybe in mind only.:shrug:

 

[Xue Sheng]

As I sit here with my leg up with my knee wrapped in ice I am thinking "Like I should talk"

I see this at my sifu’s taiji class all the time people come once a week and ask the same questions and make the same mistakes and you can tell they never to any training outside of that hour they are in class. When I taught I saw the same thing.

I have read post after post after post on various pages that give me the impression that they treat MA training like going to the gym. You go you to the gym 2 or 3 times a week lift weights do some aerobics and you’re done until next time. And I guess if your only goal in MA is to exercise or get a good workout then I guess that is fine but if you goal is to actually be a martial artist I do not see how this will work. I do suppose if you can get to your school 5 to 7 days a week you can but I still feel that you are missing a big part of what MA is and can be if that is the only time you do anything MA.

But then I’m a dinosaur. My very first Sensei (Jujitsu) instilled in all of us the need to train outside of class and I have always been grateful for that (and many other) lesson(s)

It's very much a TCMA thing, however, I agree with you. Even in TJMA they expect you to train outside of class as often as possible. However with the popularization of the arts, you're seeing more and more instructors who seem to not be as pushy about it, thus students who don't do it.

Many don’t anymore for various reasons from they have more students if they do not or in the case of my taiji sifu, after what amounts to about 40 years of teaching he just got tired of trying to get students to train outside of class.

Hey Xue like you I am often amazed that more people do not practice in some form every day. I know personally for myself and the close people I train with it is an every day thing. Constantly on our minds and constantly making the time to train and try to polish that stone and get better. At the core of that is of course constant attention to those basics and trying to keep them sharp and ready to go if needed. Still, throughout the years I have noticed that not everyone has this mind set. I guess we are just the lucky ones! The older dinosaurs!!!

It’s good to be a dinosaur

 

[Xue Sheng]

Yes you are Old. But so am I.

Well at least I’m in good company

I also find it frustrating to read about there are no clubs near me. Within 1 to 5 miles of their home or to and from work and or school. Those who are serious drive an hour once a week or more and or drive longer to get good training in the art they want.

People want spoon feeding and to just sit through it and get better.

I too am rather frustrated about that very same thing I think for the last 10 years a 1 hour drive was the least amount of time I have driven. I am having a hard time adjusting to my new house being only 15 minutes from just about anyplace I have trained or might train…. I’m not sure I can handle being that close :EG:

Working out alone is critical, and most people think that they can only learn in class. Do your homework and make it your own. If you do so then you will have a better insight into your training and will ask more insightful questions to your instructors and the time spent will be mroe value added as they will be able to address your questions.

Exactly… hey… you’ve done this before haven’t you

But if you cannot practice the basics at home by yourself and get that down then the insturctors have to do it in class and this could seem very boring as they always have to go over the basics. "Why can't they just teach me what I want?"

I have been through WAAAAAAAY to many of those classes as I am sure you have too. Basics are great but people really need to work on them outside of class, same with forms but time and time again the same people ask the same questions and have the same problems week after week after week.

My sanda sifu made it perfectly clear that MA training could get boring due to repetition but that I needed to work on everything he showed me every single day. And I actually thought it was great when I would see him the following week and he would tell me I was still no good, go train more. At least I knew he was paying attention. But I am sure I am not telling you about anything you do not already know about.

 

[jks9199]

Practising forms/kata outside of class without a decent knowledge of the basics can cause some bad habits. And getting rid of a bad habit is a long process. So I rather add the nuance: people who already control the basics and have experience with the system. They should do it every day.
White belts too, but they should read up and look up on their art instead of copying things they don't understand and have a chance of doing badly.

But I try to do something each day, even if it is just mental practice while I'm in the car.

I'd take a different angle; a beginner should spend their solo practice time on what they've been taught. I'm assuming regular and frequent (weekly or more) training time with an instructor, of course. So, if I teach a new student a stance, a punch, and a block their first class -- that's what I want them to practice. I don't want them imitating someone doing an advanced form or something else... stick with the basics they've been taught. After several months, they'll have enough basics and enough experience with them to mix and match.

 

[xJOHNx]

True, very true!
But how many people still have the patience to actually drill the basics without rushing to the more sofisticated techniques?

 

[jks9199]

True, very true!
But how many people still have the patience to actually drill the basics without rushing to the more sofisticated techniques?

See, to me, for a beginner to read or look up stuff about an art often invites experimentation and developing bad habits when they read something that they're not ready to understand... I'd just rather they practice what they've been taught in class. At least that way, I know the bad habits they're likely to develop!

 

[Blade96]

As I sit here with my leg up with my knee wrapped in ice I am thinking "Like I should talk"

I see this at my sifu’s taiji class all the time people come once a week and ask the same questions and make the same mistakes and you can tell they never to any training outside of that hour they are in class. When I taught I saw the same thing.

I have read post after post after post on various pages that give me the impression that they treat MA training like going to the gym. You go you to the gym 2 or 3 times a week lift weights do some aerobics and you’re done until next time. And I guess if your only goal in MA is to exercise or get a good workout then I guess that is fine but if you goal is to actually be a martial artist I do not see how this will work.

common at my dojo as i said.....dont train much outside of class.

True, very true!
But how many people still have the patience to actually drill the basics without rushing to the more sofisticated techniques?

me the other white belts got impatient cause they want to sparr. but for obvious reasons our senseis dont let white belts sparr at competitions. they're impatient to go on to new stuff.....easy to tell that.

when im not feeling well and i dont feel like training on a certain day (like today) I still mentally do the training.