Fed up with training now!!!!

[Adept]

Video, ATTACK!, switching arts. Technologies are useful; slogans are sometimes useful but usually just marketings; endlessly switching arts is a dead end.

One could just as accurately say that staying with a single art is a dead end.

Saying that someone should do this, or do that, because doing the other is a dead end, or not effective, or not going to advance them towards their goals is meaningless unless we address the goals of the person in question. Hicks here seems to express a lack of confidence in the techniques he is learning, and his competence as a 'fighter'.

Switching to a 'reality based full contact' art, as suggested by Andrew Green above is, IMHO, a very good idea. Switching arts is not going to impeded ones growth in the martial arts, as the measure of ones growth is up to the individual. If you feel you are advancing, then you are, regardless of the colour of your belt or how many tournaments you win.

Switching to a full contact sport like boxing will mean the Hicks gets hit. And hard. And hopefully, he will learn that it isn't the end of the world, and that getting hit doesn't mean you are out of the fight. Learning to take a hit is just as important as learning to avoid one in the first place. It will also hopefully demonstrate that when you hit someone, they will feel it. It's going to hurt. It will help him to be confident in a sparring or fighting situation, and IMHO can only help his martial arts career.

 

[An Eternal Student]

I was in pretty much the same boat as you for a while.Im doingthe same thing, Ive been training for about 5 years in a few different styles and I had a similiar problem.Maybe you should think of making your training slightly rougher.Whenever you're practicing you're defence make sure you're opponent puts some decent force into his attacks, giving you a proper incentive to dodge.If it doesnt hurt when you get a hit,you're never going to be properly motivated to dodge it.As well as that, getting used to being hit hard a few times, will mean it wont unbalance you if it happens in real life.
A lot of people who train too gently, completely cave in when they are hit in a real fight.All this stuff worked for me, so it might help you as well.
Good luck, dude.Its nice to see another young guy who wants to succeed.

 

[Bod]

Keep play fighting with your mates. It is clearly the sparring you are missing. I've been training MA for around 10 years in total, and playfighting with my mate and brother always advances me, even though I box and have done 3 years judo.

They always get one in, because the unitiated but plucky opponent who knows you are into MA always looks at ways of taking your MA out of the equation. This will generally include sneaking up on you throwing unorthodox shots grappling if you are a striker, striking if you are a grappler and so on.

Swallow your pride and be thankful you have a sparring partner. Just make sure your friends are careful about your welfare, and that the sparring does not get out of control.

 

[hammer]

Corporal Hicks, some may take offence to this post well thats there choice, hey! and even you may, look Just give up!!! Yep just give up!!! thats right!! give up!!, boo hoo!

Much of the advice that has already been give is sound, yet I feel alot of it is back patting! and at times thats what we need, So just to put a different prospective on things, Just give up! (lol)

I'm sure that over the past 4/5 years you must of heard the words , committment , perseverence, deterimination,dedication, focus, and in doing so you must know the meanings of these words.

The time that is dedicated to your study / practice must be proportionate to your skill and understanding, if you are committed to the value of learning and achieving ,Then you realize that one of the most important keys to your success is commitment, sweat and more sweat!!!

As with all learning activities , acquiring skill is a process of time and the effort that is applied to the time spent,

So regardless of grade, understanding the above charcter traits makes a significant difference when they are employed in any situation. and its through developing these traits and over commimg the obstacls that are before you. You will develop your confidence.

As for the material that is taught, no would would expect you to remember a technique, that was only shown once or twice in class and practiced a few times, parts of it yes! It is only after you have be guided through the movements for sometime so that you will develop those sequneces of movement, "hey thats practice" to a more proficent level.

Its easy to make excusses rather than impovements,

so like i said just give up , it easy!!!! lol

All good cheers

 

[DarrenJew]

As with most... there is no such thing as perfection, no one ever really finnishes their trainning, it's the journey in which you'll find your answers.

 

[Andrew Green]

I've been training MA for around 10 years in total, and playfighting with my mate and brother always advances me, even though I box and have done 3 years judo.

Funny how so many people can be doing martial arts that aparently came from studying animals and miss that completely.

Animals learn to fight through.... Play Fighting!

Maybe there is something to be learnt from animals after all....

 

[RRouuselot]

Hi,
I've been praticing MA for about 4/5 years and it seems like I'm getting absolutely no where at all.

Train harder

 

[rmcrobertson]

It is very unlikely that switching to a Real Manly art, or guaranteeing that you Feel More Pain, is going to help.

If you're at a good school, and you have reason to trust the people who run it, the good advice is train harder; stop worrying about where you're gonna get to.

Unfortunately, we live in a culture that promises quick rewards.

 

[Andrew Green]

Not true.

I could be in a very good Ballet school with top international instructors and still feel stupid about being there.

What you are doing is just as important as who is teaching it too you.

After 3 unsuccessful attempts at traditional styles, maybe its time to take a different approach. COntinuing with something you are not enjoying is often the worst thing you can do, as it won't be long before you are doing nothing.

 

[Marginal]

It is very unlikely that switching to a Real Manly art, or guaranteeing that you Feel More Pain, is going to help.

Might land him a better instructor. A lot of the problems Hicks has hit over the course of his posting career seems to come from just being tossed into sparring with no real explanation of how things fit together, or how using strategy etc may be helpful to his sparring.

 

[SMP]

Lots of good suggestions. I would suggest trying less and have fun. After 5 years your mind may be getting in the way of your training/instict. Good luck

 

[rmcrobertson]

If you're in a good school with good instructors, just keep practicing. Skip the gimmicks and the manly men jazz; it's perfectly normal to get discouraged.

And if you went into a ballet school, you should just plie.

 

[MJS]

Well, I'll say again...there are many learning tools out there. Just because one person thinks that something is no good, does not mean that the next person won't find value in it.

Mike

 

[Corporal Hicks]

Alright so it happens again, playfighting and this time I get a split lip! How crap am I? This guy had aboustely no previous knowledge!
This is annoying now!

Makes me feel like I'm a failure as a martial artist.

 

[Adept]

Alright so it happens again, playfighting and this time I get a split lip! How crap am I? This guy had aboustely no previous knowledge!
This is annoying now!

Makes me feel like I'm a failure as a martial artist.

Once again I recommend boxing as an additional training tool. When you take up boxing, you are going to get hit. At the same time, you are going to hit people. Doing this, and taking the experience on board lets you know a few things about what you can take, and what you can dish out.

Sure, you got a split lip. But maybe, while you took that split lip it gave you an opportunity to throw the other guy, or take him down. Maybe it set you up to break a joint, or make an otherwise powerful attack. And all you got out of it was a split lip. A split lip! Who cares! I've playfought with untrained mates before, and they've scored a few blows, but I almost always end up getting their back and either choking or tapping them out. Being better, being trained, isn't about never getting hit. It's about only taking the hits you have to, and making the other bloke pay for them.

 

[Eldritch Knight]

Makes me feel like I'm a failure as a martial artist.

Happens to most people some time during their martial arts career. At least you recognize it and want to find a solution. Personally speaking, I just got out of one of these plateaus, and in my experience I found that the best thing to do is to force yourself to learn and grow as a martial artist. Spar people who you know can grind you to a pulp (instructors, advanced students, etc.). Sparring them will at least show you where your weak points are. From there, you can work on eliminating vulnerabilities and maximizing attack opportunities (through speed, tactics, any flavor of the month). Just keep pushing through.

 

[BlackCatBonz]

Alright so it happens again, playfighting and this time I get a split lip! How crap am I? This guy had aboustely no previous knowledge!
This is annoying now!

Makes me feel like I'm a failure as a martial artist.

sounds to me like you're not keeping those hands up. also sounds to me like you're afraid of attacking first. its not about being crap......its about initiative.....see an opening, take it....no hesitations.
when i first started sparring i had this attitude that i didnt want to hit the other person because i didnt want them to get hurt. that lasted about 2 weeks and several beatings.......my lovey-dovey nature only ended up with me getting bruises and fat lips.
next time you spar with your friends.....as soon as he puts one of his hands down...pop him in the chops. when you hit first, fast and hard......they dont want to hit back.

 

[Andrew Green]

Alright so it happens again, playfighting and this time I get a split lip! How crap am I? This guy had aboustely no previous knowledge!
This is annoying now!

You're always gonna get hit. Playfight with a pro fighter and he'll still probably get hit a few times.

But getting hit doesn't mean much without knowing how much, how hard and how accurate.

Also the fear of getting hit can actually get you hit more, because you overreact and extend out to catch things too early exposing yourself. Relax, realise that you WILL get hit, accept that and carry on.

Until you're ok with getting hit you'll have a very time not getting hit.

 

[arnisador]

Dude, sounds like a learning experience to me.

 

[Corporal Hicks]

sounds to me like you're not keeping those hands up. also sounds to me like you're afraid of attacking first. its not about being crap......its about initiative.....see an opening, take it....no hesitations.
when i first started sparring i had this attitude that i didnt want to hit the other person because i didnt want them to get hurt. that lasted about 2 weeks and several beatings.......my lovey-dovey nature only ended up with me getting bruises and fat lips.
next time you spar with your friends.....as soon as he puts one of his hands down...pop him in the chops. when you hit first, fast and hard......they dont want to hit back.

Yeah I started analyising the fight later and I foudn that it was my guard that I had let down. Something I will continually train over and over now, until it truely comes without thinking. Thanks for your responses everybody.

And I agree with you arnisador, I've changed my mindset and look upon it now as a learning experience, not a lost.

Cheers!
Regards