moods while training

[Sam]

is it just me, or when you fight do you seem to go in a cycle something like this:

I suck I suck I suck man I suck so hard I rule! I'm awesome I'm awesome I'm the next bruce lee who wants to step into my lair next I suck I suck I'm pitiful I suck so hard your soul is mine I know you wish you could kick like me I'm awesome today.... etc etc

it seems to me when I fight I go through periods of extreme confidence and extreme... lw confidence? lol. I was just wondering if you guys have this happen to you and how you deal with it, what do you think causes or affects it?

 

[Gemini]

Are you referring to a cycle in a single session, or over multiple sessions?

 

[Lisa]

I hit cycles like that all the time. Things seem to click and your like "whoohoo!" and then... it all falls apart. For me it isn't in one training session, but over a period of time.

The other thing I notice about moods when training is that my mood coming into training can determine what kind of day I will have. Sometimes bad moods can be good things or sometimes they can mess you up and not let you concentrate on what you are doing.

 

[Gemini]

Sometimes bad moods can be good things

I usually have my best days when I'm in a bad mood.

The reason I asked about cycles, is because I don't have them during a class, but will have them over several. Some days I'm feeling unstoppable, some days I'm ashamed to wear my belt. But, I'm also very self critical.

 

[Lisa]

I usually have my best days when I'm in a bad mood.

The reason I asked about cycles, is because I don't have them during a class, but will have them over several. Some days I'm feeling unstoppable, some days I'm ashamed to wear my belt. But, I'm also very self critical.

It doesn't usually happen during class, per say. As much as it is the mood I have stepping into on the mat and it could be brought on by what we do on that particular day. So I guess it is a combination of my day and the particular skill set we are trying to accomplish. However, there is also that reverse side, the one that walks on the mat and feels nothing can stop me. I need more days like that.

 

[Navarre]

I don't generally have a radical mood swing during a single class. I have found it hard to focus some days when I'm having a bad day.

What I most typically find is that I've had a typical day at work with all of its stresses and so forth. By the time I'm out I have only an hour or two to get ready for class.

I need to unwind and what I really want to do is take a nice nap (a good stress reliever for me). I don't have time though and the last thing I feel like doing is dragging myself to class.

*Cue martial arts discipline*

But I'll make myself go to class because I know that I'll feel worse if I don't. I don't want to feel guilty for not going and I know I need to get my head in the game.

Ten minutes into my workout I feel fine. Leaving the dojo I feel on top of the world.

Martial arts is my salvation.

Sam, perhaps you're thinking too much during class. Perhaps you "need" for something to happen in class and you're dwelling on that need.

Not making assumptions about you of course. You know me better than that.

Best I could say is just try to let it all go, good and bad. Just "be".

When we live in the moment, neither dwelling on the past nor anxious of the future, then all moments are free of strife. ... (You also know me well enough to know I'd say something zen like that, huh?)

 

[Sam]

I meant over a period of classes. certainly not all in one class, wow, that'd be crazy

 

[karatekid1975]

I get like that when I spar. I have my bad days, and good days. When I have a bad day, I tell myself, "sheesh you sucked at that match!" Or felt like I did. But the next sparring class, I could spar the same person and really open a can of whoop-****. It's weird.

The same goes with forms or technique stuff. My technique can be "on" one day, and do a perfect (or close to) form and feel like I won at a tourny (which I have). Then other days, I just can't get my techniques right (I felt like that at tournies also and lost).

For me, my mood does effect how I train. I CAN'T train in a bad mood. Well, I do, but nothing goes right. Some people can, but I can't. I have to be in a, at least, semi good mood for everything to "flow."

 

[Shaolinwind]

is it just me, or when you fight do you seem to go in a cycle something like this:

I suck I suck I suck man I suck so hard I rule! I'm awesome I'm awesome I'm the next bruce lee who wants to step into my lair next I suck I suck I'm pitiful I suck so hard your soul is mine I know you wish you could kick like me I'm awesome today.... etc etc

it seems to me when I fight I go through periods of extreme confidence and extreme... lw confidence? lol. I was just wondering if you guys have this happen to you and how you deal with it, what do you think causes or affects it?

I typically always feel substandard, aside from the occasional moment when a move really feels right.

 

[DeLamar.J]

is it just me, or when you fight do you seem to go in a cycle something like this:

I suck I suck I suck man I suck so hard I rule! I'm awesome I'm awesome I'm the next bruce lee who wants to step into my lair next I suck I suck I'm pitiful I suck so hard your soul is mine I know you wish you could kick like me I'm awesome today.... etc etc

it seems to me when I fight I go through periods of extreme confidence and extreme... lw confidence? lol. I was just wondering if you guys have this happen to you and how you deal with it, what do you think causes or affects it?

I also get this way. I'm very curious of the psychological reasons for this. Part of my reason for going into a slump is having some serious family issues. That can take your confidence away quickly, I know of this first hand. But I have had this happen when things in my life are going ok. When my life is going ok these moments are very far and few, but do happen.
Is everything going ok in your personal life?
Have you ever been diagnosed with depression?

 

[Jade Tigress]

My mood going into class can definitely affect how I train that day especially if we're sparring.

I spar best when I'm in a good mood. You would think it would be the opposite but if I'm feeling down I don't care as much about winning. The good thing is that if I go into class feeling down, during the course of the class my mood gets turned around so I leave feeling better than when I came in. Sparring changes my mood from down to up all the time. It must be the release of endorphins and such when you spar.

I think it's natural to go through swings of feeling like you're on top of the world and can whip anyone who comes near you, and feeling so low that you don't care if you get whipped by anyone who comes near you.

All in all I would say these swings have a lot to do with what's going on in your personal life at the moment.

 

[OnlyAnEgg]

For me, I usually have these moods outside of class. I'll be all like 'Man, I don't wanna go to class. I'm 44 and I'll never accomplish squat; so, why bother?' That's my predominant bad mood. Lately, I've recieved quite a great deal of flak from my ex and that is very disturbing, too, and interferes with my mood. Once I get to class, though, it's a different story. Normally, the meditation we do as class begins is enough to pull me out of whatever funk I have going in and lets me put my focus on MA. When that doesn't do the trick, sparring wrings the rest from me.

There are days, though, when I know I'm not limber enough or fast enough strong enough. Days like that, it's like REO said, 'I keep pushin' on,' and, soon enough, I'll do at least one thing (land a punch, help a little one, something) that will counteract that mood. Sometimes, no matter how I try to keep a good perception of myself, I fail. It takes an external event, just a little one, to bring that perception back to an even keel.

 

[jdinca]

For me it's more a matter of how much effort is it going to take to focus. Sometimes outside influences can make it almost impossible. Most of the time, it's not too hard to "get in the groove". It's actually easier for me to do when I'm teaching, vs. working on my own material.

As for how I feel about how I'm doing, it does follow a predictable path for me. As the next belt gets closer, the details you're told to fix get finer, more specific ("your elbow needs to come in an inch") and I can get the feeling that I'm moving backwards. Realizing that, I try and just put my head down ("no, lift your chin up!") and power through it. I know I'll be the better for it.

 

[Navarre]

Honestly, don't most of us wish we did nothing but train all day long? It would be wonderful if we didn't have the outside distraction of work, traffic, bad relationships, etc. trying to drag us down.

But this is the real world, huh. Best we can do is to refuse to give up and always do our best.

Even on days in class when it doesn't seem we're going anywhere, we are. We have refused to stop or go backward. In my opinion, that is going forward.

 

[OnlyAnEgg]

I'm reminded of a quote from Frank Herbert's Dune:

"Mood is a thing for cattle and lovemaking. I say guard yourself for true!" - Gurney Halleck

 

[tshadowchaser]

My mood changes in class depending on the preformance of the students.. Crapy technique and little attention span by students can make me not a nice person.
when I train with other instructors I find I am usualy happy or at least in a good mood. I may be sore and battered but Im still happy to have learned

 

[Kamaria Annina]

I definitely go through those cycles. I remember when I was a blue belt I got really upset infront of my brothers whenever I couldn't do one of their advanced kicks. My instructor told me I was already a great martial artist, but I was way to hard on myself. But I don't think I've changed that much in that mindset, I still like to push myself more than I should.

 

[Bigshadow]

is it just me, or when you fight do you seem to go in a cycle something like this:

I suck I suck I suck man I suck so hard I rule! I'm awesome I'm awesome I'm the next bruce lee who wants to step into my lair next I suck I suck I'm pitiful I suck so hard your soul is mine I know you wish you could kick like me I'm awesome today.... etc etc

it seems to me when I fight I go through periods of extreme confidence and extreme... lw confidence? lol. I was just wondering if you guys have this happen to you and how you deal with it, what do you think causes or affects it?

If you are talking about a gradual change over weeks or months, then I would say it probably is a sign of growth. There is always that feeling of uncertainty as we learn something new or realize when we thought we knew, we actually knew nothing. Then we get to where we think we know it, then only to find again, we really didn't know it. LOL

In very general terms, it may be just the growth cycle. If it happens very often, you may need some meds LOL j/k of course.