You Just Can Never Stop......

[Brian R. VanCise]

This is transplanted over here from my Blog in hopes of generating some thoughts from other people.


You Just Can Never Stop!


…..You know if you wish to be good in the Martial Sciences you just cannot stop training. Sure the body can a have a little break here and there but in reality if you wish to keep your skills and improve you need to constantly keep training. In other words you simply cannot be lazy. Look at the worlds greatest athletes. This is pretty easy right now because the Olympics is going on. Every day they get up early and head to training, every day. They only get a break once in awhile. In order to be the very best that they can be they have to train religiously and mentally be strong enough to do so. How many times have any of us seen someone with great athletic talent only quit or not really put forth the effort because they were mentally weak. In the Martial Sciences if you wish to be at your best you just can never stop and you must continually train through out your life. Because if you stop your skills erode. That means simply that if you take a break your skill set also starts to take a break, you do not grow or really your skills start to drop off in a big way. Through out the years I have had a student or two take a break only to come back a year later and realize that they are way behind and that their skills are simply not the same. You just can never stop training in the Martial Sciences and expect for your skills to stay where they are.


See You On The Mats!

Copyright Instinctive Response Training LLC 2008
Brian R. VanCise

 

[terryl965]

Yes thta was a great article on your blog today, also I recognized that photo from the Texas meet and greet.

 

[Xue Sheng]

OH MAN!!!! Now you tell me, if I know this when I started I would have stopped YEARS ago.

Nice post Brian and I agree. I was forced to stop a couple of times due to injury and the older you get the harder it gets to come back.

Train, train and train some more and when you are all done with that....train.

 

[shesulsa]

How long do you feel a person has to be off training to start all over, Brian? And what would you recommend for someone who hasn't been able to train in three years?

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Well if someone has been out for awhile they will because of previous training pick it up easier than a new student would. Still they will of course have to invest a lot of hard work to get back to where they were. If someone was out three years? Well just ease back in and once there continue going even when it gets tough. Though ease back in is the key word and let your body readjust to the training.

 

[jks9199]

Unlike an Olympic athlete who's training towards a particular event on a particular date -- those of us training in the Martial Sciences with an eye towards self defense have to be prepared for the test any day, at any time, with no notice. Accordingly, it's not realistic to train to be at peak at all times.

Realistically we have to vary our training intensity and focus to maintain our interest and avoid overtraining. That doesn't mean STOP training; it means that you change what you're working on or how hard you're training for a bit. Maybe that means work on grappling instead of striking, or long stick, or sparring. The same applies to pure physical training, too; work on endurance for a while, then strength, then agility, and so on. Or it may mean easing up for a few days or weeks, then going back to full intensity with renewed energy and vigor.

 

[terryl965]

Someone that has been out for a while, here is my advice take it slow and remember with age come wisdom. Techs. can come back easily but applying those techs may take time. Each and every day should be an eye opener and also a understanding of what it is you are trying to achieve again. With this type of attitude you will be wiser and more fkuid with your training.

 

[shesulsa]

So I'm wondering about the whole "time off and let it cook" philosophy. Some people benefit from having taken distinct time off - more relaxed in technique, better flow, a better feel for what's working, not working and why, etc.

I imagine, though, that this is the exception rather than the norm?

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Hey Shesulsa a week or two away to relax and let the body heal is and can be a good thing. Protracted time off of a much longer duration well that is when it gets tougher. Though there is always an exception.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Unlike an Olympic athlete who's training towards a particular event on a particular date -- those of us training in the Martial Sciences with an eye towards self defense have to be prepared for the test any day, at any time, with no notice. Accordingly, it's not realistic to train to be at peak at all times.

Realistically we have to vary our training intensity and focus to maintain our interest and avoid overtraining. That doesn't mean STOP training; it means that you change what you're working on or how hard you're training for a bit. Maybe that means work on grappling instead of striking, or long stick, or sparring. The same applies to pure physical training, too; work on endurance for a while, then strength, then agility, and so on. Or it may mean easing up for a few days or weeks, then going back to full intensity with renewed energy and vigor.

Absolutely.

Continually training with variation is a very large key to the puzzle.