After you learn how to defend yourself, what sustains your practice?

[Makalakumu]

After you learn how to defend yourself, what sustains your practice? Why do you continue to practice MA after years and years and years? At what point do your training goals change to something more then self defense? Why would you practice your martial art for thirty years?

[Omar B]

Ambition. To always learn more, and be better at what I've already learned. Man's a being of limitless ambition and no matter where I think I am in relations to my goals, there's always a whole lot to learn and a limitless improvement in what I already do.

[Brian R. VanCise]

I think that if you do not practice these skills disappear. So you must hone them, sharpen them so that they will be there for you in a moment of need. If you practice say for several years get a belt and then quit well these skill sets will probably fade and not be there for you when it counts. So always keep practicing! http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/images/icons/icon6.gif

[Sigung86]

I've never figured that out, actually. For me it has always been "just a part of my life". I started back about 1963 in Shotokan and just continued on... Got a Black Belt in Tang Soo Do in 1969 while under the influence of a ROK Tech Sargeant. Met my original Kenpo instructor in 1971 after a return from SEA. And just never slowed down.

It's just as natural to me as eating and sleeping. Wish I could give a you personal why and/or wherefore, but it's just there.

Dan

[Guardian]

After you learn how to defend yourself, what sustains your practice? Why do you continue to practice MA after years and years and years? At what point do your training goals change to something more then self defense? Why would you practice your martial art for thirty years?

The reason that I have continued for 20+ years and added and gone into other aspects of the SD world and kept going, gaining knowledge is knowing that their is someone better then me out there and if I should meet them, I want to know that I've done everything I can to equal it out the best I can.

[ppko]

For me I want to learn how to do everything I know how to do better and easier lol. I am not looking to do all out brawls anymore I am getting older and lazier so the more efficient I can be the better

[Flea]

Fun.
Socializing.
Exercise.

And best of all, good ol' fashioned paranoia. :uhyeah:

[tshadowchaser]

Knowing that there are others out there faster, stronger, and perhaps more blood thirsty than myslef keeps me practicing and learning.
I must say it has become part of who and what I am, and without the arts I am not the same person

[dancingalone]

I keep practicing in order to stay strong and flexible as the years inevitably pass by. I'm not as athletic as I was in my twenties and early thirties, but I believe I'm more balanced and centered than ever.

There is also a sense of obligation to pass along what my teachers were generous enough to teach to me. In giving it to another generation, I am repaying my teachers and paying respect to them.

[Bill Mattocks]

Becoming a pr0n star.

[Ken Morgan]

Iaido Groupies...

[Aikikitty]

The love of the art and there is always more to learn.

[Sukerkin]

For me it is the corny old indesputable line that the practise of the art is a reward in and of itself and that without continual immersion in the art then what you have learned will slip away with alarming rapidity.

Essentially I am striving to be the best Iaidoka I can (of my ryu), despite having the clear knowledge that I shall never be a perfect swordsman. Those rare occasions when I perform a near-perfect draw, cut or noto are more than enough for me.

[Blindside]

The challenge of learning something new, the camaraderie of bruises between training partners/friends, and most importantly, its fun.

[girlbug2]

I'm not sure I ever stopped learning how to defend myself.

[Draven]

After you learn how to defend yourself, what sustains your practice?

More learning...


Why do you continue to practice MA after years and years and years?

Becasue a) I have to maintain & b) I like it...


At what point do your training goals change to something more then self defense?

Never have so I wouldn't know... I started out with SD being a focus, did the "proof is in the competition" stuff for a while & realized it was a lie to get students. I'll get into more on this in a few...


Why would you practice your martial art for thirty years?

Let you know when I get there...

On the competition is used for deception part, this isn't specifically aimed at MMA types either, it all boils down to basic brainwashing docturine used in cults.
1. Use the exhaustion to weaken the weaken the physical awareness and mental sharpness, use ritual to initiate/explain docturine.
2. Repeat docturine constantly.
3. Reward those for subscribing to docturine.
4. Reward those for repeating docturine.
5. Seperate the follower of docturine from other docturines and ideas. Bad mother those docturines.

Its a pretty simple and common area of study in psychology and in seen in almost all religions and philosophies. The problem is that when you get into the nuts and bolts of it competition addresses only a small part of the situations involved in SD. Take the karate-school that competes in light contact tap sparring, they have the same short comings as MMA fighters in the situational awareness, lack of a weapons range, restiction on attacking certain points and have a serious lack of education on finishing techniques, but they have the even bigger weaknesses that their students don't have a grappling or take down range and don't learn to take a hit.

I think competition is a good thing but as a focus interfers with SD skills and SD schools have to compete (at least within the school) to improve technically. But, competition needs to reflect SD situations and conditions. The thing with SD training is that there are so many different threats out there; forget the mugger what about the terrorist or the terrorist influenced gangs like Los Zetas or MS13. SD in this day and age has taken a definate need for paramilitary skills. Leaving the question of if your training has reached that far into the SD world?

[Phoenix44]

Not everyone trains in MA primarily for self defense in the first place.

[Ken Morgan]

Iaido is by no means a self defence art. You are training to kill with a sword. Period. End of story.

Walking the streets with a sword is completely impractical in this day of age, so there must be another reason to train in iaido.

It’s about finesse, concentration, accuracy, history, friendship, it’s about self improvement.

Martial arts have a 95% drop out rate. I don’t know about other arts, but those of us who stick around in iaido all have very similar interests and attitudes towards life. These are my life friends.

[corwin137]

Awareness of the deficiencies I have. Regardless of my abilities in this way, I always have stuff to work on.

Cardio. The great equalizer.

Responsibility to the material, and transmitting it.

A lot of it, for me, is that I get a lot of other stuff from training that isn't about the physical aspects as well. Being present. Constant ego-ectomies. Learning to gauge my level of intensity against what is presented. What some folk call "stress inoculation". Stuff like that.

Besides. Since we play with a lot of people, a lot of different sizes, skill levels, training backgrounds- there's always stuff I realize I can't deal with as well as I'd like, if at all. In this way, there's always something to do. As long as I keep coming across people that can pwn me in different areas, I'm never truly ready to "defend myself".

[pete]

After you learn how to defend yourself, what sustains your practice?

humility.

[K831]

I can give 3 answers that cover the majority of your questions;

1.) I enjoy it recreationally, like others enjoy basketball or something, so I stick with it for the physical outlet, physical health benefits and camaraderie.

2.) What you don't use you lose. I can tell you how to deal with a fast, aggressive job cross. Once learned, its easy to say, "Parry, counter" etc... however, if you aren't doing regularly, the perceptual speed and the reflexes will not be up to par to pull it off for real.

3.) I am pretty bad a$$. No seriously, I can fight. I have done it for real many times, and I have been training off and on since I was 8. I am not scared, small or lacking athleticism. I keep fit. I am pretty good with a knife and I can shoot. And yet, I consistently come across guys within my own style, and from other arts/combatives etc, who straight scare the crap out of me. Immediately following the fear comes a rush of emotions that drive me to get better. I want to be the thing that goes bump in the night! :)

[Ken Morgan]

I want to be the thing that goes bump in the night! :)

I love that! Thanks!

[jks9199]

If we are to reach
heights of extreme Excellence


Being completely without flaw
Then we must strive
to make it at least that
before we make it more
- Joe ManleyI'm not nearly as good as he is, and he still trains, practices and learns more. If he doesn't stop -- I guess I can't either!

[IcemanSK]

After you learn how to defend yourself, what sustains your practice? Why do you continue to practice MA after years and years and years? At what point do your training goals change to something more then self defense? Why would you practice your martial art for thirty years?


Great question Maunakumu! As others have said, "honing skills" "staying sharp" are certainly good reasons why I still train. I still enjoy the sweat, & learning something new from something I've done 500 times before. I enjoy teaching things I've learned to eager students. I enjoy the oddball fraternity that MA folks have with each other...most are wonderful people whom I learn from. After 28 years, I STILL want my side kick to look like my 1st instructor's side kick!!! When I was a young man, I trained to protect myself from older bullies, if need be. Now, I train so that I can protect myself from younger bullies, if need be. It calms my heart to train. It invigorates my spirit to train. I enjoy learning from my students.

Most of all, I guess I still have the same passion for it that I did when I was 14 years old. It hasn't gotten old & I still enjoy it all.

[ChingChuan]

I don't know whether I'm able to defend myself at this point (I certainly hope I am, but it hasn't be tested yet, so to say). My main reason for studying and practising this art is because I want to master it. I only have to look at my teacher moving, doing techniques and executing them on people - and then I know, that's what I want. It's not only about SD for me, it's more about the art itself.

[celtic_crippler]

To maintain...

...if you don't use it, you lose it.

[l_uk3y]

At what point can you truely defend yourself?
At what point of not training do these skills start to deminish?

There is always a higher peak you can climb.
(plus. Training is fun)
Luke

[MJS]

After you learn how to defend yourself, what sustains your practice? Why do you continue to practice MA after years and years and years? At what point do your training goals change to something more then self defense? Why would you practice your martial art for thirty years?

I continue to train because a) I love it, b) I enjoy working with the friends that I've made and c) there is always something to work on. IMO, it shouldn't take years to be capable of defending yourself, but the more you train, the more your skills are refined. :)

[Himura Kenshin]

While I could likely defend myself in most nightmarish situations, there are still those thoughts of more skilled and dangerous attackers. Is it likely? No, but it is possible.

Martial arts is like insurance to me.

Also I have changed as a man and become more confident and respectful due to my training. I would like to pass this along to others some day so I plan to master the system. I gotta be a step above if I want to run my own school or club someday.

[Carol]

Becoming a pr0n star.

Preach it Wiggy!

[Bill Mattocks]

Preach it Wiggy!

Hey, I figure as long as I'm dreaming (that I'll ever 'learn how to defend myself'), I may as well give myself some new goal after that one is reached! A man's gotta have dreams.

[Stonecold]

I have found that training helps balance my life & keeps me focused.
In 1973 I first started, we lived in a rough area, I had to fight all the time, so I wanted a edge. As time went on I learned to love the training, it had become a big part of my life, any time I drifted away from it my life would lose focus. Only when I came back to training would things come together for me.
So I can only say Martial arts training has saved my life, many times in many ways.
Train Hard, Respect All, Fear None.