Ongoing motivation for studying martial art craft

[kenc.sdq]

Hello fellow MT members,

This has been on my mind for sometime, but need to know what are or were your motivation/reasons to continue with your martial arts training? I have been training for six months but going to take a month off due to not having the mental strength at the moment. I have been taking up Filipino MA if asked.

 

[MA_Student]

Not any real motivation. I just do it. Just like I wake up and have breakfast it's just part of what I do

 

[kenc.sdq]

Not any real motivation. I just do it. Just like I wake up and have breakfast it's just part of what I do

Good point.

 

[jobo]

Hello fellow MT members,

This has been on my mind for sometime, but need to know what are or were your motivation/reasons to continue with your martial arts training? I have been training for six months but going to take a month off due to not having the mental strength at the moment. I have been taking up Filipino MA if asked.

i don't understand the " mental strengh" deficit thing,

there are two over lapping reasons for most things, one) you have,an objective you want to achieve, two) you enjoy it

if you have both of those, it all flows, one or the other and you can get by, nether and you need to find something else, a month off won't,change any of that

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Hello fellow MT members,

This has been on my mind for sometime, but need to know what are or were your motivation/reasons to continue with your martial arts training? I have been training for six months but going to take a month off due to not having the mental strength at the moment. I have been taking up Filipino MA if asked.

I train because I do not like how I feel if I miss a night.

 

[DanT]

I agree with what everyone's said so far. It's just what I do. It makes me happy. It's who I am.

 

[Buka]

It starts as fun, a fascination, a hobby. Then it becomes something more, a lifestyle maybe, an occupation for some of us.

Then it's pure China White. No cut. And you are fricken' doomed. Doomed, I tell ya!

 

[Martial D]

Hello fellow MT members,

This has been on my mind for sometime, but need to know what are or were your motivation/reasons to continue with your martial arts training? I have been training for six months but going to take a month off due to not having the mental strength at the moment. I have been taking up Filipino MA if asked.

I don't know really. I've been fascinated by combat and martial arts as long as I can remember. It would be much harder to not do it in some capacity than to keep doing it.

 

[drop bear]

You need a goal that is more important than your feelings.

 

[JR 137]

I train because I love it. Trying to perfect what I already know, putting a different perspective on what I already know, learning new things, and trying to do things I didn't think I could do. All while exercising. I genuinely don't try to be better than anyone else, I just try to be better than I am and do better than I thought I could.

Then there's the mental aspect. When I'm in the dojo, the outside world ceases to exist. For that hour to hour and a half, there's no nagging wife, kids who are being a pain in the butt, idiot boss, etc. There's no time to think about any of that when someone's trying to punch me or kick me. Those things are the last thing on my mind when I'm in the middle of a kata. It's therapeutic. No other form of exercise nor anything else has truly had the same effect.

I trained for about 7 years when I was in my late teens to mid 20s. Grad school, new career, wife, and kids all got in the way and I didn't train for about 15 years. No complaints at all, but I honestly thought about karate EVERY SINGLE DAY. No exaggeration.

I'll be back 3 years in February. Loved every second of it. It's my home away from home. I guess I was lucky to find the right teacher and classmates both times I looked. I also took my time and looked for a dojo that felt like home over everything else. If you've got the right teacher, classmates, and art, it's harder not to go than it is to go.

Due to having a lovely wife and two beautiful daughters who are 4 and almost 7, I don't get into the dojo as much as I'd like to. Tuesday and Saturday are the only days I can consistently get in. When the girls are a little older, I should be able to add another day. No regrets now though.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Hello fellow MT members,

This has been on my mind for sometime, but need to know what are or were your motivation/reasons to continue with your martial arts training? I have been training for six months but going to take a month off due to not having the mental strength at the moment. I have been taking up Filipino MA if asked.

Some of the motivations that have kept me going over the years:

• A desire to be able to defend myself.
• Wanting to be good at it (like any sport).
• The challenge of mastery (which never ends - I think I have more to learn than I thought 15 years ago).
• A place to escape stress.
• Being around friends at the dojo.
• Too much damned fun to miss.
• Wanting to help others enjoy the progress.
• Helping promote the school that had helped me so much.

 

[oftheherd1]

I don't know exactly what your thought processes are, but when I was taking TKD, I would sometimes seem to hit a plateau where it seemed I wasn't learning anything new, and it was a struggle to go to class. I always stayed with it, and sure enough, without thinking about it, one day I would realize while going through the difficulty, I had unknowingly progressed significantly.

My suggestion, stick with it. See if the same thing happens to you. Just don't give yourself goals of a week or a month, only the goal of keeping on training.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Hello fellow MT members,

This has been on my mind for sometime, but need to know what are or were your motivation/reasons to continue with your martial arts training? I have been training for six months but going to take a month off due to not having the mental strength at the moment. I have been taking up Filipino MA if asked.

I do it because I enjoy it. It's really that simple.

 

[hoshin1600]

Martial arts have always been a part of my life. I don't need motivation. I guess I'm a little crazy because I would rather be on the dojo floor than anywhere else in the world. It's the real world with bills and work and stress that I need motivation to help get me through.

 

[ks - learning to fly]

honestly - my daily goal is to be 1% better each day
I train than I was the day before - that's my motivation

 

[Tarrycat]

"If you really want to do something, you will find a way.

If you don't, you will find an excuse".
- Jim Rohn

I think that in order to feel motivated to do something, you have to love it or at least feel like you're making progress (just my opinion). I don't know you, or how you truly feel about your art in your heart. Perhaps you feel like you aren't progressing, perhaps your circumstances at home are influencing your feelings about the art; whatever it is, don't allow it to overshadow your love for what you do (if that is how you feel about it). Think back to WHY you started in the first place.

Sometimes you will feel overwhelmed & that you aren't really improving on your techniques - I ALSO went through that stage; but I continued, & I have found that I really am better than I was when I first started.

If you struggle with a technique or anything in your life, PRACTICE. Repetition = Competence = Confidence.

We're human, so our minds naturally will put limits on everything which seems difficult to us. Our minds make us think that it's impossible - UNTIL you understand it. When you understand it, you can do it. When you can do it, keep doing it, until you can do it flawlessly.

I apply the same principle to my studies & my life in general. I'm an MBA student, so I have to deal with a lot of numbers.

My tutor taught me this vital principle, she said to me: "Everything will seem difficult when you don't understand it; until you take the initiative to understand it. As soon as you understand it, you'll realise that it wasn't difficult at all. This applies to everything in life".

Don't allow your mind to limit you. Everyone is capable, but the problem is, not everyone tries.

I speak from my own experience, this is just the way I see life, & how I approach difficulties.

I'm sure everyone here can teach you something about life in some way or another. I always view myself as a student & everyone else as a teacher. I learn from their mistakes & their experiences.

I hope that you find what you're looking for & what makes you happy.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

It's a combination of two things. The first is what other people stated: I enjoy it.

The other thing is something thought to come to terms with. I don;t know if its natural, or a result of me training since I was 4/5 years old. I love fighting people, and aggression is important to me. If I didn't have that aggression, I don't know how I would be different. But, the aggression keeps me sane.

To clarify, I don't actually know that aggression is the right word. I can fight someone, and they can cream me, but that's enough for me. I can also fight someone, and they stand no chance, and that's enough for me. I think I just need to know that I stand a chance towards whatever I'm focusing on, and that's enough for me.

 

[FighterTwister]

Hello fellow MT members,

This has been on my mind for sometime, but need to know what are or were your motivation/reasons to continue with your martial arts training?

I have been training for six months but going to take a month off due to not having the mental strength at the moment.

I have been taking up Filipino MA if asked.

Well my opinion would be first select a martial arts that you really enjoy and keeps you "Motivated" also find a place with the right people to make friends with and hook up with after hours, thats important.

Where you go out socialize and train in other areas of fitness like swimming, cycling and weight lifting so on, thats all part of the fun and experience.

If you are not building relationships and meeting after hours thats just not a great environment for you, but you are isolating yourself, the right age group and surrounding yourself with good people is important in anything you do in life.

Also its about spending time in the books as well studying martial arts learning the history and details of martial arts but don't get into arguments with people over it would also be my advice.............point is look at it as a life style a hobby that keeps you busy and active.

Remember martial arts is also personal fitness and just having fun you might want to experiment and mix your style with other martial arts for fun make videos etc!

Suggestions:-

• Spend time studying on your own and as a group
• Organzie martial art movie or documentary nights
• Plan after hour events swimming, cycling and camping training trips
• Socialize do other stuff together
• Make video recordings and documentation
• Go to competition / exhibition events fights as a group
  
• Watch TV UFC fights as a group then discuss
• Go out for meals
• Talk about nutrition and visit places
  
• Visit Martial art expos
• Make a weekly bulletin for the place you train in add stories and peoples achievements so on.
• Be a part of the team and a team leader
• Speak with your instructors and ask how you could help out
• Have weekend seminars or meet to discuss safety and other things related in a group
  
• ....................etc.........options and choices are endless................

I use to go motorcycle riding with some guys I trained with and also play soccer and go to the beach swimming and camping, just mixing things up a bit.

You need to hook up with good people there are online meet ups as well that people organize you just gota be a member and be patient its like a second family when you are in the right place or belong to.

These days with the internet its easier than it was when I was active back in the 1990's so get moving.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

My motivations are:

1. Not to be mounted by girls - When I was 5, a huge Mongolian girl in my class mounted on top of me and punched on me everyday. I went home always with bruise on my body. Since then I told myself that I would never allow any girl to mount on top of me for the rest of my life.

2. Not to be killed - When I was 17, a gang member said he would kill me next time we met. I trained MA hard, trained how to fight multiple opponents, learned how to throw knife, and carry knife everyday. I didn't want to be killed and wanted to see the sun raise.

3. Not to be taken down by "single leg" - When I was 28, I was taken down by "single leg" once. I told myself that I want to use "single leg" to take down everybody on this planet, and never let myself to be taken down by it any more.

4. Outlive my young wife - Today, I have promised my wife who is 9 years younger than me that I will die after her. .

 

[geezer]

My motivations are:
1. Not to be mounted by girls -

John you sound like an OSF (Old Sexist Fart)...

Being and old fart myself, I get where you are coming from, but really dude, it's time to move into the twentieth century. Then maybe even on into the twenty-first, where the rest of us live!

I mean really, if someone is bigger, stronger, highly motivated, and more skilled than you, they should beat you most of the time. So why should it be more shameful to lose to such an opponent just because they are a girl? Especially when you are talking about kids before puberty, when girls are often as big and strong as boys their own age. Or even bigger and stronger.

I understand that this sexist social bias persists even in today's world, but we don't have to lend it support. It is very destructive. Many years back, I enrolled my young son in a jujitsu program. Like me, he was very small for his age and I hoped that like myself and my brother, he might find that a grappling sport suited him.

On his first day the instructor had him roll with a couple of tough female students who were much larger than him and had several years of experience, including competition. Of course they effortlessly controlled him and submitted him, bruising his body and his ego. And because his social peers had sexist attitudes like the one you expressed, he couldn't accept defeat to a girl so he quit, refused to train any more grappling, and took up TKD instead. A shame, in my opinion, since TKD did not come easily to him with his short legs, whereas he is built just like his short, powerful uncle who was a champion wrestler. Eventually he did become pretty good at theTKD, but he could have been a natural grappler.

...Or maybe TKD was the best choice for him. That's not the point. The point is that sexist stereotypes can be very harmful, and harmful to boys as well as girls. So John, please tell me I misunderstood you, that you are not an OSF, but rather just a regular OF like me!