Self training

[Headhunter]

So this week and last I've had to do a lot of self training due to my gyms closing for Christmas and doing so has made me appreciate it a lot more and a part of me prefers training by myself as opposed to a gym.

When I train alone I do my own routine and can kind of tune out of everything whereas in a gym you obviously have to always focus and listen but when I train myself I kind of find it as a out of body experience I can train for about an hour and it feels like only 5 minutes has passed.

Of course I like training at gyms to to have people to push you but if I ever had to stop at gyms for whatever reason (money, injuries etc) I'd be okay self training because I find as peaceful as meditation to me. One example I practice my kenpo forms and my moves there are just instinct I can flow through them and have my mind zoned out. Tonight I found myself half way through a form and kind of zoned in and didnt even really remember going through the motions it was that type of thing for me.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

So this week and last I've had to do a lot of self training due to my gyms closing for Christmas and doing so has made me appreciate it a lot more and a part of me prefers training by myself as opposed to a gym.

When I train alone I do my own routine and can kind of tune out of everything whereas in a gym you obviously have to always focus and listen but when I train myself I kind of find it as a out of body experience I can train for about an hour and it feels like only 5 minutes has passed.

Of course I like training at gyms to to have people to push you but if I ever had to stop at gyms for whatever reason (money, injuries etc) I'd be okay self training because I find as peaceful as meditation to me. One example I practice my kenpo forms and my moves there are just instinct I can flow through them and have my mind zoned out. Tonight I found myself half way through a form and kind of zoned in and didnt even really remember going through the motions it was that type of thing for me.

I wish I found that meditative state working on my own. I have less patience and focus working alone than with a partner or group. I've done a lot of training on my own, but never to the level I would like to have. When I'm working the heavy bag alone, rather than working steadily for an hour, I tend to work really hard for 10-20 minutes, get tired too fast to do the entire hour, then wander into something easier. I'd benefit a lot from a solid hour of working on something steadily, but don't often manage it.

 

[jobo]

I wish I found that meditative state working on my own. I have less patience and focus working alone than with a partner or group. I've done a lot of training on my own, but never to the level I would like to have. When I'm working the heavy bag alone, rather than working steadily for an hour, I tend to work really hard for 10-20 minutes, get tired too fast to do the entire hour, then wander into something easier. I'd benefit a lot from a solid hour of working on something steadily, but don't often manage it.

well two issues, there is nothing saying that doing an hour at medium pace is any better that 20 mins at full Pace.

and practising mindfulness whilst exercising does seem to bring on a medative state

 

[jobo]

So this week and last I've had to do a lot of self training due to my gyms closing for Christmas and doing so has made me appreciate it a lot more and a part of me prefers training by myself as opposed to a gym.

When I train alone I do my own routine and can kind of tune out of everything whereas in a gym you obviously have to always focus and listen but when I train myself I kind of find it as a out of body experience I can train for about an hour and it feels like only 5 minutes has passed.

Of course I like training at gyms to to have people to push you but if I ever had to stop at gyms for whatever reason (money, injuries etc) I'd be okay self training because I find as peaceful as meditation to me. One example I practice my kenpo forms and my moves there are just instinct I can flow through them and have my mind zoned out. Tonight I found myself half way through a form and kind of zoned in and didnt even really remember going through the motions it was that type of thing for me.

when you say gym, do you mean dojo, or do you mean gym? Running machines, weights, pull up bars etc, if is the latter, i much prefer training on my own, some where out in the woods, where i can get some tranquillity

 

[Headhunter]

when you say gym, do you mean dojo, or do you mean gym? Running machines, weights, pull up bars etc, if is the latter, i much prefer training on my own, some where out in the woods, where i can get some tranquillity

Martial art gyms. I haven't used a fitness gym in about 30 years. That kind of thing bores the hell out of me

 

[JR 137]

I need both, solo and formal class.

My solo training consists of hitting the bag almost exclusively. I like it because I know exactly what I want/need to work on going in, and I can stick to it instead of hoping we’ll do that in class. My biggest deficiency is doing punches and kicks smoothly in combos (ie jab-cross-roundhouse-hook punch). I can work a combo like that over and over again when I’m hitting the bag. In class, we’ll do a combo several times, then another, and another. We won’t spend an hour doing whichever one(s) I specifically want to do. I can’t slow it down to the point where I’m analyzing every detail like how far apart my feet are, where I’m stepping, does adjusting any of the details like that change my flow, etc. I actually could do that in class in a sense, but by the time I’ve done it and feel good, we’re moving on to the next one, so it’s not like doing it 40-50 times after I really worked out the kinks so I’m ingraining it.

There’s days where I get ultra-analytical in whatever I want, and days where I just go at it like 12 rounds against the bag. I feel like I get more out of that some days. But I need my teacher to see the product of it, tweak it, suggest further stuff, and try it out with a partner who’s actually getting out of the way and hitting me back. Then I take that internal info and back to the lab again.

And no matter how much I try, I can’t get my left hook to the body-left hook to the head combo smooth. Mike Tyson dominated people with it back in the day and made it look so easy.

 

[JR 137]

Martial art gyms. I haven't used a fitness gym in about 30 years. That kind of thing bores the hell out of me

I hate fitness gyms. Picking things up and putting them down gets way too monotonous. 45 minutes feels like 4 hours. Hitting the bag, 45 minutes feels like 15 minutes. And it NEVER gets old. You’d think going 12 rounds 3-4 days a week (although I’ve been severely slacking the last 3 months) would get really old. The more I do it, the more I want to do it again. And I typically have to talk myself out of going another few rounds and overdoing it.

Hitting the bag is very meditative for me. The outside world ceases to exist, just like when I’m at the dojo. The only difference is I’m doing exactly what I want to do vs doing what the class is doing.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

well two issues, there is nothing saying that doing an hour at medium pace is any better that 20 mins at full Pace.

Not better, but it would allow me to work on some things I just don't get around to, like putting together repetitions of kicks to improve my round kick. At full pace, I'll probably only throw 10 or 20 kicks during the session, so I lose that benefit.

and practising mindfulness whilst exercising does seem to bring on a medative state

Mindfulness is not my strong suit.

 

[Headhunter]

I need both, solo and formal class.

My solo training consists of hitting the bag almost exclusively. I like it because I know exactly what I want/need to work on going in, and I can stick to it instead of hoping we’ll do that in class. My biggest deficiency is doing punches and kicks smoothly in combos (ie jab-cross-roundhouse-hook punch). I can work a combo like that over and over again when I’m hitting the bag. In class, we’ll do a combo several times, then another, and another. We won’t spend an hour doing whichever one(s) I specifically want to do. I can’t slow it down to the point where I’m analyzing every detail like how far apart my feet are, where I’m stepping, does adjusting any of the details like that change my flow, etc. I actually could do that in class in a sense, but by the time I’ve done it and feel good, we’re moving on to the next one, so it’s not like doing it 40-50 times after I really worked out the kinks so I’m ingraining it.

There’s days where I get ultra-analytical in whatever I want, and days where I just go at it like 12 rounds against the bag. I feel like I get more out of that some days. But I need my teacher to see the product of it, tweak it, suggest further stuff, and try it out with a partner who’s actually getting out of the way and hitting me back. Then I take that internal info and back to the lab again.

And no matter how much I try, I can’t get my left hook to the body-left hook to the head combo smooth. Mike Tyson dominated people with it back in the day and made it look so easy.

With choice I'd do class work more which is what I do but if for some reason I couldn't train e.g I got fired and can't afford it I'd be okay to just train myself but yes both is Important

 

[Headhunter]

I hate fitness gyms. Picking things up and putting them down gets way too monotonous. 45 minutes feels like 4 hours. Hitting the bag, 45 minutes feels like 15 minutes. And it NEVER gets old. You’d think going 12 rounds 3-4 days a week (although I’ve been severely slacking the last 3 months) would get really old. The more I do it, the more I want to do it again. And I typically have to talk myself out of going another few rounds and overdoing it.

Hitting the bag is very meditative for me. The outside world ceases to exist, just like when I’m at the dojo. The only difference is I’m doing exactly what I want to do vs doing what the class is doing.

When running normally outside I can run for over an hour but on a treadmill I can barely do 10 minutes

 

[Gerry Seymour]

When running normally outside I can run for over an hour but on a treadmill I can barely do 10 minutes

Agreed. When my legs let me, I have lots of patience for distance running. On a treadmill, I just can't get into a mental rhythm. Same for stationary bikes. Somehow, rowing machines work okay for me, though I tend to push hard enough to shorten the time.

 

[jobo]

Not better, but it would allow me to work on some things I just don't get around to, like putting together repetitions of kicks to improve my round kick. At full pace, I'll probably only throw 10 or 20 kicks during the session, so I lose that benefit.


Mindfulness is not my strong suit.

mindfulness, is a learnt skill, that said i find the doing nothing, thinking about nothing to be quite difficult, but the mindful exercise, where you do something light and repetitive like walking or in your case an hour of kicking, where you focus on the movement to be easier to achieve. And slightly hypnotic

 

[JR 137]

With choice I'd do class work more which is what I do but if for some reason I couldn't train e.g I got fired and can't afford it I'd be okay to just train myself but yes both is Important

I’ve never not gone to the dojo because I wanted to stay home and hit the bag instead. With my work and family schedule, I can only get there twice a week. The BOB XL in my basement fills in for the other days. And it scares the hell out of the tenants who’ve got too much crap down there every time they’re in the basement, so it’s a win-win.

 

[JowGaWolf]

I don't like training by myself, but I get more done when I do. It's like medicine. It doesn't taste good but it's good for me. The most difficult thing for me and training by myself is probably the motivation. It's easier to be motivated when I see someone else working hard. The one thing that I will often do is train away from home even if it's in the park. Having a cost to training forces me to make sure that I do the training. If I spend time and money (gas) to get to the park then there's no way I'm going to let that go to waste. I'm there so I should get something out of being there by training.

Not training would mean that I went to the park for nothing. I wasted my time and my gas, and that just doesn't sit well for me.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I don't like training by myself, but I get more done when I do. It's like medicine. It doesn't taste good but it's good for me. The most difficult thing for me and training by myself is probably the motivation. It's easier to be motivated when I see someone else working hard. The one thing that I will often do is train away from home even if it's in the park. Having a cost to training forces me to make sure that I do the training. If I spend time and money (gas) to get to the park then there's no way I'm going to let that go to waste. I'm there so I should get something out of being there by training.

Not training would mean that I went to the park for nothing. I wasted my time and my gas, and that just doesn't sit well for me.

That's a good idea. I've been having difficulty getting motivation to self-train...if I had a designated spot to do so, it might make that easier.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

That's a good idea. I've been having difficulty getting motivation to self-train...if I had a designated spot to do so, it might make that easier.

Designated spaces have long been my key to staying on-task. Somehow, the environmental cues just work better for me.

 

[Buka]

I prefer training in dojo. The one thing I hate doing alone is any kind of stretching. I'll just give it the old one, two, okay I'm loose. If I'm training alone and I'm not as motivated as I'd like, I'll train uppercuts. Rear hand, front hand, right side and left. Slow ones, fast ones, as counters, with hooks etc. Uppercuts are my heroin.