How can I train for 6 hours daily?

[Ivan]

I love martial arts and it's what I want to do. I wish to own a dojo when I'm older. Before quarantine everything was great. I would wake up, and go for a 30 minute jog, then jog back to the gym. I would then train for an hour or so (weight work) and come back home. When I arrived in college, I would usually do a workout at the college as well. I would come back home and be greeted by either a lot of studying, or 2 hours of taekwondo (twice a week) or an hour of boxing (once per week, not the best but the best I could get).

Since quarantine hit, I've wanted to be able to train like professionals in MMA or boxing do. They train constantly and I love that, but I simply don't know what to train. I also seem to have lost motivation even though the dream is still there. I feel like this is not just me unsure of what to train, but also me lacking the motivation or effort.
How do I get out of this>? How can I extend my training time?

 

[Flying Crane]

Do a little each day instead of thinking it has to be six hours or nothing.

 

[skribs]

Set minimum and ideal goals for yourself. Say your minimum is 2 hours per day, and your ideal is 6 hours per day. Also say your minimum is 3 days per week, and your maximum is 6 days per week. If you train 3 or 4 days for 2-3 hours per day, then you've met your minimum goal. It might not be the 6 hours every day you wanted, but you're still training hard.

As to not knowing what to train - is that an issue of lack of knowledge and experience, or just that you usually go to class and now you're trying to figure it out on your own?

What I would do is figure out what things you want to work on. There are several categories you could use:

• Basic Techniques
• Footwork
• Shadow Boxing
• Forms/Patterns/Poomsae/Kata
• Combinations
• Standing Bag/Heavy Bag
• Sparring Drills
• 1-Step Techniques
• Strength Training
• Cardio Training
• Stretching

Find different ways to train the techniques, or different things to focus on. Sometimes when I'm kicking I go for speed, or form, or power, or volume (just do a lot of kicks without worrying too much about the other stuff). I try different styles of footwork to move forward, backward, or sideways while I'm kicking. I'll chamber a kick, and imagine my target moved and try and figure out what technique would work best as a combination based on where they move. For example, with a roundhouse kick:

1. If they move forward, I should jump back and roundhouse
2. If they move backward,I should jump forward and roundhouse
3. If they move away to my outside, I should turn the roundhouse into a side kick
4. If they move away to my inside, I should double roundhouse kick
5. If they move close to my outside, I should turn and back kick
6. If they move close to my inside, I should punch

Working through these mental exercises is a good thing to do between bouts of hard work. It gives your body a chance to rest and gives you more insight on how you should fight.

 

[Tez3]

I don't know, how can you train for 6 hours a day?

I hope this has a good punchline.

 

[Flying Crane]

@Ivan, honestly i would suggest you work toward two hours a day and not more than that. It is fun to fantasize about a life of training but to be honest, it can be isolating and can very easily lead to burnout. Life has more to it than training and you should make sure you keep time in your life for those other things. Like family, friends, relationships, school, career, other non-martial hobbies.

I've had similar fantasies when I was younger, and there were times when I trained for four or more hours a day, a few days a week. It can be sustained for a while but not indefinitely. If you are not a professional competitor then there is little reason to do that.

Don't become a one-trick pony. I've know people like that, the only thing they can talk about is martial arts. They know nothing else. It gets dull.

life should have balance.

 

[isshinryuronin]

I don't know, how can you train for 6 hours a day?

I hope this has a good punchline.

I was going to write the same, but Tez beat me to it. Then I realized Ivan sounded like me, a long, long time ago. But even back then, I probably didn't go past 4 hours/day, 5 days a week, and about half of that was teaching.

Flying Crane (just above) is making good sense here, and is backed up by the old Masters - Anko Itosu recommended 2-3 hours per day for 3 or 4 years to gain a real transformation. Others suggested 2 hrs in the morning and 2 hrs in the evening. Several old masters have warned about overtraining and harming the body. An oft quoted proverb goes "Even the plodding buffalo can travel a thousand miles." Consistency and longevity are the keys to training and following the Way.

Motobu Choki, himself, advocated the drinking of liquor and having fun to balance one's life, so be sure to work those things into your workout schedule.

 

[Buka]

Ivan, I spent over ten years training eight hours a day. It was both my vocation and my avocation. Please look them up if you're not sure of the definitions. I spent another ten years training four or more hours a day. So, yes, it can be done, but it's really difficult.

The most obvious problem of trying to train six hours a day is not what the human body can do, it is not trying to do the same thing for six hours a day, and it is not stringing those six hours together in one long session.

The obvious problem is time. Who the hell has six hours a day to devote to something? You have to sleep- which is a third of a day gone right there, you have to work or go to school which is another third of your day gone, you have to, shop, cook and eat, which takes more time than people think, you have to care for...and spend time with....your family. There's just not enough time.

Oh, wait. You're young, probably living a home for free, yes? You're not in school right now. Probably not working. You don't have to raise a family (but you still have to be part of your family and help them out, especially in this trying time, so do not forget that, kiddo, not for one minute)

I can tell you how to do it, but you're probably not going to like it.

 

[CB Jones]

Jake's daily routine:

Morning
Agility training (cone drills, shuttle runs, sprints, etc.. 40 minutes

Break

Strength and conditioning workout (he gets a daily workout sent to him by a trainer) - 40 minutes

Break

30 minutes stretching

Afternoon

Skill training - 1 hour (Baseball or basketball drills)

Break

Karate skill training 60-75 minutes (alternating days - forms and weapons or sparring). For sparring, he does a lot of work on the heavy bag, focus mits, some drills with elastic bands, and then sometimes little sparring with me.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Ivan, I spent over ten years training eight hours a day. It was both my vocation and my avocation. Please look them up if you're not sure of the definitions. I spent another ten years training four or more hours a day. So, yes, it can be done, but it's really difficult.

The most obvious problem of trying to train six hours a day is not what the human body can do, it is not trying to do the same thing for six hours a day, and it is not stringing those six hours together in one long session.

The obvious problem is time. Who the hell has six hours a day to devote to something? You have to sleep- which is a third of a day gone right there, you have to work or go to school which is another third of your day gone, you have to, shop, cook and eat, which takes more time than people think, you have to care for...and spend time with....your family. There's just not enough time.

Oh, wait. You're young, probably living a home for free, yes? You're not in school right now. Probably not working. You don't have to raise a family (but you still have to be part of your family and help them out, especially in this trying time, so do not forget that, kiddo, not for one minute)

I can tell you how to do it, but you're probably not going to like it.

There was a time when I trained about 2.5 hours to 3 hours a day, sometimes 4, but I worked second shift, was single and bored out of my mind just sitting there waiting to go to work. Couldn't do that now if I wanted to, not just because of old age and infirmity, but I absolutely agree, married, kids, full time + some job. Who has the time.

 

[Yokozuna514]

There are tons of examples of people that train 6 hours a day but as many have already said, it is not easy to dedicate your life to that sole purpose. You can try reading Judd Reid's "The Young Lions: 1000 days of Training Under a Karate Legend". It will give you an idea of the kind of dedication required and the lifestyle training becomes. Regardless of the type of MA's you want to do it is worthwhile to read about someone else's experience so that you can determine if this is the path you want to walk. Good luck.

 

[Buka]

Jake's daily routine:

Morning
Agility training (cone drills, shuttle runs, sprints, etc.. 40 minutes

Break

Strength and conditioning workout (he gets a daily workout sent to him by a trainer) - 40 minutes

Break

30 minutes stretching

Afternoon

Skill training - 1 hour (Baseball or basketball drills)

Break

Karate skill training 60-75 minutes (alternating days - forms and weapons or sparring). For sparring, he does a lot of work on the heavy bag, focus mits, some drills with elastic bands, and then sometimes little sparring with me.

If he's sparring with you, brother, you best brush up on duck, dodge and hide.

 

[Headhunter]

There's nothing wrong with taking a break while all this bs is going on.

Frankly martial arts is the easiest sport to train by yourself there's plenty you can do by yourself. Yes of course having partners is better but right now that ain't going to happen so got to make the most of what you got.

 

[CB Jones]

If he's sparring with you, brother, you best brush up on duck, dodge and hide.

I gave up thinking I can land stuff and defend his attacks a little over a year ago....now I'm more of a walking punching bag that sometimes throws punches or kicks that don't hit him....lol.

I even have to where a body protector....its a humbling experience.

 

[drop bear]

I can't link the video on it's own but here is the link to the courage Facebook page which is a gym we cross train a bit with and who are really quite knowledgeable.

And are also supportive of the idea that training hard is a good thing.

Courage Training Centre

One of the first videos you should find is a tutorial on how to manage a training plan.

 

[Tez3]

Full time fighters don't constantly, they aim to train smart. Their training is broken down into sections which include eating clean and resting. Without rest you will over train and end up basically useless. If you don't eat properly there's little point in you training hard as you won't be doing the best you can. There's more to being a pro fighter than just training hard, it's a mindset and covers all aspects of life, if you can't do it properly then training constantly will damage you.

 

[_Simon_]

I don't know, how can you train for 6 hours a day?

I hope this has a good punchline.

Easy! Buy a return ticket to a 3 hour destination.

Heyyooooooo

 

[marques]

As others said, do not overdue (or you risk killing the dream).

Why not 1.5h in the morning + 1.5h in the afternoon, or something like that? It would be still great; and easier to fill.

 

[JowGaWolf]

The most I would do would be 4 hours a day. It sounds like a lot but it's not because not all of it would be martial arts.
Weight training (1 hour)
Cardio (1hour)
(Martial Arts 2 hours)

I would do 2 hours early in the morning and 2 hours towards the evening time like 4pm or 5pm This way you'll get a good break for your body before starting the next session. If you train at 5 then you'll have almost 12 hours before you tackle martial arts. You have to make sure you are giving your body enough of a break because after a certain point your body will start breaking down, and you'll be at a higher risk for injury. This is the only way I would do 4 hours. I definitely wouldn't Martial Arts training for 6 hours straight.

I think it's better to spend less time and train hard vs spend a long time and train half way. If you try to add 2 more hours then let that training session be something that not as strenuous as the first 4 hours. Meditation, walk-throughs, scenarios, visualization training (where you take a single attack and visualize the different ways you can respond), reading, or watching training videos.

Professional MMA fighters do the same thing as part of their training.

 

[KenpoMaster805]

6 hours is to much 45 min to 1 hour is good dont over train your self

 

[Buka]

Six to eight hours is NOT too much if you have the time, place, opportunity, know how, experience and desire to do so.

I would have thought the OP would have followed up and asked for some details.

Oh, well, he'll probably figure it out for himself.