Martial Arts blog #3 First steps
Hello
I’m glad you found your way back to my channel for the third part of this series.
If you’re new and interested in this topic I recommend you read the previous parts of the series to catch up
Prologue
In the previous parts, we talked about how to find the right martial arts school and the etiquette you should follow when you want to start a new martial art.
In this one I want to talk to you about how it is to be the new guy in a martial arts school and taking your first small steps in becoming a martial artist.
I’ll talk about mistakes I made myself so you can get the possibility to avoid them.
So, let’s jump right in, shall we?
A topic I’d like to call …
The beginners mind blow.
In every martial art I studied the first few trainings I was mind blown by the quantity of technics and the variety of things I thought I had to remember right away
It starts with the rituals of greetings (especially in Japanese and philipino martial arts.. probably in Asian martial arts in general)
Counting in the traditional language, the warm up exercises and all the way through the lesson. It happened a few times that I walked out of the training with an aching head trying to remember everything so I wouldn’t annoy anyone with my lack of knowledge.
Well, you don’t have to remember everything. Especially in the beginning. Everyone knows you’re a beginner and they will take their time to teach you and let you learn.
Just keep in mind: every single one of your fellow students has been a beginner once so be patient. Watch carefully and give your body and mind the chance to learn and adapt at their own pace.
That being said let’s move on to the next point.
What can I train and do at home?
Taking your time doesn’t mean forgetting everything and having to start over again.
There are things you can improve from the start on like trying to count in the native language of your martial art or practicing some footwork you found difficult. Not only does that show interest but it also helps not getting in the position of having to start over every time. Like this you can improve and get better faster.
In the end, it depends on you, how fast you progress. But still: take one step after another.
Set goals and focus on one thing, not twenty.
My master once said: ”Fear the fighter who trained one technic 10’000 times, not the one who trained 10’000 technics once!”
And this is when the third topic comes in.
Patience
Always take your time to understand a technic, ask questions and if you’re unsure ask your trainers and classmates for help.
I personally was a very impatient student. I always wanted to master every technic the first day. The problem was, I ended up hurting myself by performing technics wrong and too fast. Learn from my mistakes. Always remember to take your time.
Precision and control are more important than speed and power so take it easy. A lot of martial artist were in the very same situation you are today. And trust me, the day will come when you’ll tell this exact thing to an impatient student of yours.
Let’s recap for a second:
Don’t get overwhelmed by the all the new things at the start. One day it’ll make perfect sense.
Take small steps, set goals and take a few minutes every day to recap the last training so you don’t have to start all over again in the next session.
Be patient and understand that a newly learned technic has to be performed precisely and correctly before performing it fast.
Learn from the very beginning how to control your actions. Otherwise you might hurt yourself or others.
There you go my friends.
I hope you found this little guide helpful. If you did please give me an upvote.
As always if you think I missed a topic or totally disagree with my me leave a comment below and let’s discuss about it.
Ladies and gentlemen, it has been an honor for me writing this little walkthrough.
Thanks for visiting my channel and I hope to welcome you again soon on my next post.
Until next time
Cheers my friends
Ps: here are the links to the previous posts of the series
https://steemit.com/martialarts/@thestreuner/martial-art-blog-2-starting-youre-jurney
https://steemit.com/martialarts/@thestreuner/looking-for-your-martial-art-school