So last May I began a training regimen mixing 3-4 morning 4k runs a week with core and body weight exercises along with a stretching program to build a base of physical fitness that would help prepare me for our school's black belt test. After about 4 months of this I dialled back the running and focused more on technical aspects of my game to ensure I had a solid understanding of my curriculum. Along the way I had to devote a large amount of energy to teaching classes and helping to train my teammates. After five months I discovered that without intending to, I had dropped almost 15 pounds. By the time of my black belt test, I was down to a weight I hadn't seen since my last year in university. I gained a bit of the weight back over the last six weeks of my training when I sustained my calf injury (see my posts below). The whole experience taught me a great deal about training, about myself and about what I enjoy about the martial arts:
...If I get over 195 lbs I start to feel heavy and a bit sluggish. I'm not actually out of shape, but my body feels different. -- Guess what? I'm feeling a bit heavy, so I'm taking this as a signal to ramp up my training a bit...
...I get a lot out of training other people. So much so that I kind of lose track of the importance of my own training. One of my goals this year is to balance this out a bit more, giving myself time for my own training, asking for help from others, and concentrating on helping some key people achieve all that they are capable of.
...Determining a level of training that you can sustain over a long period of time, but which allows you to vary the intensity of the training is key to staying fit, and interested in achieving the goals you set.
...Studying the martial arts is ultimately about developing self-awareness. This is helpful beyond the lessons in kicking, punching and grappling. One important lesson I keep re-learning is to not take people for granted. Your family, friends and training partners are all concerned about helping you achieve your goals, but don't forget about what is important to them as well. It can't be all about you all the time...
...Kicking Dave in the leg is fun...as is working Tom until he falls over, running Paul until he collapses, and pushing Andrew until he is ready to faint. They take everything you throw at them and ask for more. What more could you ask from students and training partners?
...Bruce Lee believed that martial arts was a form of self-expression. You can learn a lot about someone by watching how they train, perform and work with others on the mat.
So, I'm now on a quest to develop a sustainable training program to keep me fit, to keep me from feeling sluggish, to develop some new skills and refine some old ones, and most especially: to keep me injury free. It all starts with road work, which means early morning alarm bells that I have to actually pay attention to...oh well, sleeping was fun while it lasted.
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