New E-Book Coming Soon!

This is a really good idea. Good luck on the venture. I'll think up a survival tip soon.

What a great idea. I have only be training for 4 years so I don't think I could offer much new. I train at a prefectural budokan. Our group (Batto Jitsu) trains beside Karate, Kobudo, Judo, Kickbocking, Nagitata, Iaido, Kendo and a some others I don't know the name or Ryu.
One thing I notice is smiles and simple bows go along way in the Dojo. I also notice there are no real hard and fast rules. Ettiquite varies greatly from group to group. Last week we had a tameshigi (cutting) practice with 3 other groups. After, sitting down informally I was scolded by another group memeber for pointing my feet at my Sensei.

My Sensei who is a retired Self Defence force, never mentioned this to me. But will go off on any member who points his sword tip (in the Saya or not) at anyone.

Some groups when entering the dojo begin with a full seiza (nose to the ground) bow. We bow simply. Some Iaido and Nagitata are very “ceremonial”. The Kickboxing guys are laid back guys. One guy who never speaks, only smiles, just won a World Champion Karate Kata competition, rarely wears his Gi. The Old Kobudo guys wear Gi's that are close to falling apart. My Sensie is very particular about his appearance, but lets me slide. It okay he understands, we just had a baby and my wife is to busy to iron. He is old school.

There is some Japanese proverb that tell us to wear the hat of the village we enter. I think it is the same for Dojo's. Be super humble, move slow, watch what everyone else is doing around you and be a bit over apologetic when you make some gaffe and thank the person for informing you of your mistake.

Remember, sometimes we percieve “correction” as critisim. Don't take things personally and don't be easily offended.

I am sorry I am not very articulate.

Good luck to you and your book. I think it is a great idea.

Sounds fantastic =D

Can't wait to read it.

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A really good piece of advice: don't wait for conditions to be perfect for you to train. If you do, you'll ind that you'll be waiting a long time. Also, don't be afraid to practice without your teacher's supervision because you won't be doing it right. We all need corrections, no matter what the level. It's important to get the repetitions. If you want to get better, train more. If you're tired, rest.

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Q. What is your best piece of advice for long-term survival in the martial arts?

A: Don't try to rush your progress. Too often students have their eyes on the black belt, and often end up injuring themselves or suffering from burnout. Trying to do too much too soon can lead to an injury that shortens your career. You have a lifetime to study martial arts–no need to rush.

Great Idea Matt!! When you get it done let me know and I'll post a link back on my website for my students!

My piece of advice free for you to use in your book is from one of my favorite Japanese Proverbs:
“Nana Korobi Ya Oki” Fall down seven times, Get up Eight.
Many times in our journey we will fail or struggle to accomplish what is asked of us. It is at these times that we must push forward and “Get up”; we must rise again and keep trying. We might fail several times but if we always get up one more time, we will eventually come out the victor. As a student of the martial arts, you have undoubtedly struggled with your journey. Be it with a new concept that appears just too hard, or with a concept that you just can't seem to grasp. But you are not alone, I have struggled and will continue to do so, and so have your teachers and their teachers. This really is one of the big secrets of the great martial artists, they just don't give up. Every time they fall or fail, the rise again and keep trying. Remember this and you are well on your way in your journey. Good luck!

Matt, wishing you much success on your book!

In the way,
Robert Collins
Yon Dan – OSMKKF
http://www.ks-karate.com

Thank you Sensei Collins! I appreciate the link and the piece of advice.

My advice for long-term survival in the martial arts?

Do your homework. Don't think that you'll be able to attend class two or three nights a week for an hour at a time and think you'll learn your art. Practice at home on your days off, even if only for a few minutes. You don't need to watch that episode of “Seinfeld” for the tenth time. Take a half hour and work on your basics. Do some calisthenics. Stretch. Practice your kata/hyungs/sets.

Get together with your classmates on your days off. Form a study group. Learning a martial art is just like any subject you learned in college. You won't learn it just by shuffling into class a couple of times a week.

Every little bit helps. Your instructor will see the results and he will be very happy with you. There is nothing more disappointing to a teacher to have a student only practice on the nights he/she has class. Two of my taiji sifus used to teach at a park on Saturday mornings. They were both frustrated that out of the dozens of students, most of them never practiced during the week.

The best complement I ever got from an instructor was when one of those sifus, John Angelos, said that he liked me because I practiced during the week.

I don't wanna be in your book.

…..I just want it dedicated to me.

Score!

<3
Me

Great idea! I'm looking forward to reading it!

We are here to learn Karate not to pretend to be Japanese.

How about I just give you a free copy.

The best advice I can think of for any martial artist; Relax! The tendency is to stress which will slow your mental and physical response to what you are learning. It's an easy trap to try to keep up with advanced students, or to get ahead of yourself. Take it easy. I used the technique every time I was shown a kata of first watching the footwork, then the hips and how they moved, and finally, the hands. It gave me the opportunity to learn at my pace and to properly train myself to be in proper position in regards to kata. The same can be said for other aspects in the Dojo. You will have a much more enjoyable time learning the kata, and you will find that your form is strong, and the Kata's' will make more sense to you.

Great advice dpapa11!

One of my taiji sifus said it best when he told me that the majority of the great physical feats performed by martial artists and yogis is due simply to the fact that they can completely relax themselves.

Relax: Simple concept, tough to get it right.

Be devoted, it's a life long journey, but life long journeys are NOT to be rushed. If you sprint out of the gate too fast, you'll exhaust yourself too quickly. I think everyone start out of the “martial way” gate quickly, and most who stay with it learn to slow down. This is very important.

I'm not saying you should not practice as much, or train as hard, but when you fully grasp the notion that your study of the way is going to be a lifelong endever not only devoted to Budo no Bugei, but also to complimentary “enhancers” like picking up Bonsai, or chado to work solely your mind and spirit in different ways. When you learn this, missing a class is still a disappointment, not picking up a kata, or not being able to fix and complete a technique as fast as you'd like becomes more acceptable because you know you'll get there eventually.

Our masters that we look up to so much, and respect so deeply all openly say that they're still on the path, and that they're never satisfied with where they are. Why would you think you're going to get there before them? Where is “there”? I think they seem so content because they've mastered the notion that “there” is within ones self, and they realize they'll forever be “almost there” and they've come to peace with that.

My advice:

Do what you love.
Find what you love about an art and focus on it. It can be as simple as a single strike. If you can find nothing to love about it, keep searching. If you still cannot, find another art.
As you grow, so will your love.

Jesse Crouch
Various styles
http://martial.jessecrouch.com

excellent self reply! hahaha

Nope. Dedication. Or its over. All of it.

we had a good run.

My advice would be:
1) Make an informed decision. Explore your options and then settle with the style that is right for you (it may not always be the first dojo you walk into!). The right art is that which fulfils whatever goals you have in the martial arts, and the right dojo is the one that teaches you the art in the way that you feel you best learn it (whether that be carrot or stick is up to you!).
2) Be patient / Don't get Discouraged. Life throws a lot of things our way and few are lucky to be able to train completely undisturbed. The important thing is to keep training, it takes time, dedication and hard work to improve.
3) Set medium-term goals. Learning a new technique takes a few seconds; perfecting a technique takes a lifetime – decide on which techniques you want to improve most in the coming months and work towards it.
4) Enjoy it! All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Always remind yourself what you love about training. Sometimes you'll need time off. Don't feel guilty about giving your body and mind a rest (but don't cheat yourself either!).

Looking forward to reading the e-book Matt!
Rizwan Asad
Ashihara Karate / Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
http://rizsmartialartstraining.blogspot.com

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Hope that the book stores won't run out of stock before I buy one =P.I have been off from doing Okinawan Shorin Ryu Karate for 5 years now (as I'm typing here), being able to attain Brown Belt & learning some black belt stuff along with it. There are a lot of things that can stop you from continuing your training in your discipline, & believe it or not, the number 1 reason for you to stop doing martial arts is “you.” Yes, “you”, the reader of this book. There's a saying that I modified & helped me in a huge way: [The hardest part of a journey, is taking the very first step]. If you don't decide to practice your forms &/or techniques, you will never know if you improved or not. If you're willing to know the result, you have to start from scratch. How? By doing it! By driving yourself, even though you're the most pessimistic person in the world, into practicing the things that you need to improve on in martial arts. It doesn't matter if you're a beginner doing a form/technique for the first time, or a veteran who memorized everything. There's always room for improvement. Bruce Lee said that, “I fear the man who does one technique 1,000 times, than a man who does 1,000 techniques once.” In short, practice. You cannot learn martial arts unless you get down & dirty w/ it, no matter how much you memorized them all in your head.Also, practice whenever you're free, & if you can, wherever, not just in the dojo/gym/class. You'll reap more benefits when you practice martial arts everyday, dividing what you want to focus on on each day. You don't have to practice everything in one go, rather, take what's easier for you to fix on, & go from there, until you progress & practice more sophisticated moves/techniques. Feel your practice as if you're in a real life & death situation also. This conditions you to be always ready & humble at the same time, so as not to be an airhead just because you already know how to throw a correct punch =P.

Lastly, stay healthy. Research anything right about the human body. You will find that, having a healthy body will increase your performance as a martial artist dramatically! Eat healthy, exercise, do conditioning exercises, sleep right, & avoid sodas =P. If you're a martial artist, you're technically an athlete UNLESS you decide to just see least results from your training. Health & martial arts go hand in hand; if you're not healthy, you're more prone to injuries =P.

Keep the beginner's mind. That'll keep the lesson fresh every time. You know you're not improving when you stop asking questions, stop observing, thinking that “I'm already better than the others”.

And try to keep an open mind, both to the art and to yourself. The art you're learning must suit you, and you in turn must suit the art you're learning. Even if you find yourself learning the wrong things after 10 years, or learning things that you think clashes with your personality, your beliefs, be open to change. It's never too late.

My two cents. And good luck with the book!

Mr. Day

I read this post once a day for four days. I thought about it. It seems like a strange thing to write. When the Japanese learn baseball, I don't think they are trying to pretend to be American. Or when they learn football, cricket or rugby, they are not pretending to be British. They adopt some of the manerism and culture but they are still Japanese. Karate is Okinawan/Japanese. Should'nt one try,at least, to identify what parts of the culture have an impact on training.
I practice Batto Jitsu. We have no “belt” system. Training is slow and very repetive. Correction is strict without sugar coating. We pay about 30 US dollars a month. This “system” would never work in America. I don't want to be Japanese Many Japanese irritate me to no end – but I love them. I have to learn about the culture and be cool with it before I could even begin to train with Sensei.
One could learn Batto Jitsu in America from an American and be more competent than me – no question. I would hope though the person had at least a little exposure to the culture behind the sport. If not, I believe something would be missing.
I of course mean no offence to you.

I love the idea for this Matt – will give it a plug on my blog if you don't mind over the next couple of days, and especially once you finish it up.

If I have anything to pass on, it would be that you'll never achieve anything if you don't try. The human body and spirit can create an amazing synergy when they flow together in harmony. You may not come out of your training flipping around the place like someone in a wired-up kung-fu movie, but you'll achieve that same sense of accomplishment through hard work and dedication in your pursuit of finding The Way in martial arts.

Wow, that's a lot of comments. ALL OF WHICH SUPPORT THE BOOK BEING DEDICATED TO ME.

I mean, I just skimmed the comments, but I'm pretty sure that's exactly what they all said.

If you can find a used copy of the out of print The Student's Handbook, by F. J. Lovret, Paladin Press, you'll find something to measure your book against. The book contained very useful advice for anyone attempting to learn Japanese martial arts specifically, and any martial arts in general.

no worries jayham, it's going to be free and online! haha

Thanks Rick! If I can snag one easily I will. Of course I also want to keep myself original and true to the format I am writing in. Sometimes less intake is more valuable.

The best advice that I can offer is persistence. There will be times when you will hit a wall–you will feel as though you can do nothing right, and you will feel like you have gone as far as you can. Do not let you defeat you! It may hurt, it may not make sense, you may not be able to get your body to do what you need it to, but the more you try, the less it will hurt, the more sense it will make, and the more your body will respond to your commands. Continue going to classes, continue your research, continue practicing at home. The hardest thing to do in the martial arts is to walk through the door of your school and put on that white belt for the first time. After that, everything is simply persistence.

Here's one: (I didn't read them all, and I hope I'm not redundant)…cultivate a home practice.

You home practice will bring insights to the dojo. It will make progressing easier and more fun, and at home you'll be under less pressure, whether the pressure is time, rank, or social, to do well.

Along those lines, find literature and media support (like DVDs and websites like this) to support and integrate at-home work with dojo-work.

Plus, if you don't survive the dojo, you'll have something to do to enrich your life.

now, that makes me feel better XD

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Good luck. If the book turns out well, then you shouldn't give it away for free. People do not know how to value what they receive for free.

My own book, when completed, will be quite expensive.

You make a valid point chris and I have considered that. However, this book will serve as a proof of concept that shelling out money on my material is worth it. It's a big leap of faith to say 'hey, pay me some money for this even though I have no book track record and my book writing skills are totally suspect'. Reputation and trust building, for me, trumps the value issue.

I've been practicing for more than 25 years. A couple of years ago my passion for the martial arts started down a slippery slide. I was dissatisfied with the structure of the program I was teaching and I was plagued with doubts as to the effectiveness of my art as I aged. The real problem was that I was practicing a system like I have always practiced it – as a young man with little thinking. When I realized this and started my research into historical evolution, recent training trends, and developments in other styles, it awakened an intense curiosity and rekindled my lifelong passion. My training and personal performance has since experience huge gains. My advice to anyone trying to go the distance is to look at the many layers that martial arts represents. Your time in the martial arts should strengthen your mind, body and spirit. Don't let apathy stop you from breaking free.

Colin Wee (5th Dan)
Traditional Taekwondo
Hikaru Dojo

1. Try every different kind of martial arts and find the one that suits you. When your interest wanes, try something else. All the styles have something to offer.

2. Go into martial arts for one reason and one reason only – better yourself physically and emotionally. Any other reason will only last so long; get a black belt, beat someone up, martial arts is cool, impress a girl, etc. Remember the fight/training is long and its only with yourself.

Best of Luck in your book and training,

1. Try every different kind of martial arts and find the one that suits you. When your interest wanes, try something else. All the styles have something to offer.

2. Go into martial arts for one reason and one reason only – better yourself physically and emotionally. Any other reason will only last so long; get a black belt, beat someone up, martial arts is cool, impress a girl, etc. Remember the fight/training is long and its only with yourself.

Best of Luck in your book and training,

Before choosing a school/system, visit many different systems. Once you find a system you like now that you found a system that you seem to enjoy visit several school's within that particular system. This time with finding an instructor that you like. Now you have found your system and your instructor and are ready to begin. Without the research in both the systems available and the instructors withing the chosen system you may never be truly content with the school/instructor you choose. If you are not truly content the liklyhood of you staying and learning is slim to none, and slim just walked out the door.

Remember, Proper Prior Planning (and research) Produces Proper Instruction and Training for a lifetime.

Good Luck