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Thinking By Year, Training By Day

April 20, 2010 | Author: Matthew | Filed under: Kata,Martial Arts,Tips and Tricks,ikigai,karate,mindset

Perspective is important.

If you think about it one way, I’ve been involved in the martial arts for a long time (14 years). I’ve been doing kata for longer than I’ve been driving.

If you think about it another way, I’m a karate baby. Bill Hayes knew twice as much as I do now 30 years ago. Sadness and depression for me.

That’s why it’s never too soon to address not just the physical nature of your training, but the mental approach as well. In my opinion, you should think by year and train by day.

Think By Year

In order to access the deepest parts of your martial arts you simply cannot be in a hurry. Everything takes time and the pacing of proper training can’t be done at modern-world-speed.

We have a joke in our dojo called “okinawa time”, which means that things will happen when they happen.

For instance, if a class starts a little late – don’t worry about it. If you can’t figure out a technique, there is no need to stress. You have the rest of your life after all.

Thinking By Year is a process in which you set your goals not a few months ahead but a few years ahead. For example:

Is there a new kata you’d like to learn? Settle into the idea of focusing on it for two years.
Would you like to improve your kicking? Set a reasonable regiment of kick drills that you can accomplish every week for a year.
Do you wish to understand the bunkai of your forms? Pick a form and critically analyze it over the course of three years.

The goal of this process is to reset the mind out of modern pacing and slow…things down…a bit. Instead of hurriedly acquiring the gross movements of a kata, why not examine every little body change and nuance? After all, you’ve got two years to think about this kata so there’s no rush to get on with it.

Now you might be thinking – Matt, it’s a little tough to think in years when my next testing is 3 months away! You’re right about that. In modern training where structured kyu ranking is involved, year-thinking is often not a great option. However, once you achieve black belt, designing your own training should be a top priority.

Train By Day

The main problem with Thinking By Year is procrastination. If you’ve got all the time in the world, it’s easy to wait until next week to put in some real effort. Of course, when next week arrives there are new reasons not to focus. And the week after that will hold new reasons again.

The idea of “surviving” or “coasting” through a class is a big-time disease for many students. It can take the form of physical laziness (which we’ve all seen), or mental laziness. Mental laziness is an acceptance of going through the motions and “getting your workout” without putting any thought into improvement.

Training By Day is a method wherein every time you step onto the dojo floor you strive to improve just a little bit. You reach for a small piece of understanding that you didn’t possess the day before.

One of the great big , mysterious, super inner circle secrets of the martial arts is that improvement takes place in painfully small increments over a hefty amount of time (interspersed with highly valuable ‘ah ha’ moments).

You need the short term fortitude to make those small steps, and the long term commitment to not feel hurried or impatient.

* * *

As a sidenote – living on “okinawa time” has been a great means of stress reduction in my life, and a source of aggravation for my friends and loved ones when they try to make plans with me.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 and is filed under Kata, Martial Arts, Tips and Tricks, ikigai, karate, mindset. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

http://CookDingsKitchen.blogspot.com RickMatz

The older I get, I find myself less and less in a hurry.
http://www.karatejourney.com/ FredInChina

…”improvement takes place in painfully small increments over an excessively long amount of time.”

Hummm, yes and no.

painstaking, linear, incremental improvement is the stepping stone for the nonlinear, jump and breakthrough one… then the cycle resets 7 the process repeats.
We have all experienced it at one moment or another, when something we have been working at without visible progress suddenly succeeds.

Take bicycle for instance, there is before and after you know how to ride. it is not a linear falling a little bit less every day scenario.

Osu!
http://www.ikigaiway.com Matt__A

Is this why very old people drive slowly I wonder?? haha
http://www.ikigaiway.com Matt__A

Great point! Your thought here is a valuable amendment to what I was discussing.
gaininja

This is an excellent post! Too much rushing is never good, and slowing down is something we should strive to do across all aspects of our life; to think, savour, enjoy, or simply allow ourselves to heal.
donburnell

Trian to live not live to train
http://www.whatwouldrobertoeliasdo.blogspot.com/ Jackthestripper

Great post Matt
http://stressrelief101.blogspot.com MargueriteNico

Definitely something to keep in mind!!
jonlaw

I like this. Some aspects of training really do require the 'year' aproach. You simply can't expectto turn up and just get it. Some of the kinaesthetic learning is like this. And as Fred says these things do seem to come to you all of a sudden, the point is they wouldn't if you hadn't put the time and effort in to 'get it'.

I find these aspects of training invovle a process of frustration which you have to go through.

As you say Matt the day training is a good method of getting somethign out of each session. I remember getting the hump at a course a few years ago, being excluded from the 'advanced' group and having to go over an old kata. The instructor talked about getting something out of the time spent doing it. Changing the mindset from irritation to open ot learning meant I did indeed get something out of that part of the session. I learnt to train by day, or more appropriately, train by the half hour!
jonlaw

I typed a reply but it disappeared so I'll try again, if it does mysteriously reappear please delete one of them!

I like this. Some aspects of training really do take the 'year training' approach, putting in the effort over time and not expecting instant results. Kinaesthetic aspects are like that, I find.

And Fred is right when he says how suddenly a breakthrough will occur, almost by accident. Or it can seem so but if you hadn't gone through the frustration and put the effort in it wouldn't have happened. It can be a bit od.

On the other hand the 'day training' mind is needed to give a push when you need one. I remember getting this pointed out on a course a few years ago when I was omitted from the 'advanced' group and had to go voer an old kata. the instructor talked about getting the most out of the time we had because you could get nothing from it if you wanted. And I did indeed get something out of it.

So we do need the 'day training' or 'half-hour training' mind in this instance!
http://www.ikigaiway.com Matt__A

Deleted the dup jon. Thanks a lot for your thoughts, you've provided a great example here.
GrasshopperK

Great post! I especially love the idea of thinking in years.

I think patience is difficult (especially for Westerners). We so frequently want to know the how and why of things straight away. In reality, your body and mind really only grasp things when the time's right and that can (and often does) take years of 'training by day'.

You're also not wrong about 'Okinawa time' – everything seems to move more slowly over there. In the West, time is just another commodity to be bought, lost and spent. Slowing down is just one more thing I think we can learn from the Okinawans, especially in the fast paced society we're currently living in.
Ruth

fantastic post
http://www.ikigaiway.com Matt__A

You would certainly know Krista! I'm glad you find that there is a little truth in our jest. Many thanks for visiting and reading.

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