Time and martial arts?

Question

Lets face it, the older we get, the more comes into our lives. When I was in high school , martial arts was my only responsiblity. Now, that im 21, I have more on my plate and less time to train than I normally do, because of a new job and other things., is it still possible to become a better martial artist with less time to train?

I usually train 3 1/2 hours a day during the week, and 4-6 on saturdays. Does time always =skill? help!

Answer 1

My favorite question!

Yes by all means you can become a better martial artist and still have a full plate with the rest of your life.

One way to look at this is that part of being a "martial artist is to be a complete person in all the dimensions of your life.  Time training does not equally equate with constant improvement. Yes you need to train hard and often but, how often is the question. You need to focus your training on quality over quantity even if you had all the time in the world it would make sense to chose to focus your training. There are also ways to incorporate your training into your daily tasks. Training your self to focus will improve your art as well as improve your job performance. You need not train every day. I have excellent students who train 4 times a week for about one and a half hours a day for three and 2 to three on the fourth. in between they spend a few minuets a day meditating their art or looking for ways to incorporate training into daily tasks. Remember excellent practice is what makes for excellence. Your training now must be focused and not wasted on sloppy training. Take it slow and make sure every hour is for perfecting what you have learned and only add something when what you have is solid. By bringing your training mentality to all the other aspects of your life you will see improvement in all areas of your life and you will see there is time for everything including friendships and relationships. Remember to have balance in all areas of your life or all the training is for nothing.  

Answer 2

not really

Answer 3

Everything takes time and effort.

Swamie, 4 years to get to 3rd degree?! I don't like pointing fingers and yelling mcdojo but that gets my alarm bells ringing.

OP, be glad that you have so much time to train. I trained that much when I had nothing but martial arts to do. Since starting working I'm lucky to get two classes a week at an hour and half a piece.

So while time is necessary, effort counts for a lot as well.

Answer 4

if you train that much i dont know what you mean by not having much time to train that is enough. no time doesnt always mean skill you really need to train hard not just for a long time 10 minutes of training can be a lot better than 10 hours depending on what you are doing.

Answer 5

Hi Xing Yi!

That's great that you have so much time to devote to your passion!

In IG, we emphasize the quality of the time over the qauntity.  It's truly better to have 30 mins of pure, quality training than more of less quality.  I would say time does not equal skill, but time is still important, and time still has a very psychological impact.

Keep the faith!

Ade Finch

The Way Of The Internal Gate

www.internalgate.co.uk

Answer 6

Geeez I wish I had that much time to train. I only get a couple hours every other day and one day on the weekend but I'm a 3rd degree black belt although it took me almost 4 years to get here. You will be fine , don't try to rush things you will learn more and have more fun by taking your time.

Answer 7

perfect practice makes perfect, you cant just practice the wrong thing for 3 hours a day and expect perfect results

so no, time invested doesn't always = skill, sometimes it = bad habits..

Answer 8

the way of the draggin

Answer 9

You train 3 1/2 hours a day???

4 to 6 hours on the weekend?

Dude! Relax a bit!

You don't need that many hours a day of training!

You're going to burn yourself out!

You just need proper training.

My Dojo was in my home! I lived in my dojo!

I commend you for having the discipline, but it's not really necessary.

I don't know what your regimen but don't burnout.  

Answer 10

Boy, this question really strikes home with me.

I'm 32 and hold a significant position at my work (40+ employees).  I work about 10 hours a day.

I have a wife and kid, and I go to school one night a week.  I also just started my own website and work on it every night.

So where does training fit in?  Here's my training schedule:

-Gym for cardio and weights at lunch time Mon, Wed, and Fri.

-Muay Thai Tues and Thurs at lunch.

-1.5 hours BJJ from 6-730 Tues-Fri

-1 hour MMA Tues and Thurs from 730-830

-Saturday mornings free roll (relaxed open mat)

-One Sunday a month for 3 hours BJJ training

What's the answer?  Get creative...find different times and classes available to you.  Train on your own if you have to sometimes.  Most of the time I train BJJ at one place, but I have a few others I can go to if I need to.  Same for the Muay Thai, I have one place for the majority of the time, but if time is a pinch, I can make up training at the other.

But yeah, you need to put the time in to get better.