Here’s some thoughts on the more common problems faced by people learning a martial art.
Every Krav Maga Student wants to be better than they were yesterday. We’ve a number of goals that we want to achieve. Importantly, when we’re focused there’s not much that will stop us from achieving them.
But what happens when we start to question why we are training or not making progress?
As much as we want to succeed, we find ourselves frustrated or stumbling with all the errors we keep making in our path towards the next goal. This can feel a little distressing at times. The philosophy at West Coast Krav Maga is that it’s OK to need a little help, so I would like to share a few thoughts on some of the most common problems faced by martial arts students in general.
Problem 1: Too much ego.
We want to test our skills and this can lead to a little healthy competition with our colleagues. In Krav Maga, if you’re practicing sparring remember that there are no winners or losers. You’re training to learn, build knowledge and gather experience. It’s ok to slow down and help your training partner if needed. Maybe experiment putting yourself into a bad position so you can practice trying to recover from it. It’s a mindset of gaining experience, rather than winning or losing. Try to see the bigger picture and embrace the opportunities that your training partner provides.
Problem 2: Not taking care of your health.
Can you remember how you felt after eating that take-away, supersized your chips or washed down some cola? Training after a night out does not feel good. You probably feel like skipping
it altogether – you probably did. Just because you’re burning calories from training, it does not mean that “the binging can now commence”. It’s about the lifestyle and you should look for opportunities to take care of yourself. It does not mean you have to be perfect, nobody other than my mother would believe me if I said that I was. But a quick way to improve your Krav Maga is to eat sensibly and get adequate sleep. You’ll keep in great shape for your training classes and receive even more benefits.
Problem 3: Not sparring enough or learning enough about sparring.
Krav Maga is one of the best investments that you can make for your future. As you progress, you’ll find yourself naturally preferring some techniques over others. This is natural and all the instructors in the club are the same as well!. So that you do not slow down your progress, make sure that you get to the Wednesday combat class at the end of each month. When your sparring, your old favourite one / two technique which you keep using can be expanded into trying some of the new material. It does not always work for you straight away, but don’t feel shy about asking your partner to slow down and let you practice them. You’ll get it after while. Just push your boundaries.
Remember “Problem 1”. It’s OK to ask for a little help from your partner as well as the instructor.
Krav Maga has the potential to improve our mindset, body and lifestyle but it’s not an easy way of life. However, if you stick with it the journey just keeps getting better and better.
