Approaching Martial Arts with Reserve

Is a new rank your biggest motivating factor in martial arts? 

Are you fully committed to your martial arts training?

 

Getting a new rank can be very motivating. It’s recognition from your instructor or your system that you’ve worked hard and learned key aspects of your martial art. It’s a Catch-22, however; getting new belts (or sashes, or whatever external emblems of progress your system uses) is nice, but if you only focus on training for the next belt, you’ll be a dilettante forever. 

 

Approaching Martial Arts with Reserve

The act of approaching your martial art with reserve means you’re dooming yourself to miss out on many of its most profound, valuable aspects. Those who completely immerse themselves in their martial art are the ones who enjoy it the most. If you dabble, you’re going to have less fun with it and get a lot less of its essence. Similarly, if you don’t find ways to immerse yourself in practice during consolidation periods, you’re going to fall short of your potential. 

 

But you don’t have to fall short. You can change in exceptional ways. You can get that change by reading this article and taking decisive action. Keep in mind this truth: change can come from within, or it can come from what’s around you. Sometimes change comes from a combination of the two. Something will affect your thinking or your attitude, and you’ll be able to use that push to improve. If you’re both lucky and diligent, you’ll improve far out of proportion to the size of whatever that push was. At other times, you’ll need a whole lot of push even to make small changes. 

SMAA – A World Martial Arts Association for You

The Shudokan Martial Arts Association promotes training based around the two central pillars of classical Japanese martial arts: kata geiko and seishin tanren. The use of handed-down kata helps our members, regardless of division, to forge their spirits to face the stress of combat and the uncertainties of life. In this way, those in the SMAA learn to protect themselves, and live well, while they develop the spiritual strength needed to make a positive contribution to their communities and the world as a whole. Contact us today to join a world martial arts association with high-ranking members across the globe.