It might sounds impractical, but you really should continue practicing karate at home. Classes with the teachers are paramount, but practice on your own is just as necessary. It is when you're on your own, that you can really think about what you're doing, evaluate yourself, and focus on what you personally need to practice to "fix" your weaknesses. However, not everyone is lucky to be allowed training at the dojo on their own, and even in that case the opportunities are limited. Therefore, I want to write about how someone can bring some karate practice at home. Certainly your living quarters aren't the best place for a full, well-round karate training session. You just can't expect to be able to do the same things you can do at the dojo. But luckily there are still many useful things to do.
Before that however, the biggest obstacle is probably the lack of motivation. What are possibly the most typical motivational traps to avoid?
#1 The "I have no time" trap
This is the most common thought that puts anybody (me first) off from starting doing things. Yes, we all have to work or study, possibly a family with children to care after, and other unavoidable duties. But if we did manage to find time in our life for karate classes, probably we have some extra time for homework too. The key is not to think that it has to be a whole training to be worth it. Perhaps there's 10 minutes here and 5 minutes there for some exercise that doesn't require a full warm-up. You can even find some non-technical exercises that need so little concentration, that you can do them while watching TV. Your best friend here, is keeping in mind that a 5-minutes exercise is better than no exercise.
#2 The "I have no space" trap
Of course, nothing beats our beloved giant dojo wooden floor. But if at home you have at least one area wide enough for you to stand up and extend your arms and legs, then you have in fact enough room for a lot of exercises (just think of all the Kihon techniques that are practiced from a fixed stance). If you can even take a step or two in one direction, the number of options skyrockets.
#3 The "I am too tired" trap
Nobody says that homework should be physically demanding. Karate is not entirely physical, but even the physical aspects of it are not all about power and speed. There is a lot to practice that doesn't require sweating or burning calories: coordination, fine-motor skills, and balance for example. As long as you aren't having troubles staying awake, you are not too tired yet.
#4 The "I can't keep up" trap
This has always been a typical mistake of mine: making a plan too extensive and ambitious, and then failing at keeping up with it. If you're the type that love routines and has no problem sticking to them, then writing down a small plan or list of exercises to do each day can be a great help. But if you're like me, going easily overboard in the planning phase, you may set yourself up for failure later. It might be best, to make no plan or schedule at all. Instead, keep only a wish list of ideas you'd like to review or drills you want to go over again, and use it as you see fit. Or even just improvise on the fly.
Once we recognize the traps we setup for ourselves for not practicing, and know a trick or two to wiggle free, we're ready to think about how to use the limitations of the home environment to our own advantage.
No comments:
Post a Comment