Do you train half-assed?

[Reima Kostaja]

I advise you to take a good hard look on your training and ask yourself are you a half-assed MAist?

I definately fall in the half-assed category. :)

[shaolinboxer]

A major point of training is to learn how to avoid half-assing anything. If you train half-assed you lose to yourself.

[apoweyn]

i am firmly committed to training with my whole arse.

seriously, i've been a bit half-arsed lately. i think it's partly due to teaching rather than training. it's too easy to just stick to basic drills and not push the envelope. they seem comfortable with it, and i've been a bit lazy.

now i'm pushing the envelope. and people have had an increasing number of 'other commitments.' not everyone, mind you. the ones that step up are good because they make me do likewise.


stuart b.

[Chang Style Novice]

Halfassed, if that. But then, it's a hobby and not my main focus.

[Highlander]

I always train like I'm gonna take someones head off. ;)

[Chinwoo-er]

To be perfectly, wholeheartedly, honest to god, buddha, allah, Zeus, Jade emperor, jet li ( oops :p ), truthful ?


Depends on my mood really.


When you train as constantly as I do ( every little spare time I could squeeze out ), you really can't train as hard constantly. Sure, I have one or two times a week when I lose myself in the motion, but most of the time, I just train moderately.

[KC Elbows]

Actually, I'm Scottish and Irish, so I have no ass at all.

[SaMantis]

No way ... my ass is huge!!! :D

Yeah, most of the time I train half-assed. Stuff like work, family, and life keep getting in the way.

Besides, my donkey, Half, hates learning new tricks. ;)

[Johnny Hot Shot]

When I first started mabey I was a little half asses but ofer time I became more and more serious about my training . Now I have some very talented training partners as well I am regarded as a very talented MA myself.

I look at my training as I do most things in life. All or nothing.

[DelicateSound]

I used to. But now I figure differently. Hell, I only get 2 sessions a week. So I make sure every one is 120% effort. Same with my daily forms and my weight lifting. Hell, the higher the intensity, the quicker I'll be kicking ass, no? :D

[Daredevil]

I used to train half-assedly, too.

I did it because of a variety of exterior reasons ; lack of faith in some teachers, because I didn't agree with certain methods chosen, etc etc. In the end, however, it was for only one interior reason : myself.

However, these exterior things can change the interior. For me, it was finding a teacher that was so inspiring I have no option but to give my absolute best.

Hence, my training has not been half-assed and has been getting more and more intense ever since.

[Sharky]

this sounds illogical, but i'm too lazy to work out half ass. i just don't have the time and effort to go for longer to get the same results, so i just want to blast in there, go 110% and come out unable to walk, and stumble on with my life.

[Tai-Jutsuka]

I don't think I train half-assed. Martial Arts are highly despised when they are seen outside of respective dojos where I live. I train in a vacant lot behind a big shopping center and have gotten in 3 fights with multiple opponents. Their reasons are either: they think I'm a **** because I train like this, or they want me to clear out so they can do drugs in the dumpster that is in the lot. I usually ended up running from the fights because when one of them was able to stand up again he brought out a knife.

[Sharky]

Can't you just train in a park, if you must leave the house? I skip and (obviously) jog in public, but i would never goto a park and shadow box or do a form, i think that's just a bit..... gay....

I don't see why it's necessary - often when i see people doing this you can tell they are just doing it cos they know everyone is looking at him/her and they love the attention. I ain't saying you are like this :)

Obviously they are muppets if they wanna do drugs in teh dumpster or whatever. I just think there is no need to advertise the fact that you take lessons in fighting.

[Tai-Jutsuka]

Yeah I see where you're coming from. But, its not advertising when I am in the lot because no one ever really goes back there.

[Sharky]

cool

[Reima Kostaja]

Maybe my question was a bit misleading, I didn't mean half-assed as slacking in the class, but more like how often you train and how committed you are to your training.

When I started training was really gung ho, never missed classes and sat in the bus for a hour just to get there.

Now I usually train 4-8 hrs a week, all class time. Sometimes do I some bodyweight exercises at home. I think this makes me a martial hobbyist, I really enjoy my training, but it's not the end of all things.

[respectmankind]

hmmm, depends on mood

[Sharky]

I used to train hard, till you avatar gave me an epileptic fit.

[Reima Kostaja]

neat isn't it?

[Sharky]

No.

[Jeff Liboiron]

I wouldn't say i'm half assed in my training. I train 2-3 hours 6 days a week. Right now my arm is a little injured so i don't train as intense as i usually do, but i'm stil seeing good results, so no i'm not half assed.

[SifuAbel]

I train half assed. Then later I train the other half. Sometimes I don't train my ass at all. Other times I train my ass to walnut cracking perfection.

[Nexus]

Is half-assed mean doing something martial only a few times each week? If you put in 2+ hours a day, are you semi-half assed? DEFINE YOUR TERMS!

[jointlock]

When you said "half assed", you meant frequency and/or duration of training right? But not to actually train "half assed"?
Bruce Lee said to NEVER train half assed, or when tired, because you will be less precise, and the next thing you know you will be accustomed to executing techniques with less precision, and will habitually do so even when not tired.

[uki]

I advise you to take a good hard look on your training and ask yourself are you a half-assed MAist?

I definately fall in the half-assed category.meh... the martial arts are like riding a bike, once you get it, you don't forget. it doesn't matter how hard you train, what matters is the intention behind it. :)

[xcakid]

I train by osmosis. I sit in the kwoon and watch everyone else train hard and absorb their training.

[Ray Pina]

I do every set of every drill with everything I got. The guys that don't, the guys that save themselves, are also the first guys to quit and tap when they're uncomfortable.

Injuries are also no excuse. A good coach will have you train around them. There's always something you can be doing.

[TenTigers]

I sometimes get in training ruts, or a comfort zone. I am very hands-on when I teach, always correcting and moving from one student to another, so I don't train when I teach. Some people do-they stand up there at the front looking awesome, while beginners are in the back row, flopping around like flounders. I can't do that.
Usually, if I have a good seut-gohk or SPM class, I come back charged however.
And lately, I have been inspired, so I am trainng alongside with my seniors.
When I walk onto the floor in cotton pants and a school t-shirt, instead of my fancy-schmantzy satin uniform, they know they're in trouble!
so yeah, basically half-assed....

[solo1]

Depends. I want to train hard every time but by the time i leave work and get to the kwoon sometimes Im mentally fried from my job and can't focus as hard as I should. Im only hurting myself. Somedays I truly suck. Other days Im so focused I ask myself why I cant be that intense everytime but you accept it.

[Ray Pina]

The truth is you can't keep it up full tilt all the time. The key is to keep at it, little by little.

My personal feelings is that MA is like a relationship, it requires full commitment and attention. It's not a game.

I know guys who come for two weeks then vanish for a month or two then come back. They lose what they gain and their condition is crap. I have a motto: there's no excuse to miss training. Just put that in our head. You're never too tired. Nothing is so important that you can't be a little late.

Sometimes work or personal matters do come up that can't be passed on. The absolute can't go to class ones. If you really adhered to the "no excuses" motto, then those days are a rare, welcomed vacation. Go enjoy yourself guilt free. You could probably use the rest.

Best of all, when you're where you are, you'll be standing tall, healthy, confident, secure, calm, because you've been training like a mo fo.

[uki]

I train by osmosis. I sit in the kwoon and watch everyone else train hard and absorb their training.i like this... kinda like learning the secrets of a suprise attack simply from understanding how a comet comes in from behind the glare of the sun. :)

[Blacktiger]

All you have to think about is turning up - I just keep turning up - If I think deeper than that then I can get caught up in the whole - I have had a big day at work, Im tired etc.

But if you just focus on getting to class and thats all - once you arrive auto pilot kicks in and you are away:D

[Ray Pina]

True that.

[David Jamieson]

I just train.

to some, my warmup is their workout.
To others, it's the other way round.

Don't deceive yourself. It's the worst kind of thing you can do to yourself.

[uki]

I just train.

to some, my warmup is their workout.
To others, it's the other way round.

Don't deceive yourself. It's the worst kind of thing you can do to yourself.well said...

[Judge Pen]

I used too be hard-core, but lately I haven't. Wife, child and work are all exponentially more important to me than my training, so I do enough to keep on top of things and to prevent it from slipping away, but I would consider that "half-assed" training compared to the way I used to train.

To those that juggle all of the above and train hard-core, then my hat's off to you.

[kwaichang]

Everyone traines half assed, "no matter how hard you train, you can always train a little harder, or a little smarter. KC

[sanjuro_ronin]

Ever since my training time took a serious hit, I have only 60 mins to train, WHEN I can train, so I do the "balls to the wall" training regime, because of warm-ups and cool downs ( a must no matter what) I only have 40 min of "real MA training so, its HIIT to the max, I typically puke or almost puke every time, and so do the few training partners I have left, LOL !
Half assed?
Nah, I do both asses !!
:p

[Pork Chop]

Now that i've got a wife and kid i'm kinda stuck in this weird adjustment period.
i think i'm doing a little better now than i did the first couple months.
but i do suffer burn out from time to time (even before the wife & kid).

it was a lot easier when time outside of work & the gym could be devoted to rest.
having to watch the kid by myself while the wife works on the weekends is a lot like working a second, full-time job - even worse maybe, because i have to wake up with him in the middle of the night.

lately, i spend as much time in the gym as i can when i have the time.
can't really spend time stressing over burnout; because i have to take advantage of the time i have to do something for myself.

still struggle from negative influences (negative thinking as well as bad habits).
i think it's due; in a large part, to the fact that the idea of having to babysit all weekend is not exactly a "fun" prospect- beer makes the time go by quicker.

the mental & emotional aspects of training to me are always the most difficult.
how to deal with disappointment, reluctance to train, the feeling that training is swallowing up too much of one's life, the bouts with feelings of futility, frustration over injuries, and even boredom. i can deal with the physical side, the bumps, the bruises, sore joints & muscles. the mental sometimes is enough to drive you nuts.

[DRAGONSIHING]

Don't train like I did when I was young. I do practice with full intent however. I understand guys with families not getting to train like you can when your single. I went thru that back in my 40's when my kids were little. Now I work to maintain skills learned then as well as new things, just not 6 days a week, 3-4 hours a day. Keeps your mental side sharp as well as physical. Like Bette Davis said getting old is not for everyone.

[Lucas]

do i train full time? no. do i train half assed? no. i do not find full time training and training well to be exclusively mutually inclusive. you can certainly train part time and not do it half assed.

[SPJ]

training is like eating/drinking or having sex

of course, you go all the way, why stop somewhere in the middle.

with all the teasing and stop???

:confused:

I meant I went all the way all the time.

:)

[Lucas]

i do eat half assed though ;)

i usually stop eating before i become full.

[Lokhopkuen]

Consistency coupled with focus on well defined realistic long term goals.;)

Why train for war when you can train for life?