How much time do you spend...

[kfson]

practicing your martial art(s) every day?

[David Jamieson]

about 45 minutes to an hour a day alternating days between routines.

on wednesday nights 2 hours of practice with others

[WinterPalm]

3 days a week is usually 1.5 hours. Two days is about 3 to 3.5. Saturday is usually a toss up but often 1 to 1.5 hours.

I also work construction so in the summer when I'm roofing it's like I'm in one of those Chinese movies where they labour all day and then train at night. Everyone around me thinks I'm nuts. I probably am.:)

[David Jamieson]

3 days a week is usually 1.5 hours. Two days is about 3 to 3.5. Saturday is usually a toss up but often 1 to 1.5 hours.

I also work construction so in the summer when I'm roofing it's like I'm in one of those Chinese movies where they labour all day and then train at night. Everyone around me thinks I'm nuts. I probably am.:)


you compete with fair regularity don't you?
so, your time in is appropriate.

also, youth helps. lol

once you're up over 40, there aren't many guys who train with that kind of schedule.
:)

[SPJ]

practicing your martial art(s) every day?

as much as I could

morning sessions for qi gong and standing postures

evening sessions of bag/pad work

but recently I had a very bad flu for 2 weeks.

did not join my brother for new year eve dinner, did not want to get everyone else sick--

talking about being a sick cat in the year of tiger--


:(

[Yum Cha]

Every hour of every day I try, with some amount of success.

Being a martial artist is not just training, but putting your practice to work.

Of course, to some that might mean I fight all day.

They are mistaken.

[MasterKiller]

http://thegifblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/laser-cats.gif

[jethro]

That rearview mirror shot was pretty cool. Good clip.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Every hour of every day I try, with some amount of success.

Being a martial artist is not just training, but putting your practice to work.

Of course, to some that might mean I fight all day.

They are mistaken.

Quite correct.
Physically, I train no less then 45 min and no more than 90, everyday if I can, but more like 4-5 times a week.
And if I am not training MA I am discussing it, reading about it or watching Movies about it.
:D

[kfson]

I'm presently at an hour to 75 minutes a day, 4-5 days a week.

I've found that being in the company of a very good teacher and very good students makes training more productive and efficient.

[WinterPalm]

you compete with fair regularity don't you?
so, your time in is appropriate.

also, youth helps. lol

once you're up over 40, there aren't many guys who train with that kind of schedule.
:)

I've trained for three fights since August only to have one: no opponent, two, opponent got hurt or something, and three, I busted my back. I've been trying though! It's also something I love to do and spend a lot of time thinking about.

Re: youth. You're right. But at 27 I'm realizing some dietary things need to change to help recovery. Mainly laying off the Fort Garry Dark and fried food. Until now I've really eaten whatever I want but now I'm starting to change that.
I hope to god when I'm 40 I'm not on a roof all day!:eek:

[uki]

developing your style of martial arts is like riding a bike - once developed, it's never lost... no matter if you bike 1000 miles or 10, all you need to understand is how to ride a bike. :)

[solo1]

I like to practice an hour to hour and half on the days i dont have class. Sometimes will break it up get some early morn then the balance after work. I have a log book that i use to keep track of what Im doing, Every personal session usually starts with light stretching ( nothing as extreme as class time) kata, both sides, sparring techniques, both sides. Then forms I know i need to work on but will alternate, empty hand techniques, then either makiwara board, heavy bag or reflex bag. Some days will use rowing machine since i dont run anymore. If you dont have a log you should keep one, I know when i slack off the results are ruinous.

[xcakid]

Practicing material on my own and or preparing for tournaments = 1-2hrs a week
Teaching = 3-4hrs a week
Taking group classes = 1-2hrs a week

Total = 5 - 8hrs a week

[Drake]

Not enough...

[SAAMAG]

developing your style of martial arts is like riding a bike - once developed, it's never lost... no matter if you bike 1000 miles or 10, all you need to understand is how to ride a bike. :)

Interesting. And while you might have developed the general ability to fight with the art, what do you think happens with those smaller intracies or even techniques that aren't practiced for say---5 years?

[sanjuro_ronin]

Not enough...

The one answer we all know is true of all of us.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Interesting. And while you might have developed the general ability to fight with the art, what do you think happens with those smaller intracies or even techniques that aren't practiced for say---5 years?

You may not ride a bike for a year and still remember, but you won't be as good a biker ride as they guy that rides everyday and even less so than the guy that makes bike riding his life or his Job.

[Drake]

I think a harsh reality is that life gets in the way, and it gets in the way often. Unless you do not have anything going on outside of MA, your training will inevitably be interrupted by other things, such as work, family, and conflicting schedules. It's not like the old days where you could invest years doing nothing but MA. Some of us have families to feed, bills to pay, and other things going on. And financially, MA isn't exactly a cash cow.

[TAO YIN]

One thing that I have always found kind of annoying about my training is that no matter how much I train, it's not enough.

Drake's right about the time factor. I guess most people will have to wail til when they are retired to study martial arts properly. Then, your body isn't what it used to be.

It's all backwards I think. I reckon people should start working in their 60s rather than when they are young.

[sanjuro_ronin]

I think a harsh reality is that life gets in the way, and it gets in the way often. Unless you do not have anything going on outside of MA, your training will inevitably be interrupted by other things, such as work, family, and conflicting schedules. It's not like the old days where you could invest years doing nothing but MA. Some of us have families to feed, bills to pay, and other things going on. And financially, MA isn't exactly a cash cow.

Correct, the professional MA was a rarity even in the past (perhaps more so actually).
Fact is MA is a life time endevour and while we may have periods of intense training, typically it is balanced with the realities of life.
I myself went through periods of intense training, 3-4 hours a day 6 days a week for years at times ( though in all honesty, in a space of of a year I always had at most a month of downtime).
Those are the periods of intense develpoment that we try our best to MAINTAIN for the rest of our lives.

[peace&love]

Like many other posts stated, I feel like I do not train near enough. I have my regular classes, but I also work out on top of that. I will work on stance work, push ups, techniques, etc. during commercials if I am watching television. While cooking, I will also work on stance work. For me, it is very difficult to find the time. If I have a minute to spare, I will use it for some form of training.

I believe the most important aspect of martial arts training goes beyond the kicking and punching. I consider studying film, reading books on martial arts history and general philosophy, and working to help others and society a vital aspect of training as well.

[bawang]

i disagree

u dont need martial arts to help others
chinese martial art morality is helping others thru violence or money

[Drake]

i disagree

u dont need martial arts to help others
chinese martial art morality is helping others thru violence or money

My job is to help others through violence. It all works out for me.

[GeneChing]

I'm a professional martial artist, so I put in a 40-50 hour work week, but most of that is in front of a computer. :o

I practice every day for about half an hour. Three nights a week, I train at a school. Some weekends, I train more, but that's mostly seasonal.

[lkfmdc]

Does sitting on my butt breaking up flame wars on our forum count?



Strangely, it appears that one man has united the forum as of late, that ONE MAN seems to have achieved this with a singularly unique achievement, ie no matter what people think or feel or believe they all hate him!

Thanks HW108 :D

[SAAMAG]

Wow....and here I thought that everyone on this forum puts in 3-5 hours daily of training!

I used to train that much when I was a teen. Then life caught up, responsibilities, the military, and etc.

Today, its more like an hour a day at least. With a 3 hour session at least once a week. College and work have got me pinned.

[goju]

i usually train three at the least

i figure i might as well make the most of my my youth and try to get as good as i can and since i want to compete i have to keep my self in better shape than most

plus i keep my life simple work/girlfriend/martial arts

im sure if i had kids/ wives etcetc it woudl be harder

[sanjuro_ronin]

Wow....and here I thought that everyone on this forum puts in 3-5 hours daily of training!

I used to train that much when I was a teen. Then life caught up, responsibilities, the military, and etc.

Today, its more like an hour a day at least. With a 3 hour session at least once a week. College and work have got me pinned.

Lets be honest, more than 60-90 min means LOTS of free time on our hands.

[xcakid]

Wow....and here I thought that everyone on this forum puts in 3-5 hours daily of training!

I used to train that much when I was a teen. Then life caught up, responsibilities, the military, and etc.

Today, its more like an hour a day at least. With a 3 hour session at least once a week. College and work have got me pinned.

When I was training in Ying Jow Pai, 2yrs. into it, I was working 60 to 80 hrs. a week and had to quit training. Today, I work 50-60hrs. and if I want any kind of social life and time to do personal stuff like groceries, clean the apt. etc., there is no way I can train 3-5hours a day. :eek:

[uki]

reading over all these posts, it seems that there is a common affliction... people don't seem to have enough time or do not invest enough time towards practice, yet isn't this only a mental construct?? why not become conscious of your training in regards to movement and what-not you do thru-out the day during the course of your other activities that are not martial arts related?? by programming yourself in this manner, it is safe to say that you train most of the day... everything you do, all activity/movement/energy expenditure can somehow be assimilated into your training... shovelling snow, how you move thru doors while shopping for evasion(do you shadow the person in front of you and pass thru the closing door without touching it?), how do you open doors, move up and down steps, how you steer, shift, ect, etc... it was taught that mind is the path. as most of you know, i have a very active life with my masonry job, gathering and chopping firewood by hand, landscaping, ironball juggling, igloo building... everything i do, i do my best to be aware of the martial aspect contained in it - to be aware of the training in it, the muscles, alignment, posturing, all of it... training and practice is a state of mind - too many people seek to train more when all they need to do is to change their perspective of what training is supposed to be... split 10 cords of firewood each year while outside in the 20 degree weather with your t-shirt on and using a 12lb maul, being conscious of your pi quan strike and tell me if it counts to say you are training your pi quan as you chop wood for 5 hours a day or that then pushing all that wood in a wheelbarrow up to the house doesn't improve your kao ching body blasting ability... ya know what i mean?? it's all in yer head mon. :)

[RenDaHai]

I agree with uki, a wise statement.

the best kung fu comes from these movements you've repeated 1000's of times a day. you can turn everything you do into kungfu training, or you can aquire new kung fu from the things you do everyday.

Personally i do at the very least 4 hours a day, at most 10. Every day. But i live in DengFeng so......

[uki]

the best kung fu comes from these movements you've repeated 1000's of times a day. you can turn everything you do into kungfu training, or you can aquire new kung fu from the things you do everyday.as much as i dislike using the word "fear", i like this phrase as it was when i discovered it:


"fear not those who practice 10,000 techniques one time,
but rather those who practice one technique 10,000 times."

[SAAMAG]

reading over all these posts, it seems that there is a common affliction... people don't seem to have enough time or do not invest enough time towards practice, yet isn't this only a mental construct?? why not become conscious of your training in regards to movement and what-not you do thru-out the day during the course of your other activities that are not martial arts related?? by programming yourself in this manner, it is safe to say that you train most of the day... everything you do, all activity/movement/energy expenditure can somehow be assimilated into your training... shovelling snow, how you move thru doors while shopping for evasion(do you shadow the person in front of you and pass thru the closing door without touching it?), how do you open doors, move up and down steps, how you steer, shift, ect, etc... it was taught that mind is the path. as most of you know, i have a very active life with my masonry job, gathering and chopping firewood by hand, landscaping, ironball juggling, igloo building... everything i do, i do my best to be aware of the martial aspect contained in it - to be aware of the training in it, the muscles, alignment, posturing, all of it... training and practice is a state of mind - too many people seek to train more when all they need to do is to change their perspective of what training is supposed to be... split 10 cords of firewood each year while outside in the 20 degree weather with your t-shirt on and using a 12lb maul, being conscious of your pi quan strike and tell me if it counts to say you are training your pi quan as you chop wood for 5 hours a day or that then pushing all that wood in a wheelbarrow up to the house doesn't improve your kao ching body blasting ability... ya know what i mean?? it's all in yer head mon. :)

Holy crap! You're right!!! I do that crap all day!!! Minus the masonry stuff.

So right now when I'm typing on here...since I'm thinking about kung fu...am I training?

[uki]

So right now when I'm typing on here...since I'm thinking about kung fu...am I training?of course... martial arts is as much brain power as muscle memory... LOL... and you can practice your mantis pokes with one finger typing. :D

[Jimbo]

reading over all these posts, it seems that there is a common affliction... people don't seem to have enough time or do not invest enough time towards practice, yet isn't this only a mental construct?? why not become conscious of your training in regards to movement and what-not you do thru-out the day during the course of your other activities that are not martial arts related?? by programming yourself in this manner, it is safe to say that you train most of the day... everything you do, all activity/movement/energy expenditure can somehow be assimilated into your training... shovelling snow, how you move thru doors while shopping for evasion(do you shadow the person in front of you and pass thru the closing door without touching it?), how do you open doors, move up and down steps, how you steer, shift, ect, etc... it was taught that mind is the path. as most of you know, i have a very active life with my masonry job, gathering and chopping firewood by hand, landscaping, ironball juggling, igloo building... everything i do, i do my best to be aware of the martial aspect contained in it - to be aware of the training in it, the muscles, alignment, posturing, all of it... training and practice is a state of mind - too many people seek to train more when all they need to do is to change their perspective of what training is supposed to be... split 10 cords of firewood each year while outside in the 20 degree weather with your t-shirt on and using a 12lb maul, being conscious of your pi quan strike and tell me if it counts to say you are training your pi quan as you chop wood for 5 hours a day or that then pushing all that wood in a wheelbarrow up to the house doesn't improve your kao ching body blasting ability... ya know what i mean?? it's all in yer head mon. :)

Excellent post.
My father (and uncles) grew up on a very large family farm, worked on professional tuna fishing boats in the '50s, gardened, etc., and had some freaky strength. When he taught me judo (my first MA experience) when I was a kid, he still had his coordination, toughness, explosiveness, and decent timing even though he hadn't formally practiced in years at the time. Though I don't think he actively thought about judo when he worked, that day-to-day conditioning in itself was formidable. Same with those in construction, iron working, and lots of other labor jobs. A lot of them already have the hard gong/kung part down pat.

As a certified massage therapist, I was taught that all movements start with the legs, hips and waist. Taught to move in various stances around the table, including horse stance, front stance, rear stance, etc, and awareness of the dan tian. And during such modalities as deep tissue, keeping awareness of connection of the rear foot on the floor, to the (for example) elbow pressing down and into the tissue, etc. Never going too far forward, but always keeping your feet under you and using proper stepping. So as I work, that is also kung fu training. Not to mention I suppose I'm training a lot of hand forms: palm heels, extended single finger knuckles, and tiger claws (without digging the finger tips into the muscles like a normal TC) and others.

As for the time I set aside for my KF practice, it's about 30 to 90 minutes a day, about 5 to 6 days a week, mostly. I've also developed quite a few other interests outside of MA. As a youngster, I often trained 2 to 5 hours a day, 7 days a week. Those days are in the past.