#why i train

[stephfitblr]

the fight you always win is the fight you're never in

This is a saying I learned in Krav Maga. Imi Lichtenfeld, founder of Krav, lived out a personal credo of "so one may walk in peace." This martial art was forged out of literal self-defense. It was never meant to be used to pick fights but to stop them. We're taught that our strikes are to be 100% power so that the confrontation can end as soon as possible. There's a post circulating that "if you train martial arts and you aren't willing to take someone's life, you're wasting your time." I'm not sure how to feel about that. I know how to kill. I know how to seriously injure. I know where to hit, where to jab, which pressure points to lock, etc. I can throw a man twice my size over my shoulder fairly effortlessly. I can disarm both knife and gun attacks. I know a lot, but I'd never want to use these skills. One thing we focus a lot on in Krav is how to defuse a situation before it ever gets to a boiling point. In fact, we probably spend the most time focused on how to get out of a situation than how to kill. I don't think I'm wasting my time. I've lost 50+ lbs, gained so much confidence, learned practical self defense that I've actually used, and so much more. I've since began training in WTF Taekwondo and it's helped calm me, relieve anxiety, given me goals to strive for, helped me get over stage fright, and shown me that I'm way more mentally strong than I believe, able to break boards and endure hours of strenuous training - seriously I could go on and on and on about the benefits of martial arts training. If you're enjoying it, if you're growing, if you're learning, if you're getting over hurdles and breaking your own personal bests, if you're finding weaknesses and turning them into strengths - you're not wasting your time.

[buildingathena]

I feel destroyed tonight...everything at work is just a stress nightmare, I have this recurring knot between my shoulder blades that feels like fire, a headache that won't quit, and I haven't gotten to really catch up on sleep in what feels like forever. If I make it through tomorrow, I get my first real weekend in a month, and I will probably sleep through most of it. I'll be fine, I always am, but things are really crazy right now and I'm feeling it. I have also been teaching Taekwondo a lot the last few weeks, subbing in for one of our instructors who is is seriously ill (and that situation is its own source of worry and stress). Teaching has gone well a far as my foot is concerned, and I was actually glad to get the opportunity to test it...it just happened at a particularly crazy time. I feel like I've barely seen my apartment, and when I do it's just to clean, scrounge up food, and collapse on the couch long enough to eat it before I pass out. I am so, so beyond strung out. Which is a long way of saying that I haven't been writing because life is crazy. But! Tomorrow is my light at the end of the tunnel, at least for a couple days. And I have been able to keep up with training, albeit somewhat reduced to compensate for teaching. I haven't had time for all the other things...but if I can at least train, it reminds me that I still have good stuff in my life, behind all the stress, and I how grateful I am to have somewhere to go and and forget about everything for a few hours.

[sweetlydangerousdeeds]

Nine years ago, I wrote about "Why I take Jiu Jitsu"

At my dojo, we have to write a short paper every time we test for a new rank (a solid color rank, not a stripe). An excerpt from the paper I wrote in 2004 when I tested for yellow belt:

I also wanted to challenge myself to take my training further and see if I could succeed. I enjoy this personal challenge. I train because I like learning something new and possessing knowledge of a martial art—knowledge that not many people have. I train because I like to defy expectations. I hope to become stronger and more adept at defending myself against threats I might encounter because people might view me as demure and weak.  

I think jiu-jitsu has helped me feel more confident about myself and my ability to protect myself. I enjoy the sense of discipline that it brings, committing myself to training twice a week regularly. Finally, I like the fact that, via a belt test, we are given the opportunity to prove to others and ourselves what we have learned. This helps me see what I have accomplished so far, and also how much more there is to learn.

[ace-mma]

Fighter challenge: why I train

It all started out when I was in middle school playing pop warner football. I wanted to stay in shape for the next season so my coach at the time told me to try wrestling. So at the age of 12 I started wrestling. I enjoyed it but not with the same fervor I do now. I always struggled with it and I honestly didn’t become a good wrestler until after my high school career. Plus my first couple years I had a lot of trouble with my asthma, but I thank god that I wrestled because the constant training eventually allowed me to overcome it.

So a year goes by and I’m still wrestling and playing football and one night I flip on the tv and I find Randy Couture fighting Tim Silva for the ufc heavyweight title. It was crazy to me..I saw a man take the wrestling skills I had just begun learning and combined it with other arts and used it to defeat a much larger man…I was hooked right from their. I kept watching fight after fight and learned about the sport, picking up all the rules and lingo and everything and I was consumed by it.

My freshman year of high school I started boxing. I used to take classes at a local gym that was supposed to be a boxing/mma class. My very first instructor was a guy named Stew Burroughs. A tough and gruff 50-something year old with 25 years pro boxing experience and 5 years of mma experience. He taught me mainly how to box since I was a wrestler. I thank him to this day because my boxing is probably my main strength when it comes to my stand up game.

Eventually I asked Stew if I could learn how to kickbox and he said he wouldn’t teach me until I bought the proper equipment. Since I didn’t have a job at the time I didn’t have the money to get shin guards and my parents didn’t want to shell out the money, so I decided if no one would teach me I would teach myself. I ended up buying Greg Jackson’s striking book and read it front to back and practice my moves so I looked just like the pictures.

I finally ended up buying shinguards and ended up training both at the boxing gym and with my dad’s friend who ran a shotokan karate dojo out of his house. He was a fifth degree black belt and a martial arts fanatic to the T. His name is Edmundo Crimi and I still see him every now and then. Without him I wouldn’t be the man I am today.

It was the the summer just before my junior year when I discovered why I did martial arts. My very first girlfriend, whom I had been dating for almost two years at the time had cheated on me while she was away for vacation. Needless to say I was crushed. I went to sensei Crimi’s place and told him and all of my friends and classmates what had happened and they consoled me but it didn’t really feel right. Me. Crimi didn’t take it easy on me though. He fought with me and toyed with me and almost danced to the music he had playing as he struck me at will..I was so frustrated and angry that I had to sit out…and then I began to think. I kept wondering why mr Crimi had danced in front of me and how his motions flowed so smoothly..and then it hit me…martial arts isn’t about technique and being strong, it’s about expressing yourself, just like dance. I went back in with mr. Crimi and just let all my pain and sadness and frustration flow through my body and I became a physical paintbrush for my emotions…I never felt better.

My senior year of high school I began training with my current instructor, Sifu Joe Cargado at his school combat fitness martial arts. He has been teaching me Muay Thai, bjj, commando Krav Maga, jeet kune do, and combat submission wrestling for the past two years. When I’m home I go to the gym every day it’s open and I even teach the children’s classes. Sifu Joe has been like my second father and I honestly love him and everyone at Combat Fitness.

So why do I train? I train to learn, I train to fight, I train to protect myself but above all those things i train martial arts to express myself in the truest way I know how. Martial arts is an art for that very reason and that’s why I love it so much.

[movemequotes]

“The harder I train, the quicker I get, the quicker I get, the slower the game, the slower the game, the more plays I make, the more plays I make, the more attention I get, the more attention I get, the more they try to stop me, the more they try to stop me, the harder I train.” ~ Unknown