That's a question that often arises when I'm
doing some intense training. When I'm skipping rope, my
lungs are burning, my calves are ready to explode. When
I'm doing my escrima, my hand is covered in blisters.
When I do savate, I'm constantly out of breath,
covered in sweat. And when I'm grappling, I'm getting
tapped left and right...and I have a headache, my lower
back is killing me. Somewhere, in this litany of
training ailments, in the middle of your most intense
training sessions, your mind says to you "why the
agony...?" <br><br>Without skipping a beat or even putting
your rope down, or taking your gloves off, you run off
a list of justifications for every training ailment
you've ever had. "JKD requires perfection, because it is
the ultimate in reality!" "I'm trying to lose
weight!" "NO PAIN NO GAIN!" "I want to be like Bruce Lee!"
"Fat burning is necessary for optimum athletic
performance, and I must burn off as much as possible!" Then
the voice goes away, and you go back to your training
as if nothing happens.<br><br>As the 3rd week of
your german volume/periodization training kicks in,
and you are at your most intense in this training
cycle, that hushed voice in the back of your mind that
asked "why the agony?" is now screaming at you. In
fact, your calves, your chest, your back, your hands,
your entire BODY is asking you the same question: "why
the agony? Why are we going through this? Can't we
just go to a bar and drink margaritas and hang it with
the girls!?! Your abs look fine!! The last time you
were at school, you smoked your classmates! Last time
you checked in the mirror, you were super speedy!!
Who cares if you ever get that guard pass! Or that
fouette/chasse bas combination? HKE?? Big deal! Let's go out and
have fun!!"<br><br>We're all familiar with this
scenario. To train, or not to train...or to train HARD. We
handle them differently each time, some times better
than others. Sometimes we remove the gloves, take a
sip of water, then put them back on, and train again.
Sometimes, we remove the gloves, and hit the showers, and
call it a day. Sometimes we remove the gloves...and
never put them back on again. <br><br>Let's admit it:
training is hard. It's isn't natural for human beings to
put themselves through so much self-imposed torture.
In fact, if there was a way for us to become better
martial artists while playing a video game or reading a
book or DRINKING, we'd all abandon our regimens in 2
seconds!! But, no such thing exists. No such short cut has
ever been found. <br><br>(cont'd)