How to effectively Train by yourself for extended periods of time.
Whether it is because of traveling due to your job, injury and having to take time to mend, or because of conditions like those we are experiencing at the time of writing this (coronavirus pandemic), there will come times when you are not able to train at the school, or even with training partners.
It can be discouraging, as much of the fun of Martial Arts & Fitness training has to do with the interaction between yourself and your teacher, classmates and workout partners, and there are certain skills that can only be developed by working with another person (most grappling, for example). Regardless, there are many ways to improve yourself when you have to train solo. The key is to make the most of this time, and dedicate yourself to the discipline of daily work.
Discipline and Organization are Key
At Sage we train in 5 distinct areas: Striking Skills, Grappling Skills, Trapping Skills, Weapon Skills and Attribute Development. Each of these areas consists of slightly different training methods. I recommend setting aside a little time each day to work on each of these elements. Sticking to it really comes down to how you structure your workouts.
When we think of solo training there are several perspectives on what our objective is in any given workout. Some of these are specific to a particular attribute, others to a particular skill set or physical goal. We can train for any of the following reasons:
- Maintenance of Skills
- General Fitness
- Refinement & Efficiency
- Range of Motion & Flexibility Training
- Conditioning for Injury Prevention
- Speed Training
- Cardio Training
- Strength Training
- Specific Physical Attributes (Grip Strength, Neck Strength, Finger Dexterity, Ambidexterity, etc.)
- Functionality
- Learning New Material
- Developing Rhythm and Timing
- Developing a Deeper Understanding of what you already know and how that relates to new information
The question, as always, is: What are you doing this for? The answer to that question, more than anything else should dictate how your train.
The Importance of Repetition
Repetition is the Mother of all Skills.
– Punong Guro Edgar Sulite – Lameco Eskrima
Solitude gives you the opportunity to delve into repetition. When you train by yourself, you do not have to worry about a training partner getting bored with the material you’re working on. In terms of skills development, when we talk about repetition, we are talking tens of thousands of repetitions to refine a movement until it is completely intuitive and unconsciously consistent. If your life is going to depend on that movement, then you really can’t get enough repetition.
Think of this like batting practice in Baseball. Even the simple act of swinging the stick along a particular line, can be refined in a number of ways:
Accuracy – Can you get your stick to pass through the exact same space every time?
Speed – How fast can you accelerate the strike?
Power – How much power can you generate, by incorporating body mechanics.
Efficiency – How much wasted motion can you remove from your technique?
High repetition workouts may not be the most glamorous type of training in Martial Arts but it is the most valuable. With every repetition we ingrain that movement into our nervous system, and make it more likely that it will come out of us when it is needed, when we are under stress. Pick a technique and work it – 50 times, 100 times, 500 times. See what happens. There is also a level of mental development that comes from confronting something that is repetitive. Your mind will want to wander elsewhere, and that gives you an opportunity to work on your concentration and focus.
Fortunately, there are many ways to disguise repetition. Consider a simple strike with a stick along one particular angle. We could:
Add a Prefix – Make it a combination, focusing on the target angle. This could also be a defensive movement, such as an evasion or a block.
Add a Suffix – Follow the strike with another combination, or a defensive action, or an evasion.
Change the Footwork – What happens if you do this while side stepping, retreating, advancing, spinning or turning, kneeling, running?
Change the Environment – What happens if you do this technique in a doorway, or on the stairs? Can you do the technique waist deep in the water, or from your back on the mats, ankle deep in sand or mud, or while getting out of your car?
Switch Sides – Practicing on both sides is essential for ambidexterity and coordination, and avoiding injuries due to overuse on any given part of the body.
Change Grip – How does the technique change with a Reversed Grip?
Change the Format – Take the same motion you did with a stick, and see how it would change with a sword, a staff, a knife, a flexible weapon, etc. How do the body mechanics change, and what stays the same? How does the timing or setup of the strike change? This can be very informative.
Do it while Encumbered – Can you still do the technique if you are wearing a heavy coat, a heavy backpack, holding a bag of groceries, a hot up of coffee, or a small child?
Now take these ideas and consider how you can modify your training in other areas. There is so much variety possible here, that you should not run out of ideas for years.
The Importance of Discomfort
In other words – doing something difficult, just because it is difficult. This is an essential part of training, that is often disguised by the sheer number of topics that we engage in. So much of our training is a form of conditioning, simply because we are challenging ourselves to do something that is difficult or uncomfortable.
Something as simple as walking or running can be a perfect example of this. There are many reasons to run, dozens of physical benefits to be had, but the real reason running is so valuable is because it’s hard and it sucks. Unlike bike riding — when you take your feet of the pedals, the bike will continue moving — when you run, if you stop moving your feet, you stop moving altogether. Running is completely dependent on your effort. And the act of exerting effort against something that is difficult puts us in direct confrontation with our willingness to quit.
A Martial Artist should be capable of high levels of discipline, and the ability to persevere in adverse conditions. This includes physical stress, exhaustion, boredom, fear, pain, distraction, heat, cold, rain and wind, having to sit still for long periods of time, etc. When exposed to these conditions, at some point the body will want to quit, the mind will want to quit, and get out of that situation, and the ability to do it anyway is truly valuable.
When next you train, try to apply this to weightlifting, running, kicking, movement drills, yoga, meditation, etc. You might be surprised at the results, and how transformative a thing can be simply because it is difficult.
Ways to challenge your will power:
- Running Uphill
- Running Longer Distances
- Sprinting
- Pushups or Squats
- Abdominal Exercises
- Holding Extended Kicks
- Hundreds (lifting lighter weights in sets of 100)
- Power Lifting (lifting heavier weights)
- Wall Sit & Deep Stance Training
- Yoga & Prolonged Stretching
- High Repetition (thousands)
- Hiking with a Weighted Backpack
- Fasting
- Meditation
- Getting up early
- Cold Showers
- Exercising before Breakfast
Ways to Structure your Workouts
When you are not sure what to do, it is often best by structuring your time to work on a little of everything. Let’s assume we are going to work out for an hour every day. Some of the training available to you may be equipment dependent (do you have a heavy bag, a wooden dummy, a mirror you can use, or enough floor space to stretch out in?). Fortunately much training can be done outside, if your current living situation does not permit it.
In that hour workout, let’s put aside time for a proper warm up and stretching at the end. That will leave us with less than an hour to fill. Take that time and divide it into 3 sections, to work on three different things, or perhaps 4 sections instead. You now have an adaptable workout structure that will dictate how much time to spend on any one thing. Below are a couple of sample workouts, but these could be adapted to any sort of training, just break it down to fit the time available:
Sample Workout – 1 Hour
10 Min – Warmup & Light Stretching
- Upper Body Warmup – Neck, Shoulders, Wrists
- Lower Body Warmup – Hips, Lower Back, Knees & Ankles
- Trunk Twists & Knee Raises
- Calf Movements – Jumping Rope, bouncing, footwork, etc.
10 Min – Striking Skills
- 25 Front Kicks/Side
- 25 Round Kicks/Side
- 25 Side Kicks/Side
- 25 Inverted Kicks/Side
- 25 J-C-H-C Combinations
- 25 J-C – Bob & Weave/H – C-H-C Combinations
10 Min – Weapon Skills
- 25 FH Redondos/Side
- 25 BH Redondos/Side
- 25 Power Swings on #1 Angle/Side
- 25 Power Swings on #2 Angle/Side
- 25 Songkite Thrusts/Side
10 Min – Movement & Footwork
- Combine with either Striking or Weapons while moving
- 2 Min Advancing & Retreating Footwork
- 2 Min Side to Side Footwork
- 2 Min Replacement Footwork
- 2 Min Circling or Cross-stepping Footwork
- 2 Min Deep Stance Footwork
10 Min – Strength & Conditioning Exercises
- 25 Pushups
- 25 V-ups (Abdominal Exercise)
- 25 Squats
- 25 Body Builders or Jump-Tuck Burpees
- 25 Pullups (or as many as you can do)
10 Min – Heavy Stretching
- Pigeon Stretch – Hips & Lower Back
- Hamstring Stretch
- Calf Stretches
- Shoulder & Neck Stretches
Sample Workout – 45 Minutes
10 Min – Warmup & Stretching
- Limbering Exercises for Neck, Calves, Lower Back
- 100 Jumping Jacks or Jumping Rope for 3 Minutes
- Upper & Lower Body Stretches
10 Min – Weapon Skills
- 5 Sinawali Patterns
- 100 Reps each with Footwork
10 Min – Striking Skills
- 2 Minute Rounds, Alternating
- Boxing Combinations with Head Movement
- Multiple Kicking Combinations
10 Min – Grappling Skills
- 5 Movement Drills across the floor or in place
- 25 Sprawls per side
- 25 Shoot-Lunges per side
5 Min Cooldown & Stretch
- Hips & Lower Back
- Hamstrings
- Calves
The Importance of Physical Training
One thing we need to be aware of is the tendency for Martial Artists to confuse Learning with Training. Learning is something we should be doing all the time, and it is essential, but learning about a thing is not the same as doing that thing.
I often chide my students while they are training – “Don’t look like a golfer.” There is a debate as to whether or not Golf is a sport, I tend to be of the belief that Golf is no more a sport than billiards, but that side, I ask my students whether a straight legged golfer, who walks from hole to hole (or worse, rides in a cart), is demonstrating the kid of body mechanics we want to emulate while training. We should endeavor to be slightly more athletic.
When you are training, try to push yourself physically. Use deeper stances, more challenging exercises, movement that will cause you to lose your breath and break a sweat.
Breaking Inertia
Inertia is a real challenge when we are training by ourselves. It is very easy to settle, and to become less active, when we don’t have a teacher or training partner motivating us. But Inertia involves momentum too, and what you will find is that once you get moving, the rest is easy, it’s just a matter of building on that momentum.
It is often said to aspiring authors that “Good writing is often the result of applying the ass to the seat.” In a similar way we can say that “Good Martial Arts is often the result of Getting off your Ass.” Recognizing that we all have this tendency to settle, and having made it all the way through this article, it’s time to get up and start moving, wouldn’t you say?