Martial Arts tips for success.... 6 Martial Arts Training Tips to Help you Grow

Here are 6 tips on how to get more from your martial arts training.

Training Tip #1: We all started as beginners

Whether you're just looking into martial arts training, or are a long-time martial artists, it's important to remember that we all started as beginners. To remind yourself of this will keep your ego in check, but will also help you train with beginners.

Training Tip #2: Martial Arts is individualized; don't try to adapt to the art – make the art adapt to you.

"You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup…Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend." – Bruce Lee While much of martial arts training is about teaching your body how to move, it's also about learning how to make the art work for you. Bruce Lee famously said "be like water"; a reference to being highly adaptable. Remember, the goal isn't to look like everyone else, but to express your martial art through your unique movement and understanding – just like any other artist (it just so happens your medium isn't painting, but kickin' butt).

Training Tip #3: Basics, basics, basics.

"Gentlemen, this is a Football"; the famous quote by NFL legend Coach Vince Lombardi illustrates the importance of mastering the fundamentals. In martial arts training, the fundamentals are the foundation you build upon. And for this reason, the basics are the most important. Make sure that wherever you are in your martial arts training, that you take the time to revisit and sharpen your basics.

Training Tip #4: It's better to work on technique before speed, than speed before technique.

"Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast" – saying in SWAT training What do SWAT teams and race car drivers have in common? They both start slow. In SWAT there is the phrase "slow is smooth, and smooth is fast". With race car drivers, they first drive the course slow to learn the turns of the track. The importance to both is technique. Technique is what saves you in the end – and good technique will make you fast. So make sure you take the time to slow down and perfect your martial arts moves – adrenaline will take care of speed.

Training Tip #5: The days you don't feel like training are often the most rewarding when you do.

There is inevitably a moment during your martial arts training where you won't feel like training. You'd rather relax, or do something else. It's in these moments that your greatest growth and reward are waiting to happen, because these moments offer an opportunity to step outside of your comfort zone. Next time you're debating skipping class, think a little harder about it and decide if it's an opportunity to grow.

Training Tip #6: You earn the rank you're given , no other way!

When you get that new rank or belt – it's important to remember that it is up to you to live up to the rank. This is a very eastern philosophy towards martial arts training; we test and look at our rank as a reward. In reality, your rank is an obligation, an expectation – not a boost for the ego. This will keep you looking forward in your martial arts training as you continue to grow.