Daily practice?

[Shana Moore]

This is mainly for those that do not run a dojo or have the benefit of thier martial arts being thier job as well as thier passion.
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How many of you practice on a daily basis...even if only for 15 minutes? What do you get out of it?

It's been often discussed that Kanbun Uechi and many other masters of his time spent a year training thier students on Sanchin, alone. Unfortunately, most of us do not have the time and ability (or patience) to practice this kata alone for a full year.

However, recently, I have been training parts and full Sanchin on a daily basis. No matter what else I do, I try to make sure I get in some pushups, daily conditioning and at least one run of sanchin. When I have more time, I have focused specifically on the opening, my stance, and three runs of sanchin at varying speed. I am finding that I feel more solid/stable, as well as more precise in my practice just by this simple dailiy practice.

On rough days, it can also be my little 15 minute oasis.

On really rough days...well..have you heard the term "embrace the s#ck"?

This daily mini workout is in addition to my weekly training and regular workouts. It's simply becoming a part of my daily routine (not 100% perfect on this, but getting there). I have started to miss it when I don't get to do this.

I'm just wondering how many out there do a daily workout. What does it involve? how long does it usually last? and...what benefits have you/are you seeing?

[robb buckland]

Sensei Van told me to do three of each of the main kata every day in addition to my regular regimine ....since then i've been making great gains in my explosive kata applications.....

[harlan]

Yep. Every day.

One 2 hr Goju class, and one 2 hr kobudo class, per week, and daily practice on top of it. 1/2 hr to 1 hr every day.

'Warm-up' is flexible: 2 mile walk, bike ride, strength training, gung li, or just plain kicks and stretching. Followed up with a mix of kobudo/goju depending on my mood. One run of sanchin, but at times I'll just extend it to work on a piece. Then favorite katas, again pulling out a piece I want to work on.

[Shana Moore]

30-60/day is my goal...which should become easier as my daughter gets older and/or my daily commute shortens

sounds like a great weekly regimen..both of you!

[harlan]

Working 2 jobs, with kids, I gave up trying to fit it into home time for 7 years. I practice at work now, adjusting my day to get in an hour at lunch time.

[CANDANeh]

Even retired (temporally as I`m only 51) I still find it difficult to schedule in work out time. I think ideally (easy to say) we should not "schedule in" but simply do. We have enslaved ourselves to what was our most diabolical invention called the clock. We listen to this now digital monster instead of looking to the Sun, Moon and of course seasons. For those who have spent "time" haying, fishing and tending gardens...there was always time. Well it`s 8 am...I have things to do http://www.mower-family.com/images/mowe ... haying.jpg

[Chris McKaskell]

I'm six to twelve hours per week of class time and, like you, Shana, 15 to 30 minutes per day minimum of personal focus, but only when it's convenient -- no set schedule.

Often it's while I'm taking the dog out for her final walk of the day.

But then I also work in a cabinet shop and get lot's of rough and tumble as part of a normal work day which an office worker would need to make a serious effort to get.

And I make an effort to perform mundane tasks in beneficial ways - such as:

using different body parts to break things before tossing them into the bin; or carrying objects balanced on my forearms in stead of held in hand; or pushing heavy carts with my dantien instead of...

well, you get the picture -- all little stuff, but it helps a lot more than you'd think.

I can't remember who said it to me (probably my teacher), but it was once suggested: make every movement kata.

Tough to do!

[robb buckland]

One thing I will miss about moving to Me. from New Orleans is my courtyard......surrounded by statuary and plants on an uneven coble surface in the early morning rain with 90% huimidity...it feels mystical !!!!

[maxwell ainley]

Shana ,daily practice requires that extra discipline ,plus it depends what your daily job is also ,I work with folk who just sit down and watch TV or dvds, read etc,they have surplus time to do a daily workout .
When I left Wado we did a three times per week training 2hr workouts with the odd weekend ,coming to uechi I switched to a 7 day up to six hrs workouts ,never less than two ,and all this time was devoted to sanchin for four years solid ,I was up in a morning at 6 trained till seven ,then packed my lunch and set off to work ,about 7 in the evenings back into things ,weekends I could spread out my work load and get more relaxation ,during this time I learned just how to rest up inbetween my objective.

One mans mountain is another mans molehill .

[Shana Moore]

Robb,
That DOES sound mystical! The one time I got to visit New Orleans (my honeymoon), I fell in love with those little courtyards!

I have the pleasure of living in the country, and often have the pleasure of training outdoors. It's amazing how training early morning as the fog is still clearing around you, or in twilight as the lightening bugs and bats are jsut coming out can really add to the moment!!

Max,
I would love to have that much time! I get up 5:30 in the morning and typically go to bed 10 or 11....I have a 10 month old and a 2 hour daily commute...so I fit in what I can. As Karen gets older, I hope my training time, will expand. Meanwhile, I try to fit in little things, like doing wauke/grabs as I go up/down stairs and praciticing kicks when I'm alone in the elevator...and do the daily 15 minutes...more if I have time.

Chris,
Like you I try to fit in those little things here and there. I do the 15-30 daily either early morning or late evening depending on when I get fit it in admidst my little one and life. I like the thought of every movement kata...hmmmmmm

CanDANeh,
scheduling is sometimes necessary for me to get things in, but I really set more of a goal of doing X by end of day and a few opportunities when it would work best....usually it works out. I don't like being slave to a clock either, which is why I don't wear a watch...but a life filled with others makes that a bit more challenging!

Harlan,
I have a small gym at work and often use that for morning or quick lunch workout...but with so much time away from home, I cherish the time I have with familiy...fortunately, I can train in my backyard with little one not far away with daddy...it's not exactly one on one time...but it is time together...just doing what I can to fit in what I want in my life!

[maxwell ainley]

Shana,
If we think daily practice is of value ,we may have to squeeze into our day this practice due to work ,family ,entertainment .
Plus if you are married etc, a helpfull understanding other half can give the thumbs up to our daily practice ,on the downside having someone who is against .

My modern observations indicate that we are in a ever increasing onslaught of entertainment ,my early endevour into daily practice meant ,sacrifices had to be made in this entertainment department of my life ,less TV , we had nothing then like cassettes ,dvds ,records were on plastic ,so I had to cut back in the music department ,I don't mean cut it out. pruning here there and every were .

As kids in the Uk we had very little by way of toys ,no tv ,we mostly made our own games etc such as kick of can ,hop skip and jump ,we spent more time out in the woods ,building tree houses ,or swimming in the pit ponds ,we had very little .

From this early attitude it was pretty easy to cut back on all this entertainment ,this cutting back revealed a new world of time management ,a highly disciplined world ,a world that had to now deal with boredom and habit that required this entertainment .
At work a very common question is "did you see this last night on Tv,or that ".
People who have lots of time to spare , mostly squander .it people who have little time to spare have to find the time ,and once they find the time its a joy .

Kids take up lots of time ,finding ways around this are difficult ,when a opening presents itsself [drop to sleep etc,] take it .

[maxwell ainley]

Around 1990 I was instructing a black belt from another system on Sanchin ,up to this time I was very rigid in my whole approach to teaching ,he was on with the three day week type of training I wanted seven devoted to Sanchin .

I said thats the deal take it or leave it , well after weeks of time when we talked by phone ,or met in the three horse shoes pub ,he talked me around to the idea that seven days seemed very daunting ,but ok he was going to give it a go ,with conditions .
He was not going to give up his existing commitment of training to his school etc, so we arranged a timetable weekly of my visits to his dojo ,at this time I was digging out the foundations to me dojo ,it was experiment for a month ,so one of his 2nd dans took over the class ,we had cleared out another room ,for our new dojo .
My new plan was it was only a experiment ,so we stuck to the three day week ,in my rigid attitude ,the idea of a experiment soothed me .

So when we chatted over the month I was calling this period of training a aclimatizing period ,thats all it is, this soothed me .I live with this idea ,but after the month we increase things to 7 days that was the deal .

I had already indicated that the opening of sanchin was the main prime power generator ,and a further five months of study would be devoted to it if, after the month ,he wished to continue .
We discussed the element of patience to carry out this type of study ,I told him patience is already within you ,the methodology if followed and paid closer attention to will slow release ,its a slow release system ,which will help to relieve this type of sanchin test .

Later on that month he was to carry on ,I said you don't have to continue " you can give in now ,its your choice " he said "no I can do this " to me these are the magic starting words of commitment for what is to come .

[maxwell ainley]

A important aspect of daily training is resting up ,if you are doing say 2hrs worth of input in to your thing ,plus a decent diet to back up your increased workload .

In the 80s I was working in a three and one gang ,we built ,one year 45 bungalows plus a handfull of ajacent garages 5days a week, weekend jobs now and then too ,in the 90s a lot of the time it was seven days working ,to pay for my dojo etc, plus build it ,then train .

Mostly in my life of training at home there as always been kids running around ,so dealing with em inbetween as been part and parcel of a day .

[maxwell ainley]

Staying with rest ,inbetween training .

First of all , it will be quite difficult to attain a good level of rest if we are not happy with our lot to a reasonable degree .So we will sooner or later feel the effects of this when training daily ,boredom also is a negative state ,and drags us down during so called rest periods .
I have tried to simplify things a bit ,obviously there is much more to rest ,all I am dealing with is obvious aspects ,ok I sleep like a log but I am stressed out through the day ,which undermines my idea of rest,but do I have to live this way ?thats the way I am.

[maxwell ainley]

I find this daily training tiring ,but paradoxically after a workout a lot of daily stress as just fell away ,the stress thats me ,yet next morning say around thurs I drag myself out of bed ,I will have to knock my morning 1hr workout in the head .I need more rest ,I pedal a mile to work ,but going up park hill I get of to walk my legs are like jelly ,on way to meet works van .The driver would not come the mile of route , I gradully learn to relax on way in Van ,I go into stand by mode just ticking over ,knowing we are on a price at work and our target was high ,I knew a good couple of hrs would be needed of rest before training at seven in the evening ,our target of 1500 power thrusts was the norm ,fri was short 6 while 8 so we got to town fri night out .