Self-Defense and Safety Tips:
Training For Your Focus - June 2003
Self-Defense Tips by Alain Burrese
Training
For Your Focus
When training in a
martial art, you must determine your goals for training. There are
different focuses with training, and the training for one does not necessarily
help with the other focuses, in fact, training for one focus can be so different
that it takes away from other focuses.
The four primary focuses that most people study a martial art for are: Self-defense, Sport, Exercise, Spiritual or Self-betterment. All of these are worthy of study, but they are quite different. While you may gain benefits in a different focus than your primary one, it is extremely difficult if not impossible to reach the peak of all four with the same training.
A most common misconception is that training for a sport competition is the same as training for self-defense, and that if you are good in one, you will be good in the other. This is just not so! Tournaments are completely different from actual fights, and often what is needed to win a trophy will actually be detrimental on the street. At the same time, training to actually defend yourself in a real altercation will not help you compete.
There is no "best" way to train, just as there is no "best" art. Each individual must realize that there are different ways to train, and different focuses to emphasize. Then, each individual must choose the art and focus to reach the goals that individual has for training. Martial arts have a lot to offer everyone. Determine what you want to get from your training, set realistic goals, and then work with your instructors to reach those goals. May your journey in the arts be a rewarding one.
Originally published in the Dec. 2002, Gold's Gym Martial Arts Newsletter
For more on these focuses, see Marc MacYoung's article elsewhere on this web site.