White Belt Boredom

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White Belt Boredom

Postby green_thaddeus » Wed Oct 15, 2008 1:08 am

So as some of you may know, I recently settled for the Tae Kwon Do school here in town since there isn't anything better around here (not to knock Tae Kwon Do, overall it's great) but so far I've found it to be way to...fundamental. Maybe it's just because I spent a couple months doing solo training with the long fist book, but over all I feel like I'm going over and over things that I already know, and babied every step of the way. I know that you need to start somewhere, a strong foundation makes a great martial artist etc etc etc, but man, this is slow. Any one have any tips on overcoming this type of boredom in the early stages? I'm planning on picking up the Long Fist Fundamentals dvd and keep drilling on that, but any other tips would be great. You know, ways to...spice things up?
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Postby yat_chum » Wed Oct 15, 2008 3:46 am

I know times like these are hard and you will go through several periods like this as you progress with martial arts. Many years ago I trained in Tae Kwon Do and have trained in other Korean arts. When I was doing Wing Chun Kuen I used to spar a lot with a guy who used to practise TKD and Jujitsu and I could tell you some things that would spice up your TKD but I don't think your instructors will like me if I do. For now it would be best to work through it, discuss how you are feeling with your instructor, I'm sure they will find ways to help you.
Last edited by yat_chum on Wed Oct 22, 2008 1:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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use stillness to overcome movement
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Postby green_thaddeus » Tue Oct 21, 2008 11:47 pm

Well, looks like things actually are working them selves out naturally, and I should have just practiced a little more patience. Tonight at TKD I was told to do my pattern once, and when that went smoothly spent the rest of the evening working with the black belts on some new stuff, grabs, throws etc...and had a lot of fun doing so. Still getting the DVD, ordering it tonght. Kung Fu will always be that first love for me, and Yang style so far seems to be the...truest kung fu around. One day, maybe I'll move to Boston, but for now I guess I can be happy here. Thanks for all your good advice though...
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Postby Inga » Wed Oct 22, 2008 8:57 am

Kung fu translates "time and effort". It is hard work to do the repetitions to make your muscle memory sharp, your body strong and your mind keen and focused. It is what separates you from others, your ability to stick with the hard work, even when your progress seems to have plateaued, you are tired and bored, or you wonder if you will ever be any good at it. Not everyone can do it, they give up. If you want it, keep at it. You hold the key to your success, it comes from within. Yes, you need solid guidance and wisdom of more experienced martial artists, but you are responsible for taking these tools and working your hardest to improve. Time brings results. Master Yang teaches us to keep focused on our goals, to work hard, and in time when we look up and look around, we will see the progress we have made. Looking every five minutes makes the journey very slow indeed.
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Postby green_thaddeus » Thu Oct 23, 2008 1:02 am

Inga, that was great! In some ways it was all things that I know and tell myself, but at the same time it's really good to hear it from another person. Overall, I think that it was just a passing phase of restlessness. When it really comes down to it, I feel very much at home in the do-jang, the others in my classes are in some ways like brothers and sisters, and my instructor like a surrogate father figure. The open acceptance here really makes me feel at home, and I just have a couple more things to learn, then practice before I'm ready to test for my next belt. I think Mr. Jesse was just...making sure I had those fundimentals down before we moved on. Guess that he's the teacher for a reason huh? But yeah, that was great advice Inga, so thanks!
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