Don’t make the mistake of underestimating Martial Arts

Martial arts rooted its history from different places. Distinctive training techniques widely distributed around the world have their own styles, stories, and principles. Each martial arts technique may be based on the culture and lifestyle of its provenance. Furthermore, it is also linked with the different religious beliefs such as Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism and alike.

Training at the highest level requires many things. As a dedicated Martial Artist, we must strive to overcome as many of those obstacles as possible. Martial Arts in that respect imitates life. When you initially began any Martial Arts training program, it seems like an impossible feat. Every push-up feels like your last, every crunch feels like you can’t go on. It is the next push-up, the next sit-up that will separate you from everyone. It is that point where everyone else quits where you have the opportunity to excel. It is the point of no return!

Exercise gets your circulation going and floods your body with oxygen; this is why it is very important to do any long-term training outside (and one of the reasons I founded the long term martial arts training camps in Thailand and California). Are you spending more time in the gym on a treadmill killing your cells when you could be running outside at the park near the trees, by a lake or through a river?

Outer Space and why we need it

If fresh air is not enough to get you outside, consider the abundant amount of space that an outdoor training location can provide. Most of our martial art classes make use of a large park. Space is key for Martial Science students, as we like to have room for sparring and weapons training. Put 30 people in a room with a long staff and you will begin to understand the limitations of even a large dojo.

With a park setting, you have the best martial arts training center one could ask for. You have grass, which is a perfect natural martial arts training mat. You have of course fresh air in abundance without the risk of sharing old oxygen. You get an almost unlimited amount of space. You get room to run and warm up or play games that would be a challenge to do in a dojo. We play a sport called “Grapple Ball” that works best with more space.

Creating your own home dojo can get expensive, so you can either get creative and find things around your home to use, or you can start out slow and purchase training equipment as you can afford it. I have listed a few items that will help you to create a great home dojo to train in.

The first thing you will need is to find a good location to set up your home gym. Some great places to set up a gym would be a spare room in the house, a garage, your backyard, or in the basement if your home if you have one.

If the location you choose has a hard floor you will need to get some martial arts mats to train and stretch on. You will want to get some good mats so that you do not risk injury.

Another great item to have in your home dojo is a mirror. A full length mirror is a great tool to help you train and develop your skill. Having a mirror allows you to see if your are using the correct form.

The listed below are some of the equipment that I think are very important items to have to help you train.

Punching Bag, or Heavy Bag- They will help to improve your technique, speed and power for both punching and kicking.