Martial Arts: Training Tips
By Njoli Brown
WHY TRAIN OUTDOORS? Because our parks, plazas, yards, forest areas provide all the tools. For many practitioners it can hearken back to another era when master instructors looked at their classes more as very personal mentorships, creating a family vibe and inspiring creativity in the methodology.
In urban and rural settings alike, footwork happens on hillsides, mulch, pavement, grass, up and down curbs and benches. Drills go on in the rain (and sometimes snow) and on the warmest of days. The sessions staying engaging as folks figure out how to make their practice relevant in all the terrains in which they spend their day-to-day.
There’s nothing here saying we don’t appreciate our indoor space for all the convenience it allows. But take another look before you write off a group that trains in the park. Often these groups are cost saving, student focused and have the flexibility to maintain small classes because they don’t have to concern themselves with matching the overhead it takes to rent an ongoing location. Are you looking for artifice or art? Take your training outdoors this summer.
Now, truth be told, I do hold a lot of more seemingly abstruse elements to be equally as important in the progression of studentship — empathy, mindfulness, dedication, compassion, fortitude, humility, etc. But here, I’d like to talk about the importance of the skills element of the pedagogy.
ial which, perhaps, none of us have fully deciphered. Material which could then truly be theirs to explore and investigate. In the martial practice everyone brings their own personhood and thus unlocks elements only accessible to them, elements revealed through work and diligence. These are all the spaces between wherein students often teach their instructors.
