1.  Be open-minded

Learning a martial art is interesting.  There’s a lot involved.  Every move has a fine point, every task has a meaning.  Your instructor may be demanding, but he will provide you with all the necessary tools to become a real martial artist.

The key to learning is being open-minded.  A martial art is unlike anything you’ve ever learned before.  Have you ever learned, for instance, how to punch the right way?  Have you ever learned how to breathe so you can find more energy inside yourself?  Ever done an aerobic workout that actually has a purpose behind it?

Doing one hundred blocks builds stamina and skill; they may also provide you with a good defense to an attack.  Learning escapes to various grabs is interesting; they may also save your life.  Doing a kata builds up endurance; it may also give you a fighting chance in a physical altercation.  None of this works, though, if you are not open to believing in the system.

Many people question, when they first start, “will this really work?”  My response is always the same…it will work if you believe it will work.  

If you fight against the very thing you are trying to learn, then your mind is closed.  You will never find the truth behind your style or embrace the graceful tradition it has to offer if you don’t believe.

Like a saying I noticed on a plaque once, you must leave your negativity and disbelief behind.

All who enter here, believe.

2.  Give 100%

Perhaps there are times in your life when you have taken a class, but did not put forth your very best effort.  You probably got a “C” grade unless you were lucky!  When you learn anything, you get back what you put into it, and learning a martial art is no different.

When I first started martial arts 26 years ago, I was a little hesitant at first.  It was the first time in my life, though, when I really wanted to excel.  Doing just okay was not an option for me.  I wanted to learn everything, from the way to hold my hands for certain blocks, to finding power in my kicks.  I wanted my attention stance to look as good as any active stance.  I wanted to channel my focus and find an inner strength.  I was in 100%.

Don’t get me wrong.  100% effort does not mean you will get things right the first time.  It does not mean you will understand.  It does not mean you will not be corrected 100 times over.

What it does mean is that you are ready to learn.  You enter your class with one goal and that is to be the best you can be and to learn from your mistakes.  You will receive constructive criticism and praise in the same sentence sometimes.  It means that your 100% effort is noticed and appreciated.

Whether you want to get a black belt someday or you just want some good, solid martial arts experience, you will earn none of that if you do not give 100% effort.

3.  Listen and Do

As an adult, I bet you hate listening to others tell you what to do!  I agree.  Try my situation where my husband is also the main instructor of the classes I teach.  I have to listen to him!

A martial arts class is not about discussion and requires active listening.  In fact, if your Sensei is spending a lot of time talking, you may want to move on.  Too much talking is a sign that the instructor cares too much about himself.  Well, that’s my take on it.

Your class should be about practice, and the type of listening you should do is the kind where you hear a command or a description of a skill and then you apply it.  Try to leave questions and even discussion with your partner to a minimum. Ask for help if you need it, but keep it brief.  Class time is often the only time you can do some actual hands-on work.  Once you leave your dojo, it will be difficult to find a partner or a good time to practice.  Even though I teach five classes a week with my husband, we never have time to practice at home.

So, make a conscious effort to just listen and do.

4.  Don’t give up

What am I doing here?

I would be lying if I said there were not moments in my martial arts career when I did not ask myself that very question. There comes a time when all the things you have been learning suddenly seem very difficult and you become frustrated. Believe me when I say that it’s meant to feel this way.  A martial art tests a lot more than just your physical skill.  It tests your mental perseverance.  This is why black belts are viewed as elite martial artists by others.  People know and understand the self-discipline and self-truth that must be mastered in order to get to that level.

This is the very moment when you must decide if you are a martial artist or not.  This is the moment when you either rise up to the challenge, or give up.  These are your only two options.

I dislike being given only two options.  When that happens, I know that I must choose the right one.  It’s like good and bad or yes and no.  It truly seems there is only one right answer.

Start and finish.  Begin and end.  Once you accept your journey, make it worthwhile.  Do anything you want except one thing.  Don’t give up.

5.  Do it for you

No one can force you to take a martial art.  No one can make you like it.  Although my husband dragged me to my first class, after that I was hooked because I actually liked it.  Even on the nights when he could not go, I still went to the dojo.  I realized that it was really the perfect opportunity for me to grow as a person.  It was a time that I could release all my fears and for once just try something new.  I forced myself to go a little bit outside the box of my quiet self to strive for creative power and personal enrichment.

You may walk into your first martial arts class and decide it’s not for you.  I always suggest trying it more than once, but if that is your strongest feeling, then move on.

I hate to say that there is a martial arts studio on almost every corner these days, but….there is a martial arts dojo on almost every corner these days!

Once you find the place that feels like home, where the instructor and students have a similar vision and goal as you, stay there.  Grow with the group of  like-minded martial artists and work your way through the belt levels with the help and support of others who are reaching for the same success.  A dojo is not just a place; it is a feeling.  The right feeling.

That’s when you know you are doing it for you.

The Basics

The basic steps of learning a martial art have little to do with the style you are pursuing.  Whether you will learn to spar, kick, or kung fu does not matter in the beginning.  If you don’t follow the five basics to learning a martial art that I’ve outlined here, then you are not ready.  There is nothing for you to learn until you wax on/wax off first.

The mind is amazing.  It can as easily tell you that you can do something as it can tell you that you cannot.  Pick the right version.  Make the right choice.  Nothing good will come to you, whether in martial arts or in life, if you do not give 100%, believe in what you are learning, and believe in yourself.

I’m here to tell you that there is a martial artist inside of you, just waiting to find a home.  But, don’t do it for me.  Do it for you.

Ready, set, go… and Win at Life.