It doesn’t sound like a lot, however journaling your martial arts journey lets you attain your full potential.
Dedicating your self to martial arts usually means studying a number of methods weekly, drilling all the pieces you’ve discovered, and sparring with coaching companions. It’s difficult to maintain up with all the pieces. It’s simple to neglect issues whenever you’re continuously studying new methods and dealing your self to exhaustion.
Coaching journals are one of many coaching instruments elite martial artists like Jon “Bones” Jones credit score for his or her mastery. It empowers you to take management of your progress as you write your experiences on the dojo.
Why Journaling Isn’t Simply For Poets (Or Overachievers)
A coaching journal isn’t about writing Shakespearean sonnets about your experiences as a martial artist. It’s a sensible software that lets you keep in mind, mirror on, and refine the methods your instructors train you.
Research present that writing down targets and progress makes you extra prone to obtain them. A journal lets you spot patterns, have a good time wins, and troubleshoot your struggles earlier than they begin holding your progress again.
The aim of a coaching journal is to trace the drills, workouts, and methods your instructors clarify in school and course of your ideas in your journey. Discover you’re feeling terrific after performing a selected set of warmups throughout class? Write it down earlier than you neglect how good it made you’re feeling.
Your coaching journey will paint a transparent image of your strengths and weaknesses. You should use it to strategize the right way to deal with weaknesses and make your strengths a extra vital a part of your preventing type.
How To Begin A Martial Arts Coaching Journal: No Fancy Pens Required
Interested by journaling your experiences on the dojo? Right here’s the right way to get began:
Decide Your Medium: Notebooks, be aware apps, or platforms like Google Docs are glorious methods to trace your progress on the dojo. Every has its professionals and cons, so it comes all the way down to what works greatest for you.
Create A Routine: Spend 5 to 10 minutes journalling crucial issues that occurred throughout class. Begin with the fundamentals, just like the methods you discovered, the varied steps concerned when executing them, what you probably did properly when sparring, and what you struggled with. Additionally, write down any ideas your teacher gave you when drilling methods or sparring.
Observe Your Progress Like A Scientist
A few of the principal issues to log in when monitoring your coaching embrace:
1) Methods And Drills
Attempt to be as detailed as attainable when writing down the methods and drills you discovered throughout class. Your notes must be detailed sufficient for a 3rd occasion to study from them. Embrace particulars about any challenges you had performing the approach or when you suppose you’ve discovered a brand new favourite transfer.
The extra detailed your notes are, the simpler it will likely be to refine methods by reviewing them. As a substitute of writing one thing like “practiced boxing mixtures immediately,” write down one thing extra exact like “Drilled the jab–cross–hook–roll below combo immediately. The timing felt off on the roll—I saved getting tagged by my coaching accomplice.”
Being detailed makes it simpler to acknowledge patterns in your coaching. When you’ve got a number of notes about struggling to roll below punches, it’s most likely time to dedicate a portion of a coaching session to enhancing your mechanics whenever you duck below.
2) Wins And Studying Moments
Some coaching classes are extra productive than others, so it’s important to have a good time your small victories. You lastly made somebody with a better belt rank than you faucet out? That’s price a small celebration in your journal. Write down the belongings you imagine led to a distinct end result.
Carried out a way for the primary time whereas sparring? Give your self a pat on the again, and write down how you probably did it.
3) Objectives: Quick-Time period vs. Lengthy-Time period
Writing down your targets is a major a part of journaling your martial arts journey. Use the SMART method by setting particular, measurable, achievable, related, and time-bound targets. You need to have a good stability of lengthy and short-term targets. Evaluation your targets each month and regulate them as wanted.
Constructing Resilience: When The Mat Bites Again
Holding a martial arts journal helps to make you extra resilient by recognizing emotional patterns and reframing setbacks. For instance, when you discover fatigue takes away out of your focus throughout sparring classes, write it down and take steps to repair the issue, like consuming extra carbohydrates earlier than coaching.
As a substitute of sulking after getting tapped out extra occasions than you possibly can depend throughout coaching, write it down and description the modifications you’ll make to enhance. Writing about failures lets you detach emotionally and problem-solve objectively.
For instance, after a tough BJJ class, you possibly can write down one thing like this: “Received caught in aspect management once more. Deal with framing earlier, establishing underhooks, and shrimping like my life relies on subsequent time or sliding to take their again.”
The Development Mindset: As a result of Bruce Lee Stated So
Bruce Lee, a real icon in martial arts, reminds us of the significance of continually studying and evolving.
Bruce Lee famously mentioned, “Take in what is helpful, discard what shouldn’t be.” Your coaching journal helps you to determine what’s helpful.
You prepare your mind to concentrate on progress, not perfection, each time you write. Nailed a sweep throughout class? Now you have got proof you’re enhancing.
Suggestions To Maintain Your Journal Alive
Add Visuals: Stick pictures of your favourite martial artists or methods on the primary few pages of your journal for motivation. Add a photograph of your self throughout your first week of coaching and each few months after to trace the impression coaching has had in your physique.
Add Time References: Observe how lengthy coaching classes and sparring matches final and the way you felt to trace enhancements to your conditioning.
Observe Vital Metrics: Take your coaching journal to the subsequent stage by monitoring your coronary heart fee after coaching, how a lot sleep you’re getting, and what you’re consuming.
Evaluation Weekly: Scan by outdated entries in your journal each week. You’ll be stunned by how far you’ve come, and also you’ll refresh your reminiscence of the methods you discovered in the course of the week.
Your Journal Awaits
Your coaching journal turns random classes right into a roadmap that takes you the place you wish to be as a martial artist. Seize a pocket book or smartphone and begin writing about your coaching experiences. You’ll be a a lot better martial artist due to it!
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