Have you ever gone on a martial arts vacation? Well, if you haven’t, it’s definitely something worth considering, especially if you wish to take your martial arts knowledge and skill to the next level. After all, you will get to immerse yourself in your favorite martial art and focus on improving.
Apart from getting better at executing techniques, there are some other things you’ll learn during your training vacation that will ultimately contribute to your growth as a martial artist and as a person. Here are 5 Lessons You’ll Learn From Your Martial Arts Vacation:
1) Failing is better than not trying at all
Multiple-time Muay Thai World Champion Sam-A Gaiyanghadao teaches at Evolve MMA.
How many times have you missed opportunities because you were afraid to try and fail? Well, if you continue to let your fear of failure paralyze you, then you will only end up taking yourself further away from your goals. Perhaps you might decide to try a new martial art or attend a higher level class at some point during your martial arts vacation.
Of course, you will have to start somewhere, and you’re bound to not be awesome right away. After all, you need time to make progress. Fortunately, even if you don’t do well that first time, you will learn that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger – and eventually turn your past failures into future success.
2) Comfort is the enemy of achievement
Muay Thai World Champion and ONE Superstar Sagetdao Petpayathai trains hard at the Evolve Fighters Program.
When you immerse in your martial arts training during your training vacation, you will definitely be exposed to many new techniques and combinations. As some of them might be a more advanced variation to what you know, you won’t feel comfortable executing them. However, you’ll notice that these are valuable moves that will take your game to the next level – if you nail down the techniques, of course.
Besides that, you’ll find yourself in various situations outside your comfort zone. The fact that you’re by yourself, training in another gym while on your vacation, could already be something that intimidates you. After all, you won’t have your usual training buddies around. However, this will ultimately help you grow, because the more sparring partners you have, the better you’ll get at adapting to different styles.
3) Nothing worth having comes easy
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu enables a small person to overcome bigger, stronger opponents.
It’s not every day you get to spend an entire stretch of time focusing purely on your favorite martial art. So it would not come as a surprise that during your martial arts vacation, you will be going beyond all kinds of limits – be it physical, emotional, or mental. In these fleeting moments, you will truly understand the value of hard work.
Also, when you interact with your instructors and peers during your training vacation, you will discover that most of their successes are due to hard work. After all, hard work without talent always beats talent without hard work. And there’s no shortcut to success, so you have to be willing to give it your all.
4) Progress is way more important than perfection
Being well rounded in BJJ means training both in the gi and no-gi.
As frustrating as it is to not be able to grasp techniques immediately, you’ll learn to appreciate the journey without rushing to the destination, during your training vacation. This is because the journey is ultimately what shapes you and helps you become not just a better martial artist, but also a better person. Hence, you will learn to celebrate all your victories – even the small ones, and enjoy every step of your martial arts adventure.
5) Your biggest competition is the person you see in the mirror
2x BJJ World Champion Teco Shinzato is a 4th degree black belt.
As much as we hate to admit it, we sometimes compare ourselves to others. Unfortunately, this only causes us to focus on our shortcomings and flaws. But if you think about it, everyone has their own set of weaknesses – it’s all a matter of whether we wish to turn them into strengths or not.
One of the greatest lessons you’ll learn on your martial arts vacation is that of continuous self-improvement. At the end of the day, the only person you should compete against is yourself – so as to someday become the best version of yourself, inside and outside the gym.
So tell us, are you ready to take your training and personal growth to greater heights?
