Goal-oriented training

I’ve alluded to the importance of training with goals in mind before, but what sort of goals should martial artists set for themselves? Some common long-term goals are to get fit, to learn practical self-defense, to win medals in tournaments, or to earn jo gow (black belt) rank. The problem with all of these, and many other common goals, is that they’re vague (how do you define ‘fit’ or ‘practical self-defense’?) and long-term (it takes months or years to achieve most of these).

In order to stay motivated and keep your training focused, I believe that goals should be well-defined, attainable, and short-term - meaning that with dedicated training you should be able to reach your goals within about 3 months.

Your goals will vary depending on your experience level, your reasons for training, and your ambition. The important thing is that you think about it, define some goals, and write them down! I’d also recommend sharing your goals with Sifu, your instructors, or your training brothers/sisters. By putting it out there, you’ll be held accountable by others and you’ll benefit from their tips and encouragement along the way.

Some goals for new students might be to be able to complete 3 sets of 16 tiger rolling push-ups (part of our daily warm-up), to get a solid understanding of the basic stances in Hung Ga, or to sit in a solid horse stance for 3 minutes. Once these goals are met, more advanced goals are in order - complete the first form we teach (Gung Ji Kuen), try to sit in a deep horse stance for 5 minutes, or knock out 30 tiger rolling push-ups in one set.

Remember: these goals should be challenging, but not impossible. People who’s goals are too lofty or too vague often fizzle out and quit. They feel like they weren’t making progress, when they were actually just demanding too much too soon and not training with purpose.

It’s also important to note that just because you set some realistic goals for yourself doesn’t guarantee that you’ll hit them every time. If you can’t meet the benchmark you set for yourself in the 3 month time frame, don’t get frustrated - reevaluate and keep trying. There’s a great quote about persistence from Elihu Root: “Men do not fail; they stop trying.” Maybe your goal needs to be adjusted or maybe your training needs to be adjusted, but keep trying!

What are some of your training goals? Tweet @yeeshungga for further discussion.