Do you practice? Or do you train?

Welcome back folks and Happy New Year! I have to start off this year with a bang, and do a lot more blogging. Now I am just going to jump right in. Do you train or do you practice? Let me give my quick two definitions so we all understand each other. Practice is to do something at a recreational pace, something that you enjoy, but dont want to do as a vocation. Training means to practice said endeavor with a clear goal in mind. Some people jog every morning to stay in shape. That is good. That is practicing. Some people run because they are going to do a marathon. That means that they are doing interval runs, and running up hills and all of that stuff. They are training. I personally think that they are also crazy, but this is just me I guess. 26 miles is exactly why I own a car. But we can discuss that another time.

In martial arts some people go to class 2 times a week and enjoy it. They have friends there, and they get a good workout. There is nothing wrong with that. If they get belts and ranks, then that is just a by-product of regular attendance. Some people go to push themselves. Some want the challenge of higher rank. They want to kick harder, be faster, and have superb self-defense skills. They come 3 or 4 times a week. They sweat, bleed and read about martial arts, sports psychology, goal setting and the like. They know that they represent the modern day version of the samurai, and the Hwarang( look it up if you care to.) Now is one better than the other? Nope, they both have merit in today's world. But if you are really serious about your training, sit down and write your goals out. Then get up and look in the mirror. Are you training or are your practicing?