I’ve lost count the number of times people have said to me; “How come you’re good at….?, “How come you can do….? or “I’ve been practicing, doing, trying….for years and I can’t…” The simple answer is: you haven’t been working hard enough! That means you haven’t been approaching your ‘task’ with the right attitude. If you put mediocre effort into something you don’t get mediocre results. You get poor results. Put poor effort in and you get no results. If you put exceptional effort in you get great results. This is where most sports people, artists etc. stop. If you can go that extra mile it is only then you become one of the greats like Ali, Bruce Lee, Einstein, Edison, Branson. You become part of the 1% of the population. As the saying goes; “Go the extra mile, the road is quiet.” That extra mile could be just one more rep in your weight-training, another lap of the track or pool, another round on the bag.
Most people quit at the first sign of discomfort. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in the body-building documentary ‘Pumping Iron’ “The people who can go through the pain barrier may get to become a champion. But the people who don’t, forget it!”
You must approach your training with the correct attitude. Don’t fool yourself. You’re wasting time. Remember ‘Time’? One of the best ways to do this is to ask yourself two questions. And, of course, answer them honestly. Number one; “What is it that I really want?” Number two; “Why do I want it?”
If the answer to number one is ‘I want to be world champion.’ And the answer to number two doesn’t get your motor running, then you need to review question one again.
If you have a big enough ‘Why?’ You will find the ‘How?’
This is one of, if not the, best formulas for success in every area of your life.
When you answer the question, ‘Why do I want….?’ The answers you give are your values. What things are most important in your life. The things that give your life a sense of meaning. If you only used achieving goals as a measure of success in your life, you’re going to spend a helluva long time feeling like a failure. Whereas if you focus solely on living your values every day you are more likely to achieve your goals as well as enjoy your life at the same time.
If, for example, you wanted to be a rockstar and you have values like; security, peace of mind etc. There’s definitely going to be a clash somewhere. Do you think you’d be happy, even if you got a number one hit? Would you, then, be a success?
Maybe one of the reasons you aren’t enjoying your training or life is that you aren’t satisfying your values. Change your art, sport, career. Or, find a better ‘Why?’
There’s a saying; “Attitude determines altitude.”If you are pursuing your values you will attack your training and your life with the correct attitude.
Paul Smith.
Great article. I really enjoyed it and took lots away from it. Yet again it applies to all aspects of my life, not just my Kung Fu. I imagine any sports person or business person can take something away from this.
Had to read this a few times to absorb all of it. A rich piece of prose. Very true of all aspects of life, not just sports. As it says Sports and life ar so intertwined.
I got the feeling that this was directed at me, which goes to prove the quality of the article and how it can hit home on a personal level to anyone reading it.
Got it sitting on my desk and read it every morning before i start anything.
Attitude determines altitude..great quote!
Hey Paul,
Great to see you’ve got a blog on the go. Appreciating the, mental, fitness posts. Any chance of a rundown of your favoured wing chun solo training? Would you place emphasis on the forms or drills or just flat out punching and kicking or do you have any tips in general. My inherent laziness usually puts wing chun training above general fitness.
Thanks Gary.
My favourite solo training really depends on what’s available to me. For example, if I have access to a gym with a punchbag I prefer to work on that more than anything else. You just can’t beat hitting something. I start with some freestyle bag work, similar to what a boxer might do, but only using Wing chun techniques; elbows, knees as well. Next I do turning punches. I swing the bag out and hit it on it’s return. That gives me more resistance to work against. I then chase the bag. Still using turning punches. There is an example of that on my DVD of the first form. Heavy bag work is a great way to improve your fitness and rid yourself of stress.
Forms or drills? For developing your skill you just can’t beat drills. Regardles of which sport or art you do you can come up with some drills that will take your skill to a new level. Drills are alive. With the right training partner with the same attitude towards their training as yourself, you can really mix it up whilst still maintaining good technique. Remember the way you train is the way you react. Train hard, fast and with a bit of realism and you will fight in exactly the same way. Forms are great for perfecting your technique. There’s no one else involved to get in your way so you can really concentrate on form. Forms are also a great way to finish your workout. It can help your body cool down and calm your mind after all the violence of the bag and drill training.
Hope this answers your questions mate and helps you in your own training.
Regards,
Paul.
Cheers Paul,
I’ve not got access to a bag but some pads on the dummy should be enough to help me build up a sweat in the mean time. It’s been in the living room for going on three months now and the other half still hasn’t demanded it be moved, let the good times roll.
Can’t really grumble about training partners as I’ve been doing a bit of training with Brian recently.