All the motivation

The other day, we were out shopping at the local supermarket. My wife and daughter were walking behind me. I couldn't really hear much of their conversation properly. What I did manage to catch, though, was my 10 year old daughter telling my wife that I, her Daddy, protected her.

I've never been much of a physical specimen. Health and fitness has never really been that important to me. Most of all, I'm definitely no fighter - I have no competitive drive or killer instinct at all.

Hearing that from her, though. That's made me want to train my strength and fighting ability like never before.

There's no greater motivation than family, I guess.

Be careful what you wish for....

Pre-pandemic, if you'd asked me what I needed in order to be able to get my #baguazhang training on track, without hesitation my response would have been an emphatic "more time at home". Now that I actually work from home and have regained the lost commuting hours back into my day, though, I find it harder than ever to work up the enthusiasm to practice. Spending all day indoors, with our lovely comfy sofa within arms reach and all the food, drink and spectator-fodder (internet, films, etc) that I can handle has sounded the death-knell for my productivity.

It's really hard to volunteer to do difficult things when so many pleasant easy things are within reach. At least when I went to work, I was out of the house for maybe 10+ hours a day. Going for a walk, hitting the gym or practicing (outside) just meant maybe 30 extra minutes of my day away from home. No biggie.

There are methods for overcoming laziness, of course...

Now, working myself up to any level of activity is a gargantuan task in and of itself. What I'm hoping, though, is that by sharing methods of shaking off the laziness on here might help me to overcome my self-imposed lethargy.

Watch this space!

Written notes addendum & Tips on motivation

So, I am now keeping semi-regular notes regarding my baguazhang training. Although, over time, these have evolved a little. Now they are less about codifying my knowledge and more about keeping a log of when I've been able to practice, what exercises were harder/easier/effective and other such things. This helps me a little as I struggle with motivation at times.

However, having researched a little on the subject of motivation - especially as it pertains to fitness - I think I have come up with a few tips and/or exercise related motivational hacks.

First of all, I need to do all I can to prevent my subconscious from being able to justify giving up. What I mean by this is, whenever I set myself goals, I always seem to unwittingly include clauses that allow my lazier side to throw in the towel fairly early on.

For example, a common goal I've set myself for more new year's resolutions than I care to mention is:

"Practice bagua at least five times a week"
The problem with this is, it already contains the seeds of its own demise. What happens when, for whatever reason, I'm only able to practice three times in a particular week? Well, that is an opportunity for my lazy subconscious to say, "Well, you've screwed up your goal now, might as well jack it all in!". Putting a time factor in like that is a bad idea. When we see stuff on TV or in health-based media about "Training every day" or "Hitting the gym at least five times a week", it's usually just intended to set you up to fail. When you fail, you start feeling bad about yourself. When you feel bad, you want to buy things to make you feel better about yourself - whether this is a new set of weights, £200 running shoes, a gym membership, or whatever. A happy person doesn't consume as much, so they don't feel as compelled to buy the product that is being offered.

These time-based goals are usually promoted by either fitness coaches or celebrities. What they're not telling you is that those kinds of goals are perfect - for them. They don't have a 9-5 job which takes precedence over their lives every single day. Once they've done a few errands, they pretty much have the rest of the day to themselves. So they have at least a couple of hours in which to comfortably fit some exercise. Most of the rest of us don't have that luxury.

Rather than setting time-based goals, how about removing any time factor from the goals all together?

1). Run a total of 100km 2). Practice martial arts over ten different days 3). Complete a total of 1,000 reps of any one exercise

This way, if my goal is to train over 10 different days, failing to train one or more days doesn't impact my goal - it only means it will take a little longer to achieve. Maybe I am enthusiastic to start and manage three days running? Great! But then, real life does what it often does and throws a spanner in the works. Maybe I get flu? Or family issues take my attention away? I can't train for two days because of this. No problem. When I come back to training, I'm still 30% of the way toward my goal, just as I was before.

Once I achieve the goal, then I set myself another one. Maybe bigger this time. Train over 25 different days or Run a total of 200km. Or, maybe, I just want to keep it simple and keep resetting that goal to the same thin. Train over ten days. Then another ten. Then another.

We're all gonna fail at some time. Real life gets in the way sometimes. That's just the way of things. But there's no need to make it a deal-breaker.

What's important to me?

Its kind of a weird feeling when you're doing some impromptu jiben shou fa (basic hand movements) at 11:45pm of an evening, cos you just realised you haven't done any baguazhang so far that day.

That was me last night before retiring to bed. It's weird when I try to understand what it was that motivated me to do that. Is doing bagua every day so important to me now? Is it more about self-knowledge - knowing that missing one day by accident will give me more of an excuse to miss other days by design later on?

Maybe even I am getting some kind of perverse delight in selected parts of my body aching throughout the day?

Recording it makes it seem more real...

I've set up an impromptu training log on Twitter to record my practice. The twitter account is called "Eating Bitter" (see what I did there?) Hopefully, this will motivate me and give me something to refer back to when I need to feel that I'm actually achieving something. You know how you train and train and train yet don't seem to be getting any better? Well, this is meant to remind me of the hours(!?) I'm putting in.

Additionally, it will free this blog up to be more of a place for commentary about the martial arts world and/or my musings about how hard it is to get motivated/fit training into a busy, modern lifestyle.

Keeping naturally fit & "alternative exercise"

Article excerpts taken from:
http://www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk/health-and-beauty/fitness/hate-the-gym-10-alternative-ways-to-get-fit-in-manchester



While pondering my own fitness story, my mind returned to that old bugbear, motivation, yet again. As I often tell my friends and fellow mid-lifers, gym membership doesn't automatically bestow fitness and a gym isn't a requirement in order to exercise.

I am a big fan of the idea of keeping 'naturally fit'. That is my term for not really scheduling any exercise routines, but instead having an active lifestyle. Whether that be running around with the kids, working hard in the garden or simply going on long walks and taking the stairs rather than the lift.

Having said that, without any exercise time specifically scheduled, it is easy to descend into laziness. That goes double for martial arts training. But perhaps there is a halfway house? The article I read included a number of examples of 'alternative fitness classes'. Different ways to crowbar some exercise into your week. Hopefully, the novelty will result in regular attendance, unlike boring old gyms with their bland decor, bouncy pop music and vacuous clientele.





Hate The Gym? Here's 10 Alternative Ways To Get Fit In Manchester

Between twerking and quidditch, the budding fitness freak need never step foot in a gym again

HOW’s the gym going? Good? Not so good? Have you actually stepped foot in the place yet? It’s okay, no matter how far along you are in your fitness journey, there’s always more to life than the gym. Although, that’s not to say staying active isn’t important. You won’t be getting away with sofa-slothing that easily.

The NHS urges adults to do at least two types of physical activity per week - up to 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity and strength training at the very least - to maintain good health. It has to be done. Gym or no gym.

But away from the monotony of treadmills, cross trainers and spin bikes, there's a whole world of physical activity to be enjoyed and not just endured.

So here's a list of alternative fitness classes to try in Manchester (and yes, twerking qualifies as a fitness class):



BEAR GRYLLS ADVENTURE COURSE

Launched in early 2017, Britain’s most fearless explorer and ultimate Boy Scout will be uniting with Oxygen Freejumping Trampoline Park in Manchester to create a unique indoor fitness programme based on his tried and tested survival techniques (without any of the death-defying stunts or having to drink wee, thankfully). Grylls says the high-intensity adventure course will be ‘very dynamic’. Currently being built in the Trafford Park trampoline studios, it will have up to four lanes per course, varying in difficulty - allowing people to challenge themselves and work up to progressively harder obstacles.

Oxygen Freejumping Trampoline Park, Manchester - £6.75 - £9


HULA-HOOPING

Ah, hula-hooping. A fond memory from primary school days. At ten years old, it was a fiercely competitive sport. "Oh, you can hoop two at a time? Well, watch me swing ten hoops around my neck". Very fun, and no need to give it up now we’re adults. Part dance class, part nostalgic fun, the Dancehouse runs a hula-hooping class (or ‘hooping’ as the kids call it) as a great alternative to aerobics. The class teaches you new tricks (ones to get out at the office party, maybe?) and choreography for a range of skill levels. With much practice, you could even get into the hooping biz’. "Some former students are now professional hoop performers," say the Dancehouse, "often hooping with LED or fire." Maybe we’ll just try getting the hoop to stay up first…

Hula-Hoop, 10A Oxford Road, Manchester, M1 5QA - £5



CIRCUS SKILLS

While those bendy folks at Cirque Du Soleil make their death-defying tricks look effortless, it most certainly doesn’t look easy. It doesn’t stop us fantasising about dangling from a trapeze while a mesmerised crowd looks on, though. But let’s start small. The Circus House in Longsight offers acrobatics, tumbling, Chinese pole, trapeze classes and more for those wanting to stay active while learning thrilling tricks. Tumbling – cartwheels, somersaults and acrobatics – is a great way to build strength and stamina, while the trapeze is a challenging way to build upper body and core strength.

The Circus House, Unit 41, Longsight Business Park, Hamilton Road, M13 0PD - class prices vary



TWERKING CLASS

Don’t be fooled, bouncing your posterior up and down to a beat takes a lot of skill and physical endurance. It’s like doing 100 squats a second - well, that's how it feels. The highly provocative ass-shaking dance, seen everywhere from the dancehalls of the Caribbean to Nicki Minaj videos and drunk girls wiggling in front of DJ booths has encouraged a mainstream appreciation of the rear. Regular twerking can help you tone both your bum and thighs. Now, before you go shaking your bum like a pneumatic drill, there’s a technique to getting in right. Bodybarre is holding twerking classes, promising an active, body positive and liberating experience.

Twerking, 35-37 Thomas Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester, M4 1NA - £5



QUIDDITCH

In JK Rowling’s wizarding world, a game of quidditch would be equivalent to the FA World Cup; it’s a fiercely competitive sport consisting of broomsticks, lethal ‘bludgers’ and a flying golden snitch. Diehard fans of the books have encouraged Harry Potter’s favourite pastime to take off here in the world of muggles. OK yes, we know what you’re thinking: ‘we can’t fly’. Quidditch, for muggles, requires a regular house broom, a deflated volleyball and, we’re guessing, a lot of imagination. Across the UK, it’s taken as seriously and competitively as in the books, with a Quidditch Premier League now in the pipeline. Manchester University (although not yet in the league) has its own team - made up of eight keepers, chasers, beaters and seekers. Score points by getting the quaffle in the hoop, avoiding the bludgers and catching the all-important snitch. A mix-gender sport, it’s also open for non-students. The team train at Whitworth Park.

Manchester University Quidditch Club - more here



FOOTGOLF

Most would consider football and golf worlds apart in the land of sport. As you may have guessed, footgolf combines both disciplines. The hybrid sport, played over nine or eighteen holes, uses the power and brute force of football while applying the strategic accuracy of golf. The object of the game is to get the ball into the hole using only your feet in the fewest number of shots possible. What’s more, you don’t have to be a strapping twenty-something or member of a country club to play, as the sport is open to everyone.

Prestwich FootGolf, Hilton Lane, Prestwich, M25 9XB - £15



RABBLE

‘Stop exercising, start playing’ say Rabble. Bored of the treadmill? Us too. Rabble’s team created a series of immersive, adrenaline fuelled games designed to help you get fit while enjoying yourself. Dodgeball, British Bulldog, Capture the Flag and more legendary school playground games are to be expected at a Rabble session. Founded by an ex-triathalon athlete, Rabble focuses on fun first yet still boasts excellent fitness benefits; including an increase in speed, agility, coordination, strength and endurance. You could also burn up to 1000 calories in one game. Far better than powering through 50 burpees and wishing a meteor would end your misery.

Rabble, Didsbury Park - from £5 per game, book here



YIN B4 GIN YOGA

We’ve already shared our list of weird yoga classes in Manchester; gin yoga is by no means the weirdest one. Yet, depending on your stance it’s the class with the greatest rewards. If incentive is what you need to give exercise much more of a commitment, then this class gives you an incentive in a glass. At The Wonder Inn, you practice a Yang Vinyasa Flow yoga class before being treated to a cheeky G&T or green juice. The class aims to ‘rejuvenate the body and still the mind.’ Gin yoga is to return late January 2017.

Yin B4 Gin Yoga, The Wonder Inn, 29 Shudehill, Manchester, M4 2AF - £10



POLE DANCING
No need to source the nipple tassels, pole dancing has long left the confines of the strip and gentlemen clubs, and is now seen as a fun and legitimate form of exercise. And, of course, it still can be extremely sexy. Using a great deal of upper body and core strength, pole dancing requires both agility and flexibility – and, if you do it to a sexy tune, you’ll need rhythm too. Both liberating and physically challenging, pole dancing is a great way to tone up. Find classes throughout Manchester including Bodybarre or Pole Tastic at Airborne Studios, both based in the Northern Quarter, or at Polefire near Salford Central station.

Various locations




TRAMPOLINING
You’re boundless, airborne and feeling like a featherweight - trampolining is certainly a freeing exercise, pure unbridled fun. And, in recent years, it appears we’ve become particularly hooked on bouncing around, because Manchester now boasts three purpose-built trampolining parks, where you can pretend you’re Simone Biles leaping for Olympic Gold. For more structured jumping, Trafford Park’s Jump Nation offers a wide range of fitness classes: from high-intensity interval training to Jump Camp, a boot camp style trampolining class. Trampolines can help burn much more calories than jogging, with up to 1000 calories burned in an hour’s session.

Jump Nation, Trafford Park, Textilose Road, Stretford, M17 1WA - £8.95 adult classes






The first Google search I did for 'alternative fitness classes' gave me 'alternative fitness classes IN LONDON'. Clearly Google has no sense of the north-south divide here in the UK. Hence I took the liberty of limiting the search to such classes in the Greater Manchester area. This is not to say that similar things aren't available in other areas, but I felt that a more local focus would be beneficial (for me, at least).

After the whole regional thing, the next thing that sprang to my attention was how very fad-dy most of these are. Can't imagine many people will be playing Quidditch in 10 years' time. Not to mention 'twerking'! That said, it is novelty that we are looking for in this. The novelty will bolster enthusiasm and get people off their sofas when otherwise they'd be worshipping at the altar of Netflix. Even if you have to change your chosen exercise activity as one set of fads dies out and another grows to prominence. That might well prove a benefit for overall fitness in the long-run.

Still think I'll stick with Bagua, though. ;)

Combatting apathy and keeping on that training regime

“there is nothing outside of yourself that can ever enable you to get better, stronger, richer, quicker, or smarter. Everything is within. Everything exists. Seek nothing outside of yourself.”
― Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings


I have many fine character traits that have served me well over the years and, gods willing, that will help me for a good few years to come. I'm pretty clever, good natured and calm. I flatter myself that I am a good father to my daughter and I try to be a good husband to my wife.

However, I do have a major, recurring fault. Laziness. When that monkey mind of mine starts its mischief and tries to convince me to sit my arse on the sofa all night, I rarely put up much of a fight. That makes improving my martial arts really difficult. Daily training is hampered when reclining with a hot drink and some snacks in front of the telly feels just so damnably good.

I've tried reading a few sites for inspiration. Some are quite good, such as How-to-stay-motivated-in-your-martial-arts-and-fitness-training"



I’ve been training since 1976. The martial arts have been my profession and way of life since the early 1990s. During that time, I’ve often been asked how a person can stay motivated. How does a student get up every morning and jump into his or her training routine? How does a practitioner avoid becoming part of the majority, the people who give up before reaching their goal?

“Difficulties should act as a tonic. They should spur us to greater exertion.” — B.C. Forbes

If someone asks me what a martial artist ought to devote the most time to, I always say training. Train more than you sleep. I attribute my ability to keep on training, decade after decade, to Mister Mo.

Mister Mo is motivation. Mister Mo means no retreat, no surrender — no retreat from hard work, no surrender to laziness or sloppy form.

Mister Mo should be the most important person in your life, even more so than your teacher or your classmates. It’s good to have an end to journey toward, but it’s the journey that matters in the end.

Mister Mo is the one who urges you to attend class when you’d rather stay home and watch television. He’s inside you when you do the extra kick, punch or takedown. He wipes the sweat from your eyes so you can crank out a dozen more reps of that technique that’s been so difficult. He keeps you training month after month, year after year. He drives you to face your physical and mental limitations. He forces you to confront laziness, failures and the fear of success. He makes you walk the endless path of the martial arts. He encourages you to push yourself to your limit and beyond. He helps you tune out the pain as you drive yourself to victory over yourself.

“A desire can overcome all objections and obstacles.” — Gunderson

Teachers can open the door, but you must enter by yourself. Avoiding pain might be the biggest motivational factor there is. Doing a proper technique to avoid a broken nose is an example of external motivation. Most people who train in the martial arts do so, at least initially, because they want to learn self-defense. They don’t want to get hurt if they’re attacked. For those who enjoy the sport aspects of the arts, external motivation may be the next tournament trophy. For some, it’s the next belt. A student will sometimes quit after reaching a particular rank. The belt was the goal. Once it’s earned, the student no longer has motivation. Mister Mo leaves the building.

Unlike external motivation, internal motivation is a more difficult concept to understand. Internal motivation is the desire to excel for the sake of pursuing excellence. Internal motivation means you’re competing against yourself, not others. It means you want to do as well as you can, regardless of how others do. Internally motivated students tend to persist in their training. While they’re satisfied with each promotion, they’re driven to succeed beyond rank or trophies. They train because they want to improve, not because they want to impress others. If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?

***

How can you stay motivated day in and day out?

• Search for that drive to succeed.

• Become mentally motivated. Mister Mo is in all of us. You can call on him at any time when things get tough.

• Don’t worry what others are doing. If you’re trying to surpass someone else, you’re limited to what that person has done. You must have no limits. Always strive for excellence.

• Set more challenging goals and record them in a journal or diary. Pick a time to review your goals and evaluate your progress. Then set new goals.

• Focus on your growth and development as a martial artist and as a person. Learn joyfully, then share joyfully. Daily improvement in every aspect of your life is the overall aim. Don’t just think positive; act positive.

• Be yourself, but be the best of yourself. And when you feel discouraged, don’t be afraid to call on Mister Mo.





Other, similarly titled pages are often considerably less so. None of them offer any real solutions.

I guess, really, there is no substitute for simply forcing yourself to do what you can - however begrudgingly and however little. Once results begin to show themselves, then the motivation should, I hope, become easier.

More obstacles to training

I could list for you the many things that have prevented my training as regularly as I'd want. There are plenty to choose from. Finally having moved house and having a new home to mould to our taste. Having a crazy, three year old daughter (soon to be 4 - on June 23rd!), the current disruption to the trains (a whole line being closed, causing the once hour long trip to class to be closer to two). However, really, it comes down to my attitude letting me down again. I need to refocus and make myself attend, no matter how awkward getting to class might actually be. Now I have a car, too, gives me even less excuse not to attend. Add to that the fact that we now have a crosstrainer and a heavy bag in our otherwise-unused garage, and I have very little reason not to train at home every evening either. The very thing I've been telling myself will be the key to improvement in my Baguazhang. So, after tonight (cos I am falling asleep while typing this) I am back to training every night and attending every class - no excuses. It is all too easy to let the excuses take over and keep you from your goals. I am taking control of myself again and redirecting my path away from laziness and a flabby gut.

More obstacles to training

Okay, so it has been ages since I attended baguazhang class. Other than the odd chance here and there to eat bitter, I have done very little in the way of training full stop. That said, the main reason for this lapse is that we are currently looking for a new home. This is taking up a lot of my time. I reconcile myself with the thought that, once we get moved, I will have a garden in which to practice and, hopefully, a spare room that can double as a baguazhang/yoga room (my wife does Iyengar yoga). So, in the long run, I am envisioning my bagua routine to improve by virtue of no longer being confined to a small apartment where I can only really practice jiben shou fa and a few, limited, lines and forms. Imagine having a whole garden to walk a proper circle in! :) So, watch this space and hopefully I will soon be coming to you with tales of extended practice sessions out in the summer heat.

IMA training vs Families - Motivation

I've been training Baguazhang for some time now and, probably akin to many other IMAists of my generation, I have also become a father within a similar timeframe.

Naturally, this causes a number of conflicts of interest.  Being a normal, well-balanced human, I place my family at the top of my list of priorities.  Yes, even above my baguazhang training.  Imagine that!?

Equally, though, I am a realist and won't kid myself that I can improve meaningfully relying only on what I glean from one two-hour lesson per week.  I accept that to keep in line with my ambition, I need to enshrine some daily practice into my routine.

However, having a family, my daily routine is pretty full already.  After a day at work and the associated commute, I want to spend whatever quality time I can with my fiancee and daughter.  Add to that the need to relax and de-stress from the hectic day and whatever domestic chores are required and very little time remains.

What I decided of late, though, is that my baguazhang training is important to me.  I want to improve and find myself a more capable martial artist within the next few years.  With that in mind, I have decided that my second priority will be my training.

If I have so little time, though, how will that help?  Family taking all my time (and justifiably so) will mean that my baguazhang will end up like the Mad Hatter's jam.  (Always tomorrow, never today).

Even with a busy lifestyle and pressing commitments, I still find there are many times in a given week when I am, essentially, 'wasting time'.  Playing around on the laptop, surfing on Facebook or playing pointless little games.  Slobbing on the sofa watching a tv programme I don't really care for.  All those times, rather than killing time with something that doesn't matter to me, I could have been practising my bagua.  Wasted time.

It will take quite some discipline, but I intend to stop myself from doing these wasteful tasks and practice my bagua instead.  This includes, horror of horrors, actually getting up an hour earlier than normal to do an extra hour of bagua in the mornings.  Again, that will take quite some discipline, but it is acheivable.

Eventually, I hope to get myself up to around 90 - 120 mins of bagua practice per day (probably with weekends off as we often end up going places where it isn't always convenient (or strictly polite) to engage in practice.