Do you know what you are training?

I have a couple of weeks off work so I am really trying to get my self Healthy, no Booze, walking everyday and watching my food intake, I fasted all day yesterday and I intend to go without food until tomorrow morning {I do this on at least one Day most weekends if I am not working, it increases the bodies production of H.G.H.} with just Water, some of it flavoured with Coffee Beans. It is a lovely Day out there so I extended my Walk to 6km, with it being Sunday there was of course plenty of "Joggers" to keep me company, thump, thump, pant pant, wheeze, wheeze they go as they limp past me, most looking in some kind of Pain.

This made me think of something I have spoken of before, and it crosses borders so it is relevant to our Wing Chun Training,

1.  Do People really know why they are training the way they train?

2.  Do they know what they hope to achieve by doing these things?

3.  Do they think that what they are doing is actually achieving their objective?

4.  Is there a better way to get the same result?

5.  Are they just following someones Bullshit?

I know a few "Joggers" so I have asked them before "Why do you do it, why do you Jog"? The usual stock answer is for some sort of Health reason, to which I point out that "Jogging" damages your Ankles, ruins your Knees and creates life long Back Problems so I cannot see how it is any way related to the pursuit of Health.

Then there are the ones that say it is for "Fitness", "Cardio" or "Weight Control", well sure you will get a little bit of these from "Jogging" but not very much, if we take my 6km Walk, more Kilojoules are burned by walking it than by running it, it simply takes more energy to move something that is still than it does to keep something moving, I am sure that at some time or another we have all pushed a stalled Car, it gets easier as momentum kicks in, so does running over walking, running is more about using strength than energy.  As for Cardio if you rode a bike for the 6km you would take your heart beat count higher and keep it there longer so get a much better Cardio workout, so "Jogging" really does not help them achieve their objective and neither is it the best way to reach these Goals. But if you try to tell them they become all Tribal and their little Ego's refuse to contemplate any other options.

Interestingly enough I know a couple of Runners, who Run as a Sport, Cross Country, Half Marathons and such, a large part of their training does not include Running, they do Pilates and Swim for suppleness, they do weight training for Strength, they ride Bikes for Cardio and Endurance, all of these regimes are aimed at helping them become better Runners, because they Run for Fun.

When I ask "Joggers" what got them started, who's advice are they following, most do not even know, they mumble something about "Sixty Minutes", "The Internet" or some skinny chick I  know Jogs so it must be good. Some follow the advice of Guru's in Magazines, no one appears to be working with any sort of qualified Trainer / Instructor.

All training needs to follow the same approach, Football, Swimming, Wing Chun, Playing Guitar, training is a method even if the content is varied.  Training is a "Means to an End" and not an End in itself.  Understand what it is that this training will show you, then understand the training, and then understand how to use it.

As an Instructor I benefit greatly by watching Students do things incorrectly, I then try to make sure that I am not making the same mistakes, usually I am, usually we all are, but some peoples Ego's make it impossible for them to see themselves as they see others, especially "Junior Others", so it helps to look at things we do not do, like "Jogging", and ask ourselves the same questions that I have asked the "Joggers".

1.  Why do you do the Form / Chi Sau / whatever  the way you do?

2.  Do you know what you hope to achieve by doing these things this way?

3.  Do you think that what you are doing is actually achieving your objective?

4.  Is there a better way to get the same result?

5.  Are you just following someone's misunderstanding?



By the way if you answer "Yes" to question 3, which by default answers "No" to question 4, then you are more than likely beyond help.