DON'T BE A MARTIAL ARTS DROPOUT!

By Lewis Greer
Black Belt / Feb. 1999

How many times have you brought up the subject of the martial arts and heard someone say, “Yeah, I used to take lessons a long time ago”? It seems like we all have a friend who used to train.

Why do so many people drop out, while others stick with it? It’s easy to say it’s because some people are quitters, while others finish what they start. But the answer is more complicated than that.

There are many reasons why students quit training. Most quit at the lower ranks because the less time they have invested in something, the easier it is to stop doing it. Some students approach martial arts training like dating. They want to get to know the art better, but it’s a relationship that must be developed over time. They aren’t ready to make a lifelong commitment this early, so they quit.

Others become impatient with their progress. They would like to earn a black belt in one year, but when they find that it’s going to take many years, they can’t handle it. Still others train in spurts. They go for a while and quit, then return for a while and quit again. They want to continue but can’t stay motivated.

Here are some tips to help you avoid becoming a martial arts dropout:

• Don’t be in a hurry. Pace yourself. The object is to stay motivated. Don’t allot more time than you feel comfortable allotting. If you take too much time away from your family, friends or schoolwork, you’ll lose their support.
• Practice when it won’t interfere with your family’s routine. Do it in the morning before others get up or in the evening before you go to bed. Practicing where it won’t bother others is also a good idea. Instead of the living room, try the patio, the garage or the back yard.
• Enjoy it. Yes, martial arts training is serious, but few students will continue to invest money and time in something that isn’t at least a little fun. If your school is so serious that you can’t enjoy training, quit the school but not the martial arts.
• If you begin to feel burned out, take a short break. Talk it over with your instructor first. If you take a family vacation, forget about the martial arts while you’re gone. You’ll return fresh and renewed. Be careful, though, because it’s easy to get lazy if you take too much time off.
• Make martial arts practice part of your normal routine. Then it’ll be easier to continue, and you’ll be less likely to quit.
• When you practice, mix it up a little. Do the forms or techniques you don’t enjoy first, then do some you do enjoy. Try to keep things interesting and fresh.
• Practice with someone who is enthusiastic. It will be more enjoyable, and his or her enthusiasm may rub off on you.
• Make sure you get enough rest. If you feel run down and tired, it will affect your attitude. It’s better to rest if you’re too tired to practice, then make it up when you’re rested. If you make yourself attend class when you’re too tired, you may start thinking about quitting.
• Don’t let personality conflicts interfere with your training. If you don’t like someone in class, stay away from that person as much as possible.
• Don’t compare yourself to your classmates. Learning is not a race. It’s better to know less but be good at what you do know than it is to know more and not be very good at any of it.

The most important thing in martial arts training is to keep motivated and not quit.

If competition keeps you motivated, compete. If setting goals keeps you going, set some achievable ones. Simply put, do whatever is necessary to avoid dropping out.