Karate tips for everybody

1. Listen to your instructors

When your instructors are teaching stay focused. We understand that this can be difficult for adults after a long, hard days work. Try to pay attention to what they are saying, what they are doing, and how they are doing it. Your instructor wants you to be your best and they are there to help you. A small correction or change in technique now, can make a huge difference later. As for kids, karate is a great medium to learn to listen and follow instructions.

2. Play with your techniques outside training

You can always be practicing the techniques you’re learning while working towards your 10,000 reps. You just need to be creative. Here are a couple of examples; use a punch to turn off a light, a kick to close a door (gently), and a choke to hold on your shopping. The possibilities are endless.

3. Be Consistent with technique 

When you perform a technique do it the same way every time, and do it to the best of your abilities. If you make a mistake don’t focus on it and beat yourself up. Instead, correct it immediately and get straight back into your training. Mistakes are there to help us learn.

Improve 1% everyday and try to make small improvements every day. This is a lot easier than trying to make big changes all the time. For example doing one more press up or one more round is a lot easier than doing ten, and a lot easier to achieve.

4. Set goals

How do you know when you’ve reached your destination if you don’t know where you are going? Most people don’t set well defined goals. For example they’ll say “I want to lose weight”, but how much weight and by when? A better goal would be “I want to lose 10 kgs in 10 weeks”. Now weigh yourself and you will know where are starting from, where you are going and when you need to get there by. By doing this you will be much more likely to reach your goal as your targets are clearly defined.

5. Diet

Diet is on of the most important and overlooked aspects of training. A good diet will help you reach your goals faster and help you get in shape quicker. 

Here’s a few quick guidelines;

– Drink plenty of water. A good estimate is about 1 litre of water per 20kg of body weight.

– Eat mostly fruit and vegetables.

– Avoid processed foods. One of my favourite quotes is “If it doesn’t live in a field or in the sea, grown in the ground or on trees don’t eat it.” 

– Above all remember to have everything in moderation.

6. Mindset

Training in martial arts is often described like being on a roll-a-coaster. Some days everything will go perfectly. Your techniques will be flawless, you’ll have infinite cardio, and you’ll be able to read your training partners like a book. Other days it’ll seem like nothing is going right. Every technique goes wrong, your conditioning is off, and your training partners are owning you. This is all part of the normal learning and growing experience. Learn to enjoy the bad times because tomorrow will be your day.

7. Extra strength & conditioning

Martial Arts is a great way to develop fitness and lose weight. However, if you do a little extra work with your strength and conditioning you will be able to progress a lot quicker and reach your goals faster. They are hundreds of tools and programmes out there that can be used, and can take as little as 15 mins extra before or after class.

Follow these steps and you will be well on your way to not only improving your karate but also yourself in all aspects of your life.