Hello all, wanting some help with this:
I'm 19, have dabbled in a couple of martial arts between 12-14, and really enjoyed it but became idle and lazy the further into being a teenager I got!Got to the point last year where I was 17st! (I'm 6'4, I wasnt FAT fat, just a bit flobby). I got fed up with it and over a couple of months lost 2st. I'm hovering around 15 1/2 st now, and am wanting to get fit/lose a bit more weight.

The problem comes in sticking. I went to a couple of sessions of Kapap, last year, enjoyed it but at the time couldn't really afford it and it wasnt fitness focused enough really..tried thai boxing, again enjoyed that, stuck for a month then never went back since...went to a couple of different jui jitsu training sessions, went to krav maga at the source once...joined a gym in november got stuck into some serious heavy weights and went for a couple of runs with a friend, could jog round dam flask like there was no tomorrow but only did it twice....lagged going to the gym and realised the other week I hadn't been for a month!

As you can see there is a pattern here!!!! My excuse was always money or the fact I smoked...but I managed to kick smoking over new year! And now I feel ready to commit my time to some sort of sporting endevour, preferably involving a good scrap (so not ruling rugby out!

I desperately want to get fit/built ... I've been considering either going back to thai boxing or starting standard boxing...but I'm worried I'll have the mickey taken out of me (I sound a bit posh, haha)....

What motivates you to do whatever sporting stuff/keeping fit that you do? What can I do to motivate myself? Most of my friends are really lazy too, trying to get them to try out martial arts or whatever is akin to getting blood from a stone!

Anyway, any help/guidance/anicdotal evidence/suggestions of places to try would not go a miss :)

Thanks

hi ..

i joined a gym as i was concerned about my weight and wanted to bulk up.. i was around 10 stone 6 when i went.. now im 12 stone.. being of a ,manic persuasion and a high metabolism, i cannot put on weight easily and i tried lots of powders etc and going to the gym was a bind .. but now im loving it..

the facts are .. if something interfers with your normal life and youre tired and you want to achieve, you end up doing faddy things to overcompensate.. it only takes a few missed sessions and its curtains .. then you try something else..

so what i did .. is try a set ureself up with something local to either work or home.. ie i go to the gym immediately after work.. set yourself a goal and my advice would be to go at first once a week .. the more times you go the more you enjoy. be realistic too .. don t overdo it.. you may strainyourself then its curtains again.. im going religeously 3 times a week and its enough.. i have reached my target weigh and have settled into the discipline of it .. its quite a routine if you see what you mean.. hope that does help somewhat..

There are two strands of reply. The traditional one is that of the Eastern martial artists: by doing it, you will develop the self-discipline and powers of focus which will make it easier to continue doing it. They'd start as small children and be forced into it, and by the time they came of age and had the choice, they had developed that discipline.

But that's not what you're looking for - no-one can now force you to do it until you develop the self-discipline. The other strand is to choose something which is fun in itself, so that you don't have to drag yourself away from the TV to go training - you really want to go out and do it.

If you go running, or boxing, or Thai boxing, or skiing, or anything else because you want to get fit, or because you want to be able to defend yourself outside the clubs on a Saturday night, that 'fun factor' is missing from your motivation. You need to find something which is fun in itself, even during training.

For me, that's Knights In Battle Medieval Society. As far as my little monkey hind-brain is concerned, it doesn't know that the guy opposite me isn't really trying to hurt me: it knows that a yard of steel being swung at me is likely to hurt, and lets out a burst of adrenaline to trigger the 'fight or flight' response. And for most people, adrenaline makes a hobby enjoyable.

Of course, boxing or karate give you adrenaline rushes too. But from what I know of them (I've never done them), there's a lot of time working on katas and other muscle-memory techniques, stretching exercises, circuit training, and so on, and the time actually spent fighting is a small proportion.

For our combat practices (we start off with the broadsword and then move on to other pre-gunpowder weapons), we find that actually using the weapon is the best use of the available time. You will be trained to use the weapon safely - defending yourself, pulling the blows so that you won't hurt anyone, and telegraphing them (it's authentic - full explanation available if required) so that your opponent can see the attack coming and parry it safely.

Once you can use the weapon, the fights become faster and more varied, different weapons come into play, and we do public shows and take part in battle re-enactments - all huge fun in their own right, and the fitness comes along with the fun.

And don't worry about sounding 'posh' - there's a whole variety of accents in re-enactment, you'll fit in fine.

Take a look at the website (www(dot)knightsinbattle(dot)com), or if medieval isn't your thing Google re-enactment and choose anything from the Stone Age to the Gulf War

Carl, our classes are £5 mate, not sure you'l find anywere if you can't afford this. Try boxing at Sheffield boxing centre , its £3.50 a class.
You have to decide what you want to do and stick to it, if you want self defense, pick a proper self defense club, if you want cardio, pick a club that run a good cardio class,

Good luck and your welcome back to our club anytime ( we do different classes ) check our website mate.

Hope this helps.

Craig.

Basically if you wanted to that badly....you'd do it.

Pick the one that you feel like doing and make the effort for a few weeks then it'll turn into a routine.