How to Train Martial Arts on Your Own

1. Routine
   To be successful with training martial arts on your own, you MUST have a routine. This is the most important aspect of self-training, and even group class training. It is too easy to say “I’ll do it tomorrow.” Tomorrow turns into next week, and then next month. Set a schedule for your training times at times during the week you know you can adhere to.

2. Agency
   This block of time is yours, and it must have agency. It is not something that we allow to be swayed or taken away by trivial distractions [such as a binge watching session on Netflix]. We treat these blocks of time as sacred, and do not allow ourselves or others to sideswipe them. If we do, we will do it again and again and never train. So treat your own class, just like a scheduled group class at your gym, school, dojo.

3. Place to Go
   Try to find a place outside, in a garage, barn, basement, or a separate room in your house/apartment if you have one to spare, that can be used for your training. During these time blocks, this is your dojo/place of training. Other people are not in here unless they are training with you, and others know to leave you be during your session.

4. Frequency
   This is up to you, but it should be consistent from week to week. Try to start out with something similar to what you were doing at group classes. If you were training 2 hours per week, then try to set up two 1-hour blocks each week, or four 30-minute sessions instead. If you trained more than that, then add more slots in. If you trained more than one discipline, like my students who train mantis boxing and jiu-jitsu, then have separate blocks of time to focus on each. Again, consistency, agency, private space are all a priority, but this step is important to establish from the beginning as it helps reinforce ‘routine’.

5. Plan of Attack
   This is a critical stage and just as important as any of those above. We have to know what we are going to train. This is probably one of the largest failures we have going to a big box gym - “what do I do next” If I can find it, I’ll add a picture to this article later showing you some of my routines/schedules I built for myself years ago when I had no choice but to train alone. Have a log, notebook, where you set aside what you specifically are going to do for each session. Update it weekly.

6. Family Unit
   If you are at home with others during this time, have them join you and if they have no experience, you teach them. Teaching others is one of the best ways we get better. We learn what we know and do not know (do not worry, you do not have to have all the answers or know everything to show someone newer than you). This is such a powerful tool, you will be surprised how much it can help. If you are trying to train your kids - focus less on ‘teaching’ them, and more on doing. If they see you enjoying yourself and having fun, they will follow along. Forcing them is counter-productive. See below for more parent tips.

7. Wear your Uniform
   This may seem like an odd one at first glance, however, this has more significance than you may guess. The act of putting on our uniform, commits us mentally to the act of training. This is part of the discipline that you exhibit week after week showing up for class. Continuing this ritual on our own puts us in the same mindset and lets us not only commit to training, but keeps us on the rails as we stick to our planned training time. With that said, do not wear your uniform all the time. The act of putting it on, and taking it off when done, keeps that box cordoned off in our mind. We know when we wear it, that this is a sacred time that we need to respect for ourselves.

Parents

See everything above before reading this. Those items are still relevant and will help you in setting up a plan of action for your child.

1. Routine
   I know I mentioned it above, but I can’t repeat this enough. No video games, movies, toys, etc can get in the way of ‘time to train’. These are hard and fast blocks and they should know they have to go to a certain place to train. Consistency is key, so if you are able to set the same time block aside for each day of training, this will be a big help to you in getting them to train. If it is arbitrary or day to day, it is difficult for any of us to become mentally engaged off the cuff.

2. Videos

   Use video training [preferably from their school/style] as ways to promote interest and learning. This can be part of the training block i.e., 15 minutes of watching lessons, and 30 minutes of training. As the parent, you may not know what they are working on in class, or where to focus, but asking for help from their teacher, can help you build a lesson plan for them. In some cases, the video may be useful throughout the entire session so it is good to have access to a screen so they can rewind or pause as needed (as long as it is not a game they switch too).

3. How Long Does My Child Train?

   This is based entirely on age. The younger they are, the less time you should expect. A 10 to 12 year old might be good for an hour of training 3 or 4 times per week and have the discipline to stay engaged. A 5 year old however may only work in 15 to 20 minute blocks and need more frequency such as 6 to 8 blocks per week.

4. Ask for Help
   If you need ideas, or direction, ask their instructor to help guide you, or provide a lesson plan for each week so it eases the process and all you have to worry about is the tips we mentioned in the beginning.

5. Older Teaches Younger?
   If you have siblings that all train together, this common purpose creates a strong bond where they can help one another get better. If you do not train yourself, it is important to sit back and allow them to teach one another. At times the eldest child will guide and teach, but the younger child may know something they do not, so it is important this is not authoritarian by the older sibling. Keep in mind the parent can become the inhibiting factor in these training session rather than a positive influence. Our job is to make sure they do not hurt one another, or get out of control, but otherwise we keep quiet and give them the autonomy to teach/train together. If they are mature and show positive results with this, then you can run test sessions where they are allowed to spar/roll with one another for short rounds of 3 minutes at a time.

Good luck!

I’ll add more tips as I think of them, but hopefully this is enough to get you started.