It’s easy to make excuses to miss training in winter. You’ve got the weather to blame on top of all the usual alibis of family, work, and social commitments.
But, just as with the rest of the year, it is important to maintain your focus, to stay disciplined, and to keep training throughout the winter months.
Here are just some of the reasons why you shouldn’t skip your Martial aArts training in winter.
You’ll Lose Momentum
There is a strange dynamic that seems to run through life at times – a bad habit is easy to pick up, while a good habit only comes with difficulty.
Training in the Martial Arts is one of the most physically, emotionally, and even (dare I say it!) spiritually rewarding activities a human being can engage in.
It is all these things. However, one thing it is not is easy.
If you are already training in the Martial Arts consistently, then you will already have built up some momentum.
Protect that momentum. Don’t lose it by skipping class in winter. It is much too valuable for that.
You’ll Fall Behind
Training in the martial arts is about consistency. It’s about the incremental accumulation of skills through the repeated practice of those skills.
Skipping class in the winter won’t only prevent you from improving upon your current skill level, it will see your current skills deteriorate too.
Meanwhile, your diligent training partners who train consistently over the winter will continue to make progress. While you lounge on the couch at home, your classmates will be sharpening their skills in your absence.
Miss your winter training and you will have a gym full of smiling killers awaiting your return come spring!
A lot of fun for them. For you? Erm…not so much!
You’ll Lose Self-Respect
One of the greatest gifts training in the Martial Arts gives us is our self-respect.
As we train, both our bodies and our minds grow stronger. Our self image improves as a result. As we learn to persevere, we discover the potential for growth we possess and our self-esteem grows as a result. The Martial Arts fuel our self-respect.
However, along wIth this wonderful gift comes the responsibility to pay tribute to the arts in return. We must show respect to our training by persisting in it in spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
Ultimately, to neglect our training is to neglect ourselves.
Winter Is For Training, Not Hibernating!
As hairy as you may or may not be, if you are reading this you are not a bear. Winter is for training, not hibernating.
If you have ever given in to the urge to skip class, you’ll already know: it’s often a skipped class is regretted, but it’s seldom that a class attended is regretted.
This winter, as the cooler weather draws in and the warm siren call of the couch and TV beckon, grab your gym bag and get to class. You won’t regret it!
