When we are training in the martial arts, we must appreciate each and every opportunity that we have to train with another person and we must respect that opportunity. We need training partners to get 100% of what we need out of our training. This is very obvious when it comes to one step sparring, free sparring, and self defense training, but it is just as crucial when it comes to the not so obvious components such as conditioning, forms and basic technique.
Many masters will mention how when they are training, they want to be standing next to someone specific that inspires and brings out the best in them and someone that will hold them accountable. Without the comradery in training, it can become very easy to lose the passion. While we need to train FOR ourselves and unconditionally, training BY ourselves can become mundane. In our human nature, we need to have a certain amount of connection. Without connection we will not be at our best.
This connection does not need to be in person per se. Many people have felt the powerful impact of training virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic when training in person was not possible. Frankly, some still reap the benefits of this to this day and find ways to train with others in other nations. On the flip side, I remiss seeing those that had their training falter due to this loss of connection with others. At the beginning of the pandemic, I had a student that believed that online classes would be silly and he would just train by himself. His training was hindered by this and I believe it is what caused him to stop training.
You may not know this, but I was an active musician growing up. I played percussion in my high school’s wind symphony and was really passionate about it. In college, I continued to take private lessons, but in prioritizing my martial arts and being a commuter student, I could not partake in any of the ensembles. This was 100% my choice and I take ownership of it, but with not having a group of people to play with, I lost some of the motivation. Eventually, I had stopped taking lessons too and my passion for music faded.
Like my music example above, having a training partner to hold you accountable and keep you disciplined is not limited to the martial arts. We may not call them “training partners” in the other fields of our lives, but having someone to connect and have friendly competition will help us in consistency and to continue on our journey. I benefited from having fellow blog writer Yoshi to train with as we were both preparing to test for 4th Dan. Likewise, I have benefited from having different coworkers and colleagues push me to do things on a team that I never would have done by myself. Sure we can take the journey alone, but will we be as successful and very importantly, will we have as much fun? Probably not!
