We all know the feeling. You’ve been training for a while, the novelty is wearing off a bit and you’ve realised it will only get harder from now on. How can you ensure that the time you spend gives results? In these days of instant gratification, it can be hard to keep motivated. I remember reading the following some years ago:

“The elevator to success is broken; please use the steps, one at a time”

For those seeking to realise their full potential, the following three steps will ensure continued improvement. If you can make them a habit, you will get mentally and physically stronger in the shortest possible time.

1. Train regularly. This doesn’t mean just turning up when it’s convenient, or when you are feeling particularly good. It means sacrifice. It means dedication. It means having the character and self-discipline to put other things to one side on training nights. They belong to you. Understand that reaching the first 80% of your potential is about what you ‘give’. The last and most important 20% is more often about what you are prepared to ‘give up’.

2. Focus. OK, so you made it to the dojo, but if you’ve left your mind at work or at home it’s not going to be easy to focus. Concentration must be deep and long-lasting before the body and mind work together to groove movements into the nervous system, or ‘muscle memory’ if you prefer. “Train with your head, fight with your heart” sums this up best. Only by constantly striving to improve your skills with focused repetition, will you eventually reach the level where movements become instinctive.

3. Sweat. Nature has given a marvellous way for Instructors to tell who is really trying. No-one expects you to faint or throw up, that’s very old-school, but sweating profusely whilst training is a perfectly reasonable request. Although most karate training is done as a group, you alone are responsible for your own level of effort. A caring (?) Instructor will try their best to encourage you, but if you lack the moral fibre to step out of your comfort zone, there’s little they can do. Try to push a little harder each time you train; you will soon get stronger.

So these (in my opinion) are the three most important steps. Once they become your normal behaviour continued improvement is far more likely and motivation will be fed by results. Obvious? Yes. Easy? No - but that’s the challenge. Only those who seek out and overcome their weaknesses can hope to reach the highest levels in any activity, but particularly in Martial Arts.