Week 29 & 30 - And what I think is the start of my most important lesson yet

[Chrissy Scott]

Much the same to report. Keeping up with everything. Lately the efforts have come in ebbs and flows rather than consistency and routine. I'll take it for now. I need to grant myself that. We're going on 8 months now, and that's usually a long training season for me. Usually after 8 months (wish is usually September-ish) I've done all the events I chose for the year. I've talked about this before, how keeping something going for 12 months was going to be a challenge. I was right, but I'm good for it... And better for it.

 

I'm keeping up with the push ups, sit ups, and kata at a fairly regular pace. They really have become part of my daily routine. I think I have some mileage burn out and am taking advantage of the fact that I can do 4 or 5 good bike rides a month and get my 100 miles in. But my goal for this year was a timed 10k, and my running has slacked off. I'm having to work with a schedule that challenges me more in the summer time. It's harder to run my miles at lunch when it's 80's and 90's... And I've allowed myself a bit of grace because I'm 100 miles ahead of schedule. But I know that soon it will be time to get back into running mode. Sooner than later I hope. I have to wait for my psyche and body to sync up on this. I won't force it, but I am anticipating.

 

Those are the struggles that make me wonder about what the real lesson of UBBT is, for me personally. I have always considered myself a pretty disciplined person, but I've never really held numbers over my head to kind of measure that against. I still think I'm disciplined, but... I find myself lately thinking I'm kind of moving into becoming a martial artist and leaving behind just being an athlete. To be an athlete you have to have discipline, of course, and you have to set goals and you have to WANT them. There's something different tho, about wanting to be a martial artist. And that makes me think that there must be ways I can fine tune my discipline. And then eventually, it'll become not just a habit, but a lifestyle.

 

I used to think that being an athlete was a lifestyle choice, but I'm digging a bit deeper into that now. It's an awesome thing to be an athlete, a great thing, but I don't think it's a lifestyle... I'm a soccer player. To be a good soccer player you stay in shape, practice ball control, pay attention to form, etc. You need those things to be a good soccer player. But... you don't have to be a good person to be a good soccer player. That's what sets martial arts apart. You can be great at the kicking and the blocking and the punching... You can be great at that, a master at it, even,  and still NOT be a great martial artist, or even a good one.

 

To be a good martial artist you have to be a good person. That's a lifestyle. And I want some. :)

[Adren Bradley]

Wow Chrissy you have said " it" and I am looking forward to experiencing why you've just described as being a " true martial artist " thank you for your truth and in sharing thus journey.