Some Statistics
Here are some statistics to consider based on my friendly neighborhood AI and I having a conversations about fitness, athletics, sports, and martial arts. Why do I begin with a conversation about statistics when it comes to martial arts and fitness? Because it might help break down some of the myths that pervade both. Martial arts and fitness are two disciplines that are readily available to most of the US population either online or in person, or both. As of today, (I say this because I posed the questions to the AI today) between 3-4 million people each year in the US try to join a martial arts school. Around 55 million try to join a gym or begin an exercise program. When you consider the number of people in the US, which is upwards of 300 million, these are not large numbers. I feel we, as a society, have created a mystique around martial arts and fitness. We look at these guys on UFC or in other professional sports and they are put on these towering pedestals with such star power, and maybe deservedly so. My point here is this; do not put other people in such a category that it diminishes your own drive to do something. Let's just look at some statistics and some mindsets to help put everything into perspective.
For a person who starts college, the average person who earns a master's degree is around 8% of that population. College is a pretty common standard for us in education. But that next level really becomes a smaller percentage. When you consider all the people who play high school sports, the average athlete to go on to play college sports is about 7%. When you consider all the people who start a martial art, about 1%-5% go on to get a black belt. When you take the college athletes who play sports and try to figure out how many of those will go on to make an Olympic team, the number is around .5%. Now, you are looking at these numbers and saying, "Hey! These numbers are super low, I thought you had something encouraging for me!" I do. I have one more number. The average number of people who can sustain a given workout program for 4 weeks or more is 50% of those who start. I also have this to say about those other number. Of all those statistics, there is only one that I have not been able to achieve (well 2, but I am presuming in 2024 I will have earned a black belt finally if I can maintain course), and that was I did not make an Olympic team. So, how did I do all those things? I can tell you for certain I am not that special. What I do have, though, is a very determined mindset when I set a goal for myself.
There a few keys to making martial arts and/or fitness successful in your life, and that is making it part of your life. It also helps to have a good mentor or teacher. Also, it helps to keep it in perspective and be persistent. Those are the things that have helped me to overcome those statistics above and do what I did. I am just a normal school teacher that had dreams. I am very normal, I am not extraordinary. I might have a rather extraordinary mindset, but my skill set is not that different from anyone else. That is why I started with those statistics. Statistics are just numbers. And, really, the last one I gave, about a person sustaining a workout program (or martial art also) is as simple as taking it one day, one month at at a time. It is very doable. Half the people that try to workout can maintain for more than a month. If you can do that, then you can do another month. It is all about perspective.
A Way of Life
If you are going to be successful at anything, it will start with making it part of your life. When people choose to live a way of life, it increases their ability to execute that particular discipline. It could be writing, fitness, martial arts, building things, or anything else. part of making something part of your life requires a person to understand who he or she is. That involves learning about what you like and dislike, how to balance yourself, prioritize goals, and then understand what tools you need to achieve the goals you have for yourself. If some of those goals involve martials arts or fitness, then this article will prove very useful and demystify each of these disciplines. Patience is involved with achieving these goals, and if you can focus on one day at a time and one class at a time, and not get ahead of yourself, it will be much easier to achieve high level goals. Patience and consistency in your life style is a great ally.
For me, sports and martial arts just became part of a daily routine that I enjoyed. I had friends, I had dreams, I had goals, and just generally enjoyed both activities for all those reasons. If you have those elements, it is easy to make it a way of life.
I had a lot of friends within the world of sports and martial arts, so it made it easy to form bonds with others. If you can create bonds with people who are doing the same things, then it is easier to continue the activity.
I had dreams of what I wanted my activities to lead to. Any dream or goal related to your activities will keep you going. In fact, I would call it necessary to have goals for whatever you are doing to keep you interested or motivated.
Overall enjoyment was always there for me. I wanted to always have those experiences present at one level or another. Whether or not we enjoy something it up to us. The key is to find our motivation. Motivation can be way more than what I have listed, but some of these experiences I have shared may help you find your motivation as you begin, or continue, your journey. Only you can find that motivation. A teacher or friend or trainer can help inspire, but it ultimately comes back to each person to make the decision of whether or not they can find room in their life for these activities.
Choosing the Right Teacher/Trainer
This is pretty important. It will help with longevity in fitness or martial arts or sports. I had many good coaches and martial arts teachers. They can help you find your identity in the endeavors you are doing. They help shape your experience and help you understand what it is you want to do, as well as what you are capable of doing. For me, if I had not had a good teacher in martial arts, I would not have sustained my longevity in the activity. It is not hard to find good teachers, if you know what to look for It is the same with coaching. You can find good people, and they can help you sustain your effort and teach you a great deal along the way. They help with your progress and enjoyment of the activities that you are doing.
With coaches and teachers, you want someone with good morals, ethics, outlook, and knowledge, among other things. If you have someone that is questionable, it taints the whole experience. If you go to a gym, find a trainer you can connect with. Or, if you are able, search online and work with someone online. I had coaches for about 15 years or so in track and field. Then I had a training partner, who was also my friend. I looked for trainers since then, and I just did not find one who was satisfactory for me and could enhance my experience. I finally found one online, but I am referring my wife to her instead. In fitness, I do not require a coach or trainer at this point in my career since I have a lot of knowledge in that area already. In martial arts, I have always had a very high level teacher who always teaches and motivates me, so I have been fortunate there. Early on you have more choices, just know what you are looking for to make your experience the best it can be.
Perspective
This is super important because it gives you flexibility to adapt to unforeseen circumstances that arise. Your training will always have unexpected events, and you need to keep your perspective in order to be successful. You have to keep the bigger picture in mind and not get frustrated by setbacks. Everyone's perspective is shaped by their context. If you are unsure of how to keep perspective, this is where that teacher/coach really help. The coach and teacher can guide you in keeping your perspective, which takes experience to do so.
When you have perspective it leads to persistence. You can overcome the obstacles that come up in your journey. Perspective is about understanding the experience. Understanding leads to longevity in the activity.
Persistence and Consistency
I also talked about persistence, and I would add consistency also. The ability to persist in spite of obstacles is necessary. There are always going to be obstacles. It is ok. You will overcome obstacles. I just keep pushing forward. People are incredibly resilient. You set your mind to it, you will find a way to keep going forward. It is remarkable how innovative people can be in the face of obstacles.
A good teacher can help shape your perspective, which will help you stay with your given task. This is another reason I have emphasized the importance of finding a good teacher, because they guide you in how to get it done. My teachers and coaches have all taught me about perspective and being persistent. Sometimes all you need is a reminder to get up and know it will be ok. If you had a goal of losing 10 pounds and you only lost 5. It is ok. If you wanted to run a 9 minute mile and you only ran 11. It is ok. If you wanted to make yellow belt in 3 months and you are still learning the material, you still know more than when you walked in. It will be ok. The teacher reminds you of keeping it all in perspective so you don't give up.
I added consistency here, even though it is separate issue. The link is if you are consistent in the process of training, it makes being persistent so much easier. Consistency builds persistence. It is vital. If your routine is to train three days per week, then keep that. After awhile, if becomes a habit where it feels weird if you don't do it. If you go three days a week for six months, then you run into an obstacle, it becomes a lot easier to tell yourself it will be ok because it has been ok for 6 months, and you can keep on going forward and overcome whatever gets in the way.
Routines create paths to consistency. It is key to find a routine that will help you and fit you. Routines are the foundations of success. I will write it again, routines are the foundations of success. If you can make a routine that leads to your fitness or martial arts goal, then you are half way to your goal already.
Making the Extraordinary Ordinary
Now that we have some building blocks in place in how to make things successful for you, let's break down some of these perceptions and myths that go with martial arts and fitness. I know I quoted a lot of statistics that seem daunting to the average person. However, numbers just tell a story, just like Instagram reels and photos. We mythologize so much in our society that we create our own barriers. Just like the numbers above, Instagram and social media create an unfair standard for people to follow. We see all these incredible and beautiful people online and want to be like them. Very often they rarely show a realistic path to achieving what they have achieved. However, you can achieve your own success if you have a plan, a method, a routine, and a good teacher.
Every extraordinary achievement has humble beginnings. We are all capable of greatness. Greatness should be measured by our own standards, not anyone else's standards. Greatness could be running 10 miles, throwing a certain kick, or losing some weight. We all need to create our own standards of greatness and measure ourselves by those standards, not other people's standards. You can make the extraordinary ordinary by just creating a plan, a routine, and following some steps. The rest falls into place on its own. Don't be overcome by other people's ideals. Make your own ideal and follow that. You will find your path, your goal, and your dream.
Simplification is needed to help make things less intimidating. If we can take away the intimidation factor of some of these concepts, then more people can find success on their terms. Believe in yourself and believe in the process.
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