WHAT! Is there no boxing in martial arts?
We already have enough boxes. I only ask that you take your physical training outside.
When I focus on a healthy diet, I usually tell students to focus on making 70-80% of their meals healthy and then give themselves 20-30% freedom to indulge. I think you could use the same strategy to train outdoors. This is, of course, if you are not currently in an outdoor training program. Although it can be difficult to spend 70% of the day outdoors, for die-hard boxers, you can reverse the strategy and get 30% of the day, week, month or year: OUTDOORS. The quick fix is to attend one of our camps if your year is full of boxes.
Most martial artists train indoors in a dojo (training room) type environment. I, too, have spent many years enjoying the benefits of a well-equipped martial arts box. However, let’s think about the reality that we already have enough boxes taking control of our lives as is:
The fact is that if you lead a normal life, you migrate from one type of box to another. It’s part of how we prefer to manage our comfort level. When you go to Starbucks, you like the fact that this particular box has what you’re looking for. The same goes for going to the movies, the mall, a hotel, or even a martial arts school. We are traveling from one empty box to another. What is in that box determines its value and level of importance in our now traditionally trained materialistic lives.
My point is that we already have enough boxes in our lives that we could achieve more of a balance (while adding a few years to her life) if we had a few places to visit that were outside of the boxes. Also, since this is a martial arts website, we are going to talk about getting your kicks out there.
You will probably spend some time outdoors if you travel from one box to another. However, this will not be enough time for you to really benefit from an outdoor training experience. It can be helpful if you fully understand the main benefits of training outdoors:
Fresh air comparison
You are more than the skin that shapes your face. Inside that shell, you have more than a trillion cells that require oxygen. The healthier the cells (the parts of you) are, the stronger and healthier you are as a whole. This is the perfect synergy and the fundamental philosophy of the Winjitsu Mental Martial Art System. Parts combined together result in a stronger whole. Consider your finger (apart from the hand) compared to the fist (combined fingers).
We need oxygen to survive, but we also need a new supply of oxygen. If you lock yourself in a box with no new air coming in, you would die from lack of oxygen (and overconsumption of carbon dioxide). Therefore, common sense would say that the bigger your box, the safer you will be. Now consider removing the box completely and it will provide the body with more oxygen. So training outdoors is amazing for your health.
Each of your cells needs fresh air to survive. So, in truth, if you don’t take your fresh air seriously, you’re killing parts of yourself. The math is simple: healthy cells = healthy body.
Now a cell is very much like a box. So let’s say, healthy boxes = healthy bodies. Also, before I mix metaphors and confuse you, remember that this article is about removing the box entirely.
What can you do to have a healthier box? You can take one step closer to being outside. For example, does your training center have windows and are they open? Does your training center have airflow? You need an open window/door on one side of the room and the other.
When you breathe, you are cleansing the body. Clean air in, toxins out. However, if you are breathing old used air, this process is less effective. As if you were going to feed your body old, stale, nutrient-depleted food. Your cells also need to get adequate air.
When you exhale, you release carbon dioxide and other waste. So if you’re in a room sharing oxygen with other people, you’re basically breathing in all this crap over and over again. Breathing old air will not provide your cells with enough oxygen to function at an optimal level.
The more consistent the airflow, the better. Your body, brain, and cells will function at a higher level when given fresh air. So, you can see how important this is for your martial arts education and training. When you train outdoors, you’re maximizing the overall benefits of the experience.
Exercise activates your circulation and floods your body with oxygen; That’s why it’s so important to do any long-term training outdoors (and one of the reasons I founded long-term martial arts training camps in Thailand and California). Are you spending more time in the gym on a treadmill killing your cells when you could be running outside in the park near the trees, by a lake, or across a river?
Outer space and why we need it
If fresh air isn’t enough to get you outside, consider the abundant amount of space an outdoor workout spot can provide. Most of our martial arts classes make use of a large park. Space is key for Martial Science students as we like to have space for sparring and weapons training. Put 30 people in a heavily staffed room and you begin to understand the limitations of even a large dojo.
With a park setting, you have the best martial arts training center one could ask for. You have grass, which is a perfect natural martial arts training mat. Of course, you have plenty of fresh air without the risk of sharing old oxygen. You get an almost unlimited amount of space. You have room to run and warm up or play games that would be a challenge to do in a dojo. We play a sport called “Grapple Ball” that works better with more space.
When we were kids, we played outside a lot, but as we get older, we are conditioned to spend more time inside or in a box. Everything from computer cases to televisions. The typical life of an adult is simply moving from one box to another; sleep in the bed box, take a shower in a box, drive to work in a box, sit in a box behind a box inside an even bigger box, go to dinner in a box, come home from the big box to sit a box in front of the visual box. Rinse and repeat.
Sure, the above changes a bit as we challenge the system: we fly in a single box, we call our friends with a cool new box, and I’m writing this article in a small multibox.
Face it: we love our boxes and we’re not getting rid of them anytime soon. In any case, we will probably add more. I really want to go to the book box today and sit on a movie box eating a snack from a junk box.
However, I will balance it all out with a year full of offbeat adventures and martial arts training camps and I invite you to do the same.
