I think it’s interesting how, even as a professional, I still find myself in training. Training is not a bad thing. It helps me to become better in different aspects of my life.

I start training tomorrow for my next school year. I have two days of district training and two days of school training before I see students again. I will have more training throughout the school year over different topics as well. None of this mentions the amount of training I attended this summer.

This is not to say that training is necessarily a bad thing. It’s useful because there are always things to learn. No person in this world knows everything. However, sometimes, the training can get redundant. I can always learn new things for teaching, but if the training is boring, then I’m less likely to learn.

Not all training is boring, however. In addition to teacher training, I am currently in black belt prep classes as I get ready to test for my next degree. I am working to review and sharpen my skills. That way, when it comes time for my test in a couple of months, I will be ready.

The definition of the word “train” is “teach a particular skill or type of behavior through practice and instruction over a period of time.” I think the key words that stuck out to me from this definition were “skill”, “practice”, and “time.” I am not a patient person. I like things to be done immediately. I want to complete one workout and then immediately step on the scale to see if I lost five pounds. I know this is unrealistic. I am trying to work on my ideas of practice and time. Practice to me implies that it takes more than one try. Olympian athletes don’t just practice one time and then go perform. They are doing it constantly, probably almost every day. The time also fits into that. Just like with practice, it’s not mastered with one go-round (no matter what my brain wants to tell me). However, probably the biggest term of the definition is the word “skill.” That doesn’t mean it’s something you learn to do once and then never do again. No, skill means the technique is developed enough to use it multiple times, whether in the same area or different ones.

When I started martial arts, I was worried that I would struggle to develop the skills my brain needed to do actions. However, as it turned out, I already had a lot of skills I needed. I played soccer and I was a cheerleader all of middle and high school, not to mention some early days of gymnastics. As a result, I already knew how to make a fist, use my body, turn my hips, shift my weight, and so many more skills that people develop while in martial arts. A lot of times now, I only struggle to learn how to move my body in new skills that I’ve never learned. My prior knowledge and skills worked to my benefit when I was first studying martial arts.

It isn’t just teachers and martial artists that have to go through training. Training is applicable to almost every person and almost every job. Obviously training is going to be different depending on where you work or what you are trying to learn. But being able to learn a new skill is usually worth it. Think back to when you first started learning how to ride a bike. You probably used training wheels to provide for stability. As you got more familiar with the bike, you needed the training wheels less. Eventually, the training wheels were taken off. It was probably scary to ride a bike without training wheels, but now you probably don’t need them at all.

Most people associate training with physical activity. In fact, when I was trying to find a picture to use for today’s post, most of the pictures were people in the gym or doing physical activity. While training can definitely be physical, there is also mental training too. In addition, for any type of training that you do, there has to be a few mental components. You have to be willing to learn something new. You also have to push yourself when you are trying things for the first time. Finally, you need to be able to keep going.

I want to be better. I want to do better. I definitely need to work on training and not just hoping that one time, one workout, one day will solve the problems. It takes time, effort, and commitment. The road may be long and difficult, but I know that if I keep up with it, the end result will be worth it all.