Want to Improve Your Martial Arts? Train Outdoors!

Want a crazy tip to improve your martial arts skills? Train outdoors!

Working out in a park or field is a must as far as I’m concerned. Check out this video or read the summary below to find out why.

Then get up and go outside! 🙂

How to Improve Your Martial Arts:
Train Outdoors

I’ve whined about martial artists posing in streams and mountains before. You can read that rant here.

That’s why if you see me in the park, it’s not to root my feet into Mother Earth, meditate on my connection to the trees, or absorb chi from the sun. Frankly, I find the sound of birds chirping annoying!

So, why do I train in the park every chance I get? Because I think too much! Here’s what I mean…

As a martial artist, it’s easy to obsess over details… the smaller, the better. The subtle wrist movement of a world champion… the nuances of a master’s footwork… it never ends! There’s always more to learn.

That’s a problem!

It’s a problem because all of that exploration and analysis tips the scales of your training towards the mind, leaving the spirit under-developed.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve shown up to class with a head full of clever ideas and details, only to get throw around by some beastly white belt whose only thought is, “Smash puny human.”

When that happens, I head to the park.

When you stand in a wide, open space, you feel small and vulnerable. All those little details seem to evaporate as your perspective widens to take in the trees, hills, and sunny horizon.

When you train outdoors, you see the big picture. No walls, no ceilings, no limits.

But I’m not just telling you to go take a hike. If you want to improve your martial arts, you need to turn the park into a battlefield.

Imagine 1,000 warriors charging at you with swords and spears. Then imagine 500 soldiers behind you, ready to defend your village. If you want to throw in a fire-breathing dragon flying overhead, go for it.

Here’s the point—running through a field to battle an invading army is a completely different training context than sparring Steven one-on-one in a dojo. You won’t move the same or feel the same. Not even close!

When you’re surrounded by mayhem, swinging a club, you don’t stop to think, “When I throw a jab, should I rotate my thumb all the way down or just halfway?”

Heck—you probably won’t throw a jab at all! Why? Because…

In the field, spirit is everything.

I’m not saying that studying and analyzing your fighting techniques is unimportant, but if you only study, you will get killed. The goal of martial arts is to find a functional balance between mind, body, and spirit.

The fact is if your martial arts training only consists of sparring one-on-one, indoors, on mats, and with rules, then you’re only tapping into half of your capabilities. The controlled, fine-motor, civilized half.

To be a fully enlightened and empowered human being, you also need to explore the primal, savage, wildman living inside of you.

That’s the half many martial artists shun. They fear their animal nature and hide inside books and theory. They hide indoors.

My advice? Don’t tame the animal inside of you… train it!

It’s not so crazy, really. If you believe there’s value sitting by a stream and meditating, you should also believe there’s value charging through the trees and killing an imaginary army of bad guys. Do both and that’s a great training session.

WARNING: Try not to scare the hell out of any nearby families having a picnic!

So, if you want to improve your martial arts and fighting skills, get out of your head and into a park. Train outdoors every chance you get and you’ll be at your best!