Do 100 Armbars In 5 Minutes Or Lose Your Legs!
A funny thing happened to me this morning. I was getting my car checked out by my mechanic for a business trip and I was thinking about all the things I had left to do in preparation for the trip, including my Wise Grappler business. As I sat there thinking about all the things I had to do and not enough time to do them, I considered canceling my business trip because that would’ve given me all the time I needed…or would it?
Suddenly, I realized that I’d wasted 20 minutes thinking about not having enough time to do anything! And it made me wonder, do I have time now to do everything that needs to be done? How much time had I wasted whining about not having enough time? And how much could I get done in the 20 minutes I spent whining if my life depended on it?
Now, let’s apply this to grappling. I’ve heard students (both beginners and advanced) talk about not having enough time to drill a particular technique…but they’re hanging out at the school for 30 minutes or more just talking. For some reason, too many grapplers think they can only improve if they’re working out in a 2 hour training session with an instructor giving them direction, but find little or no value in drilling a technique for 10-15 minutes on their own.
Here’s a question for you. If someone told you (while holding a chainsaw) that you had to do 100 armbars from the guard in 5 minutes or have both legs cut off at the knees, what would you do? I know what you’d do; you’d crank out those 100 armbars and would probably do it with 4 minutes to spare!
The problem isn’t having enough time. The problem is not being focused or disciplined enough to use the time that you have more efficiently. You may never have time to do, for example, 1000 armbar repetitions during one training session. But if you took advantage of the time that you carelessly waste each day, you could knock out those 1000 armbar repetitions (in short 10-15 minute intervals) over the course of a few days. And every correct repetition that you can squeeze into your day makes a difference on the mat.
As I looked back on my morning, I realized that I had (and have) plenty of time to do everything I needed to get done. So, the next time I start whining about not having enough time to train or write my ezine articles, I’ll just imagine there’s a chainsaw running in the background and get to work!
Paul M. Greenhill, “The Wise Grappler”, is the creator of The Wise Grappler System and author of The Wise Grappler Ezine, a weekly ezine that provides martial arts training and personal development tips for the older (over 35) and non-traditional martial artists. To learn more about “The Wise Grappler” and to sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit his site at http://www.ihateyoungpunks.com or contact him at paul@thewisegrappler.com.
(c) 2007 Paul M. Greenhill
Tags: goal-setting, martial arts, self-esteem, self-help, sports, success, wrestling