What are you preparing for?

Martial arts training has become quite common today.  Ranging from thinly veiled daycare programs through MMA competitors up to professionals who must use violence on a daily basis.  Take a moment, and think about why you're training.

Some people train because they've got friends doing it, and the class is a social event.  Others train to compete, whether in traditional style tournaments or MMA.  Still others train because they've experienced violence, and want to be ready if it ever happens again.  There are people who train because they train; they enjoy the physical challenges and wouldn't know what to do with themselves if they weren't training.  And some people train because they have every reason to expect to need effective skills in using force.  (Let's not even consider the people who train because someone makes them...)

Nobody's purpose in training is superior; they're all merely different.  But that purpose will shape how you train.  A sport karate competitor has to train to understand, use, and apply the rules of the event.  A rape or domestic violence survivor's training may be very different -- and may have to be conducted with great sensitivity and care.  A cop, correctional officer, or soldier may train differently from each other -- and very differently from the guy who's simply "doing" martial arts because it's more interesting to him than bowling or going to an ordinary gym.

Think about why you're training.  Then assess how you conduct your training.  If the two aren't in harmony, you're not going to get the results you want.  If you're training to be able to effectively impose force on a resisting or combative subject in the streets -- you have to have partners who do that, and you have to do things like scenario training.  If you're training to win the next MMA event -- you need to spend time working on the various aspects of that game.  Including the conditioning  necessary to last through your fight!  And so on.  If there's a conflict between your training and your goals, start looking for weighs to fix it!