While at the book store looking for books to read for school he eventually gravitated toward the martial arts section. Several books on all aspects of martial arts lined the shelves. He found a karate book and tried to talk me into letting him buy it. The book had lots of pictures and diagrams demonstrating various movements. I wouldn't let him get it. He was not pleased.
He was indignant. "Why can't I get it? I really want to learn karate. We're here to get a book. It's a book. What's the problem." "The problem is that you want to learn karate." He was confused. He hasn't learned yet that sometimes I strike sideways to throw him off a bit. Knocking him off his track will make him more receptive to the message. He blinked, confused but intrigued. "I don't get it." He's ready now. "You don't learn karate from a book. You learn karate by doing karate." I replied.
Don't get me wrong here - you can learn plenty through books. But to really learn how to do something physical you just have to do it. You have to make mistakes and find your way - find what works for you and what doesn't. If you try to learn how to throw a ball from a book you'll get caught up and overwhelmed by all the little details. You'll overthink it. You'll end up confused, lost and frustrated.
When I first got serious about swimming I picked up a copy of a book on the Total Immersion technique. I read it cover to cover. I studied the pictures and the descriptions of drills. But this is not what made me a swimmer. Putting in the time and doing miles of laps week after week is what made me a swimmer. Swimming is what made me a swimmer. Not reading about it - doing it.
After swimming for a while I reread the book. I now completely understood what "pushing the buoy" meant. I understood it not as some abstract concept but as something I actually experienced. Not just mental understanding but physical understanding. The other information in the book allowed me to tune, refine, and find the technique that worked for me. Some things in the book worked really well for me. Some things didn't at all. I'm sure they worked well for someone - just not me. But in the end I found my way not because of what I read, but because of what I did.
Workout Summary
Weekly Summary
Mid week workouts were good. Still a bit disappointed about having to switch back to indoor spin classes, but the swims and runs felt good. My additional midweek run left me a little more tired than usual. Guess it'll take my body a bit of time to adapt to one less recovery day.
Saturday's long bike ride sucked. I couldn't get comfortable on my bike and ended up stopping three times to make various adjustments to my seat and handlebars. Half way through I started having stomach issue and a headache set in. At my turn around point the promised 3 mile winds were up to 15. I slogged my way home, climbed up the stairs, and soaked in the tub.
After the soak I took my son to hockey tryouts and visited the bike shop by his rink. They have a pretty impressive setup with an infinitely adjustable fit bike, video cameras mounted at various angles to analyze foot and body positioning, and power tap setups to measure power output. I chatted with the fit guy for a while and got his schedule. Once we get the hockey schedule I'm definitely getting in there for a re-fit on both my road and tri bike.
Long run today was long. It's funny how you forget how hard really long runs are. I messed up my timing and had to sprint the last two miles to make it home in time so my wife could get my son to the final day of tryouts. I'm sure I'll pay for that later....
4 comments:
If you want to make something happen, don't read about it, don't talk about it, just do it! :) Excellent advice. When does your son start his karate class?
Good points! Hope your son has fun at Karate lessons!
Yeah sprinting the last few miles of a long run unexpectedly isn't always great :) Hope you recover well!
While I must admit that when I head out in a new direction, I tend to read everything in sight to learn as much as possible, I agree that doing is the bigger part of the equation. I think the key is to do, as well as to read, and then the two parts of the issue compliment each other.
Due to hockey season we'll likely do a "karate class" down in the basement - at least as long as they remain interested. I have belts in Shotokan as well as Aikido so I'll be able to get them through at least the basics. We'll see how long the interest remains!
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