The art of fitness

I’ve spoken often of a martial arts analogy to fitness where you begin with simple movements, progress to more complicated ones and then as you become more of a master, return to the basics and master them.

I was recently thinking about a similar journey, but through various martial arts, as another analogy to how many of us approach fitness.

I began with a very traditional style of Kung fu, gi’s, belts, bowing to each other, bowing to the training hall.
It was a fantastic grounding in the basics, both of movement but also discipline. And while I became more confident in myself, I wouldn’t say I was that capable of defending myself.

So, I progressed to Thai boxing - raw, brutal and devastatingly effective. Many of the people I trained with were only there to better learn how to hurt people. Less discipline, but more effective. Also more injuries...

From there I embarked on a journey exploring multiple arts - Kali, Savate, Lee Jun Fan, Jeet Kune Do, Wing Chun, looking for the secret formula to success.
I tried so many I’d sometimes confuse which one I was practicing.

Eventually I realised the obvious- there was no secret, but just the basics, executed with virtuosity. This is where I discovered jiu jitsu, the practice that revolutionised the martial arts world with its effective, simplistic genius.

What’s my point?
Thai boxing is fun, but if you try to do it for too long, you’ll likely get broken. And if you jump straight into it with no formal grounding, you may end up getting arrested... 🤔