Setting and Achieving Intentional Goals for Martial Arts

I have good news. In my 2019 Martial Arts Year in Review post, I mentioned that I had a goal to attend roughly "17 classes per month, which is 204 classes per year." I marked the achievement of my BJJ blue belt in late October as the start of tracking this goal. In general, my goal is to attend at least 50 classes every 3 months, as a minimum.

I'm happy to report that as of today I have met that first 50 class block. I plan to attend a few more classes this week, prior to the end of January, so long as my health holds up. (I've been having some issues with my left knee recently that caused me to miss two classes in January already.)

I'm sharing this with the world as a way to motivate myself and anyone else who might have similar goals. This 50 classes every 3 months goal is about double the previous class attendance schedule I had prior to blue belt. I was not sure how my body was going to hold up, but I decided to set the goal and see what I could do.

It took me a few weeks in November to realize that I really only had 60-90 minutes per week of medium to hard rolling in me. Beyond that I was at risk of missing classes, usually because my knees or back hurt. I have rheumatoid arthritis, and it's taken a toll on my knees and shoulders, to some extent. My lower back can be problematic when I fail to avoid getting stacked, or I get squashed in someone's guard.

My school's Monday-Thursday classes incorporate some level of rolling into the regular class time, with optional rolling afterwards. The Friday "lab" class is usually an hour of rolling followed by questions and answers, although this last week I spent time with two brown belts learning some wrestling to BJJ techniques. I don't train on Saturday at all, and Sunday I attend a beginner's yoga class. I think about how all of this works together to make sure I don't roll too much during the week, but I roll enough to continue to see progress.

In conclusion, I set the class hour goal because I decided I wanted to "train with intention," rather than just show up to class as many times per week as I could, or if I felt like it that day. Hitting these monthly goals, usually 17 classes per month, has meant making some intentional scheduling choices, and on a few occasions doubling up classes because I knew I couldn't train the following week. Managing my training in 3 month blocks has also meant that if I have already met my goal for the period, as I have now, I can take an extra day off if necessary, perhaps due to my knee issues.

Overall, I encourage anyone training in martial arts to set intentional goals, whatever they may be.

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