Page 29 of 34
For many years I have kept a training journal. This is a log book of personal practice goals, training plans, progress toward those goals, and a ticker tape of general thoughts, comments, struggles, and successes. At its simplest the journal is a way of keeping my training front-of-mind and it helps me keep continuity from session to session.
Devon Boorman ·
There are many moments in our lives where we reveal that we care, whether that is through our interest or our frustration. When a peer or mentor sees this moment and instead of turning away, turns in, it can meaningfully move us toward learning, resiliency, and a sense of truly belonging.
Devon Boorman ·
Practicing does not always mean "working on". It’s important to give yourself time with passions and skills in your life to just simply indulge in the activity. It's vital to give yourself time simply to feed your enjoyment. This helps you remember why you do this thing in the first place, and can give you energy for further training later—if that's your desire.
Devon Boorman ·
Even if you’re part of a vibrant school or club and have lots of training partners to practice with, keeping a daily rhythm is an essential part of the path of mastery. That means you’re going to have a lot of solo training occasions to fill. Most partner drills don’t effectively translate into a solitary analog, so here’s some guidance to help you make the most of your alone time.
Devon Boorman ·
The successful people we see in the world can often seem super-human. They start every day with a run, positive affirmations, a great workout, a fulfilling breakfast with their family (that’s right, this is all before 7:00 am), then sit right down to their projects and kick butt in a super-organized fashion, eat a healthy lunch, pursue three hobbies they love, and finally sleep for only four hours. This is an intimidating image of success to hold ourselves up to. And a completely false one.
Devon Boorman ·
Much of what I have had to learn is how to keep my passion and joy alive (which they both absolutely are!) throughout what has become a lifelong pursuit. This path and all its challenges and rewards has helped me discover a deeper sense of myself, true self-confidence, happiness, and a heartbeat that has gotten me through some of my darkest times.
Devon Boorman ·
There is a way that walking a familiar path can be pleasing—like returning home. There is an internal journey that is always advancing, and following a road you know well on the outside can free up your mind to go further on the inside. When I struggle my way through those first push-ups, or the humbling experience of having my butt handed to me in a fencing match, a part of me says: “Hello, old friend. I’m looking forward to walking this road again.”
Devon Boorman ·
It takes time to build up the confidence, and the skills, to play an active and useful role in shaping your learning environment. Get feedback and help, and experiment. The more you can see yourself as your teacher, instead of offloading the responsibility onto someone else, the deeper and more satisfying your training can be.
Devon Boorman ·
From June 3–5, Academie Duello will be hosting their first Vancouver Martial Challenge. This event is part of an alternative type of event I want to promote within the Historical European Martial Arts community: events that focus on combat within the realm of the martial art rather than the martial sport.
Devon Boorman ·
As Michael Syed cites very thoroughly in his book Bounce, the number of hours you invest is important, but the quality of those hours is what actually matters when it comes to achieving mastery. To effectively push forward, you must spend the bulk of your hours working in the most challenging places, putting yourself into a space where you make mistakes and fail frequently.
Devon Boorman ·
