FFMA Philosophies

Philosophies:

The following are some of our philosophies on training:

(1) Living in the modern world

In today's complex and frenetic world it's easy to forget that time has to be made to take care of ourselves. To make matters worse, today's lifestyles are designed to make us fat. We may have good intentions to get fit and healthy - but more often than not all the excuses appear. "I am too busy at work, I have so much to do at home, I have no time because of my family commitments etc." The demands of the modern world leave us exhausted as we get further away from connecting with our real selves - we give in and become slaves to our environment. We therefore need a way to get and stay motivated to train and take better care of ourselves.

(2) Getting motivated to train

We often hear the statement 'I just can't get motivated to train' - our standard reply is: 'you train to get motivated'. The simple pleasures of life are the sweetest - swapping sweat with committed training partners and a good shower and banter after the session can be a very rewarding and healing experience if you have had a bad day at the office (or a bad hair day!). Participating in an interesting fitness system can be our way out of the modern day curse of stress and anxiety.

(3) The benefits of martial arts training

Training in the martial arts can provide physical, mental and spiritual benefits. We believe there are many benefits derived from regular striking practice. Correct impact training on a bag, pads or a training partner can have a positive impact on a person's health, fitness, and self confidence.

Punching and kicking drills are an excellent form of exercise; they are vigorous enough to get you into terrific shape and are a great supplement to other sports or fitness activities. They can also be customized to suit a student's specific level of fitness. At FFMA you work at your pace and your own level, you measure your progress against your own standards and not that of others (as we are all unique). Progression in the martial arts provides a student with a template for discipline that improves focus and concentration in other every day tasks.

(4) The older I get the faster I was

One common comment we often get is "I am too old to train in the martial arts". Fortunately I can use the example that I'm in my 50's and Mark is in his 40's and we're still training. They often ask Tony how he copes - his standard response is: 'the older I get the faster I was". Our point is that age does not really matter as you can train at your own pace.

Tony says: "In my travels across the world as an engineer, I have found that the old power stations that are abused pushed to the limit and not correctly maintained are the ones that suffer a 'forced outage'. It means the plant is forced out of action; this same universal law applies to us."

(5) Deep immersion philosophy

There is a saying: 'give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime". Many of us have been there, listening to an instructor telling us for hours on end how to execute a move - it reminds us of the following funny quote: "I haven't spoken to my instructor for a year - I didn't want to interrupt him"!

Yes we do need the basic instruction on how and why a move is executed in a certain way in order to follow correct mechanics for the movement - but we feel that it should not be a long drawn out discussion. There is more benefit in empowering and coaching students to find their way based on their own body mechanics - their groove. We like to give our students the big picture from which we then work with them to get the little details correct.

The best way to learn punching or kicking with a firm foundation is to just do it and find your own way. A good foundation developed on solid - practical routines is priceless; it will ensure that you have a strong base. To help this process we use deep immersion periods in which we allow students the freedom to train at basic and advanced levels although they are only beginners.

We empower students to go on a journey of self discovery by giving them an early but controlled insight into the advanced level training. We provide feedback with encouragement and consider the student's readiness to perform a drill. It is based on helping students find themselves through dynamic training which does not rely on a one-way street of instruction.

(6) The principle of progress built on failure

Training routines are our test laboratory; they enable us to make sense of the confusing messages that are sometimes found in various martial arts sources. We just train and experiment (and have fun at the same time). We calibrate what we do by attending some of the BCA courses which provide a platform for a high standard of martial arts instruction and by inviting world class instructors to regularly teach at our training sessions. Our instructors also attend training sessions with world class coaches such as Master Sken, John B Will, Glenn Smith and others.

Tony says: "I'm an engineer working on power stations all over the planet. In my world adjustments are made as and when necessary to make something work better. Experiments are done until the right conclusion is reached, failures are just events designed to get you closer to success".

Our training principles are based on doing what feels right by actually drilling and testing them. It is the individual who decides what is best for them as no two people can ever have the same body shape or movements. Rocky Marciano was told by a boxing coach that he should change his technique because it was not conventional; Rocky replied; "why would I want to do that when I'm knocking everyone out".

Something for all martial artists to ponder on (this is an established old quote):

"Every martial artist brings to the mat only himself. He can leave the mat with more than he came with if he learns something from the experience. He will leave with less if he learns nothing".

Good luck with your training!