Martial Arts

Martial Arts

This is an activity that I planned for the summer, however it also is something that I used to do and I looked forward to continue, as I had done multiple years of karate before that. This course was however a little different, as it was an MMA course, which means that it was "Mixed Martial Arts", this mixes all different kinds of techniques into one single fighting skill and it was interesting to learn about this. I saw it as an action activity as it was physically demanding, really brought you in to a sweat and it increased ones physical capabilities. It was a course of 2 weeks, 4 times a week, so in total I had 8 1 and a half hour sessions, in which I learnt many different things.

Objectives

Here I set out to learn the different techniques of kicks and punch as well as learning the different combinations that they use to fight and also the grapples. I thought this was a realistic target as I had done martial arts before and I would be able to pick up certain parts from that former experience. This was over a 2 week course and I thought that was a reasonable time.

Reflection

The first thing I noticed was the endurance needed to do MMA and I was challenged by that because it really was physically challenging. So this course really made me fit and made me aware of what this sport actually included. Progressing through my two week course I started learning a variety of techniques and combinations, in addition I learnt different grapples. This really was fun for me to learn, as I revisited some of the moves I learnt through karate when I was younger. As I was progressing I started foccussing more and more so that I could reach those learning outcomes and objectives set for myself.
I planned and intiated an activity (3), worked collaboratively with others (4) and developed new skills (8). Also I would say that I achieved all my objectives set, I learnt the different combinations, which included different kicks, punches and grapples. In addition it helped my fittness a lot.

Doing this activity for two weeks, I had achieved all my aims, however most importantly I made new friends, all due to the hardship of training and sharing that bond, this is something I have noticed throughout all of my CAS activities, anything that I have done with others, going through any kind of hardship has brought me together with people and made me appreciate smaller things whilst doing these activities, for example just being outside, the air, the exercise one gets, even the soreness in the morning when you wake up. All these activities, including this one, have brought me closed to myself and closer to other people, the activities helped me push myself and know what I am capable of and what not, what is in my control and what is not. All the activities crossover in this way and make you realise things that you did not before, one gets a better feeling of your balance in life, and what you have to do for it. In german one says, "Immer den goldenen Mittelweg nehmen", which translates to, always take the golden middel path, which for me in martial arts has been very much the case, in martial arts you learn aggression towards your opponent, you kick them and hit them, you fight with them, however you respect them and they respect you, this is the way balance is held and in life it seems to be the same. All in all martial arts has helped me, even for the limited 2 weeks I had it.