While some argue Karate is difficult to learn, others the opposite. As a result, when starting to train in it, you may get confused about whether it’ll be challenging or a walk in the park. So, is it hard to learn?
Karate is difficult to learn because it’s an intense mental and physical exercise. As a result, training will constantly stretch your physical and mental limits. For instance, you can burn up to 720 calories an hour in Karate. That means your heart rate will be higher than the average workout, hence intense.
Nonetheless, those who pass the test and stay consistent with training- reap many results. For example, some Karate trainees report their overall mental state and well-begin increased in correlation to how dedicated they were to training.
Amazing, isn’t it?
You can improve yourself while learning to fight. In fact, if you stay consistent, both of these benefits will come naturally regardless of your end goal.
As such, even if you only want to learn self-defense, you’ll also improve your physical and mental health. Therefore, Karate is a fantastic platform to improve yourself and learn to fight.
However, staying consistent and dedicated at all times- will get challenging.
How to make Karate training easier
Now that we understand Karate training will get complicated, we want to make it as easy as possible for our future selves. Consequently, staying dedicated and full of willpower will become less straining on your mental capacities.
Here are the 3-ways you can implement to make Karate training more sustaining in the long term:
- Set small milestones
- Give yourself enough rest
- Have a purpose
Frankly, if you were to think of ways to make training more accessible, these would have come to mind. However, seeing them on paper may help you implement them into your life.
So, let’s start with the first one, to set small milestones.
#1- Set small milestones
The first way to make Karate training easier- is to set milestones you can reach in a month. Well, why will it help?
Setting small milestones will help you to feel like you have achieved more. Moreover, it’ll show you the proof you’re progressing, which alone can keep you motivated. In contrast, setting long-term goals, such as reaching a black belt, isn’t a pursuit you should think about too often, as it’ll demotivate you.
It’ll be best if you differentiate between long and short-term goals. Although we’ll discuss it in the 3rd section, I want to explain why it’s essential to know briefly.
You need to have a purpose, an end goal you can look up to. However, if that’s your only goal or motivation, you’re less likely to keep up with training.
Instead, it’ll be best to set short-term goals, such as learning a technique or advancing to the next belt. They’ll keep you motivated and ready to take on the world.
Now, for the second one.
#2- Give yourself enough rest
Some people don’t understand why their muscles are sore or in pain. But, in a brief look at their training routine, we immediately understand why.
Not giving your body enough rest to recover (both mentally and physically) will be a detrimental burden on your progression. So, how can you avoid it?
The primary guideline to avoid overtraining is to put 3 weekly Karate workouts as your limit. Moreover, the workouts can’t be on consecutive days, such as Sunday and Monday. If you don’t follow this guideline, you’ll eventually tire yourself to the point of tiredness and soreness.
Common sense tells us the more we train, the more results we’ll notice. However, that can’t be further from the truth.
Instead, if you don’t give yourself enough rest, your muscles won’t have enough time to build themselves and recover. As a result, not only will you not see any progression, but you may also cause permanent damage to your body and muscles.
If there’s a single piece of advice I want you to take is not to overtrain. If you do, you’ll always feel tired and sore. Eventually, you’ll blame Karate as the main cause of your harmful symptoms. As a result, you’ll never fall in love with this astounding martial art, which will be a waste of potential enjoyment and self-development.
#3- Have a purpose
The last way to make your Karate training easier- is to have a purpose.
To achieve anything significant in this life- you must have a purpose, an end goal to continually return to.
If you don’t, you’ll find it incredibly challenging to keep up with training, as the motivation will eventually fade away.
Nonetheless, having a purpose, an end goal, will solve your motivation problem. Still, you may be unable to put your finger on the exact reason you want to start training in Karate. So, let’s look at some common ones, and you may find yours in the following list.
- Learning to fight
- Learning self-defense
- Practicing a martial art
- Bettering your physical condition
- Improving your social life
- Studying a traditional martial art
- Shedding excess body fat
- Becoming healthier
- Getting a sense of community or a group
As you can see, the list is long and goes even further. Therefore, it’ll be best to have an end goal you can always refer to.
If you don’t, do you think your mind will want to invest your precious time in martial arts? The answer is no.
On the other hand, if you have a purpose you’ll do anything to achieve, you’ll start producing so many results. Moreover, benefits will begin to naturally flow your way since you won’t think about them too often.
As such, keeping up with training- becomes easy and fun!
How long does it take to learn Karate fully?
Learning Karate fully is a broad term. So, let’s define what it actually means. If you want to master the art of Karate, you most likely want to reach the black belt, a symbol of mastering the art. So, how long will it take to earn the Karate black belt?
On average, to learn Karate fully, hence master it, you’ll need to invest 10 years. However, the number of years ranges from 5-12 years. Karate masters attain the black belt after a series of tests and challenging tasks, such as training for an extended period and proving your dedication and discipline.
Those willing to learn Karate entirely are those that have a purpose. As we’ve previously discussed, a purpose may be the factor between quitting and keeping up with training.
Therefore, you’ll first need to define an end goal you want to achieve. For example, shedding excess body fat or learning to fight- are suitable ones.
Before reaching the black belt, you’ll need to attain 6 others belts, which are white, yellow, orange, green, blue, and brown.
Achieving each one of these can take years. Because of that, it’ll be best not to hope you’ll advance to the next belt after every session. Instead, set small milestones and slowly learn the art of Karate.
Trust me; you won’t regret it.
Final words
Karate is a fantastic martial art that highly benefits its dedicated trainees. Notice I added the word dedicated. If you’re not working hard enough, you won’t see nearly as many results as those who do.
Karate is difficult to learn since it’s an intense workout both physically and mentally. As a result, it’ll constantly stretch your edges, which is why it’s an intense workout. However, with hard work comes great rewards, such as better physical condition and mental health.
If you enjoyed reading this post, I encourage you to read an article I wrote about the belt order of Karate. If you’re interested in learning Karate, knowing the belt order and the ranks- is a must.