For many people the Covid plague had a major effect on their martial arts training. Going to the gym and rolling around with a bunch of people is the last thing you wanna do during a pandemic. However, the end is in sight. More people are getting vaccinated, and the Covid rates generally have been going down. You might be thinking about getting back to your training, but it isn’t always that simple is it?
How Can I go Back to the Gym When I’m Out of Shape and Forgot My Skills?
For many people, they’ve been out of training for over a year now due to Covid. Not everyone was able to train independently from home. Taking a year off is never easy, and the fear of forgetting everything that you had learned is very real. Naturally, this is going to make it tough to walk back into you’re training hall for the first time.
As the person who initially talks to people and gets their training and membership all set up, I can tell you that being concerned about forgetting everything that you’ve known, being out of shape, and fear of not being worthy of your rank, are all very common. So how do we get over those fears?
Sometimes, it’s best to just accept and embrace this fear but do stuff anyway. You’re probably out of shape compared to when you were training consistently. Yeah, you’re probably not going to remember as much. And you might be a blue belt but get tapped by the white belt who was studying his Gracie videos and had an older brother to practice on. These things might indeed happen. But so what? If you’re doing something that you love again and that you haven’t been able to do for a year, does any of that other stuff even matter? No, it does not.
So What Do I Do About It?
Instead of thinking about your fears and your concerns about coming back, think about how good it’s going to feel stepping onto the mat. Think about how much straighter you’re going to sit in your desk chair at work the next day. Think about the camaraderie with all the other practitioners that you’ve been missing. And also think about what you want. You initially joined Jiu Jitsu for a reason, think about those reasons and those goals. They may have been put on hold but they are far more achievable when you’re actually going to the gym.
Covid is Still Out There
You might also have concerns about Covid. You might be wondering if it’s safe to even start training yet. A decent gym will do everything it can to keep you safe. Gym owners for the most part are well aware of maintaining good hygiene and proper sanitization of equipment. We’ve been battling things like ringworm since day one. So this mindset will definitely help keep you safe from Covid. Don’t be afraid to ask your gym owners about their Covid procedures. The owners and even some of the instructors should be able to tell you everything that is being done to prevent the spread of the virus.
A New Routine is Hard
And maybe you know you should get back in, but the six hours of Netflix you’ve gotten used to makes it difficult. This is very real possibility as well, and hey, most of us have been someplace like that before. Changing up your routine is always a bit tricky, but it’s only going to be tricky for the first time or two. After that you’re going to fall into your old routine, and you’re going to be loving Jiu Jitsu or whatever other martial art you’re doing all over again. Remember, you can actually be doing superhero like feats on the mat in real life, instead of just watching people doing similar things on TV.
There’s no shame in being nervous about getting back to the gym. Find out what is stopping you and make things happen!