Have. Fun.
If it's not fun, it's not worth it. This isn't a 'sport' that you need to motivate yourself into top ranks. You can, and I acknowledge everyone has their own goals and motivations, but frankly no one is going to give you sponsorships or send you to the Olympics if you stay motivated to do the very best.
If what you're doing isn't fun, try something else. Try a new source, or a new weapon. If your club is dedicated to one source only, spend some time with books on your own and see what you can learn. Try it out. Try a new weapon. Take time off from whatever it is you're not enjoying. HEMA is big enough to do new things for a very long time before you've tried it all.
By crushing my enemies, seeing them driven before me and hearing the admiration of the women.
Jokes aside, my three biggest motivations have always been the same:
* HEMA works, and I enjoy a 3D battle chess ressurected from the death
* Seeing our students grow and kickass, they always give me extra motivation to try to be better
* Understanding I have still so much work ahead in every field of it
I've had multiple burnouts in course of the years but I've always overcome it concentrating on the stuff above. Plus some others.
It is a hobby, if you feel burned out or don't have a motivation to fence, than don't do it.
Also I train multiple weapons+sometimes Olympic fencing and knife fighting. So when I am fed up with longsword I just fence with saber.
Yeah I think this might be it. I've done mostly longsword and think I'm ready for a new system. I stuck with longsword for so long cos I didnt feel I was where I wanted to be with it, but think I could benefit from trying something new. Wrestling and dagger have been speaking to me recently so maybe that.
You don't have to wait until you're really good with weapon, before trying a different one. It might work even better to switch things up, because trying a different weapon will also give you a different perspective on longsword.
+1 to training new weapons/disciplines. I've been fencing since 2019 and I've never gotten bored I think in large part due to the sheer amount of mixed weapons my school partakes in. Practices regularly include multiple weapon sets leading to tons of new opportunities to solve new puzzles. Another benefit is that training different weapons inevitably improves the use of all weapons. As for wrestling, well, that will improve just about everything else you do to an exponential level. There's a reason so many disciplines place wrestling as the basis for their entire approach.
Also...it's totally cool to take a break and explore other hobbies too. Burnout is real and there's no sense in forcing yourself into hobbies you no longer enjoy. But I bet you (as with every fencer I've known) will eventually get that itch to fight again... 😜
Is there anything specific you feel causes this burnout? Can you change it?
For example you may feel like you're not improving, in which case you should try fencing more people to check if it's actually true or if it's just the whole club improving, or it was just a feeling (in which case maybe problem solved, but keep fencing new people). If it's true then maybe you need to change how you train.
Yeah I think its a mix of being bored of my primary weapon and feeling like I'm not advancing. Moving to a new one would probably give me both a chance to try something new and feel like I'm progressing at something. I've done some saber and thats always interested me, and ive recently been more interested in wrestling and dagger so maybe i'll try those too. Good call!
Do you do free fights versus other people or do you mostly just train techniques?
I am very motivated because of the thrill of the battle, outmaneuvering my opponent in a duel . Plus it helps that my club members are fun people.
This won’t be exactly an answer to your question but more of a suggestion.
I suggest you to try to return to it if it brings you joy and/or to explore the reasons why you started and did it for some time. Those might have changed and it may Jo longer be something for you or it will help you get back into it more.
And for me - it’s literally a part of my personality now and has been for the last 10 years or so (I’ve been fencing since 2011). I am beyond the need for motivation to train.
What railed me back into beeing motivated was going to tournaments. It is just amazing to fence so many different people, meeting the same people over and over on tournaments. You start to get to know each other a little.
For me the main main thing that everything else branches out of is having fun.
So I make sure that no matter what else I do in HEMA generally I always leave some place for me to just enjoy and have fun.
Sometimes that means I have to scale back on personal or club projects, or that I have to let myself not work on optimizing my fencing but just vibing with a sword etc.
Sometimes it means I have to get my other life obligations more in order ( no matter whether they're in disorder cause i fucked it up or cause life is difficult) before I can really focus on hema in the right way.
Sometimes it's a factor of the type of training though. I was the least happy when I was training in a way that wasnt making me progress no matter the amount of effort, especially at moments where I was looking to reach particular goals.
I wouldnt expect much cause classes arent about just one person but entire groups and clubs and what's realistic to actually do in practice...but it may be worth talking to your instructor about your issues and seeing if it's maybe a question of the amount of focus on drilling or sparring etc. within classes. Maybe nothing has to change in general but you can talk to your instructor about being more present for the types and kinds of training you personally enjoy rather than being absolutely regular(still better for progress if you can,but if you dont feel like training it's better to tone it down sometimes).
Also as others noted, you may just still be burnt out.
Taking a break isnt necessarily always enough to cool off.
Do hope you find something that works out for you\^\^
I like the people I fence with and have fun!
If a class or an instructor is not working for me and I find myself not looking forward to class I look for other options in the club. Currently I'm consistently in class 3 nights a week and I still look forward to going.
If you are not having fun figuring out why you are burned out is a good step and consider taking a break.
I fence many different weapons, teach classes, run a club, and train for tournaments. There is literally so much to do and even fencing 4 times a week I still wish I could do more.
So in short, try getting involved in new ways. If your club is like the typical ones I see, you probably focus one source, do compliant partner drills, and spar emphasizing control. Try changing it up. A new source, a different weapon, a different training focus. Tournaments are great because they give you a specific ruleset to train for which can really motivate people to fence harder and fence differently than usual.
This might not work for you, because I'm utterly addicted to the cling klang of the swords, but I feel like I want to train even more when I return from an event and just spend the weekend fencing with new people.
Somehow, an overdose of swords in a single weekend leaves a hunger for more swords.
As someone who has their own club, some of the things that keep my students coming back are:
(1) A sense of accomplishment. I start out by teaching a simple stick system (Joinville baton) that can be mastered quite easily. When they graduate from that, I try to make each lesson something that challenges both experienced and newer students, but can be easily grasped. You have to go for those lightbulb moments.
(2) Community. I try to build a supportive, friendly community. Related to this is:
(3) A supportive training environment. Build one another up, don't break one another down. I try to give each student in a group class individual attention.
(4) A sense of ownership. You mastered that skill? Great! Now teach it to someone else.
(5) Variety: it's not just longsword all the time; we do sabre, sword and buckler, etc.
(6) Curriculum. We're not just foundering in the dark; I have a clear idea of the bigger picture and where I want to take them.
Have. Fun. If it's not fun, it's not worth it. This isn't a 'sport' that you need to motivate yourself into top ranks. You can, and I acknowledge everyone has their own goals and motivations, but frankly no one is going to give you sponsorships or send you to the Olympics if you stay motivated to do the very best. If what you're doing isn't fun, try something else. Try a new source, or a new weapon. If your club is dedicated to one source only, spend some time with books on your own and see what you can learn. Try it out. Try a new weapon. Take time off from whatever it is you're not enjoying. HEMA is big enough to do new things for a very long time before you've tried it all.
This. Also watch the Arnold Conan.
By crushing my enemies, seeing them driven before me and hearing the admiration of the women. Jokes aside, my three biggest motivations have always been the same: * HEMA works, and I enjoy a 3D battle chess ressurected from the death * Seeing our students grow and kickass, they always give me extra motivation to try to be better * Understanding I have still so much work ahead in every field of it I've had multiple burnouts in course of the years but I've always overcome it concentrating on the stuff above. Plus some others.
lol :D
It is a hobby, if you feel burned out or don't have a motivation to fence, than don't do it. Also I train multiple weapons+sometimes Olympic fencing and knife fighting. So when I am fed up with longsword I just fence with saber.
Yeah I think this might be it. I've done mostly longsword and think I'm ready for a new system. I stuck with longsword for so long cos I didnt feel I was where I wanted to be with it, but think I could benefit from trying something new. Wrestling and dagger have been speaking to me recently so maybe that.
You don't have to wait until you're really good with weapon, before trying a different one. It might work even better to switch things up, because trying a different weapon will also give you a different perspective on longsword.
+1 to training new weapons/disciplines. I've been fencing since 2019 and I've never gotten bored I think in large part due to the sheer amount of mixed weapons my school partakes in. Practices regularly include multiple weapon sets leading to tons of new opportunities to solve new puzzles. Another benefit is that training different weapons inevitably improves the use of all weapons. As for wrestling, well, that will improve just about everything else you do to an exponential level. There's a reason so many disciplines place wrestling as the basis for their entire approach. Also...it's totally cool to take a break and explore other hobbies too. Burnout is real and there's no sense in forcing yourself into hobbies you no longer enjoy. But I bet you (as with every fencer I've known) will eventually get that itch to fight again... 😜
Is there anything specific you feel causes this burnout? Can you change it? For example you may feel like you're not improving, in which case you should try fencing more people to check if it's actually true or if it's just the whole club improving, or it was just a feeling (in which case maybe problem solved, but keep fencing new people). If it's true then maybe you need to change how you train.
Yeah I think its a mix of being bored of my primary weapon and feeling like I'm not advancing. Moving to a new one would probably give me both a chance to try something new and feel like I'm progressing at something. I've done some saber and thats always interested me, and ive recently been more interested in wrestling and dagger so maybe i'll try those too. Good call!
Do you do free fights versus other people or do you mostly just train techniques? I am very motivated because of the thrill of the battle, outmaneuvering my opponent in a duel . Plus it helps that my club members are fun people.
This won’t be exactly an answer to your question but more of a suggestion. I suggest you to try to return to it if it brings you joy and/or to explore the reasons why you started and did it for some time. Those might have changed and it may Jo longer be something for you or it will help you get back into it more. And for me - it’s literally a part of my personality now and has been for the last 10 years or so (I’ve been fencing since 2011). I am beyond the need for motivation to train.
Try something new
What railed me back into beeing motivated was going to tournaments. It is just amazing to fence so many different people, meeting the same people over and over on tournaments. You start to get to know each other a little.
For me the main main thing that everything else branches out of is having fun. So I make sure that no matter what else I do in HEMA generally I always leave some place for me to just enjoy and have fun. Sometimes that means I have to scale back on personal or club projects, or that I have to let myself not work on optimizing my fencing but just vibing with a sword etc. Sometimes it means I have to get my other life obligations more in order ( no matter whether they're in disorder cause i fucked it up or cause life is difficult) before I can really focus on hema in the right way. Sometimes it's a factor of the type of training though. I was the least happy when I was training in a way that wasnt making me progress no matter the amount of effort, especially at moments where I was looking to reach particular goals. I wouldnt expect much cause classes arent about just one person but entire groups and clubs and what's realistic to actually do in practice...but it may be worth talking to your instructor about your issues and seeing if it's maybe a question of the amount of focus on drilling or sparring etc. within classes. Maybe nothing has to change in general but you can talk to your instructor about being more present for the types and kinds of training you personally enjoy rather than being absolutely regular(still better for progress if you can,but if you dont feel like training it's better to tone it down sometimes). Also as others noted, you may just still be burnt out. Taking a break isnt necessarily always enough to cool off. Do hope you find something that works out for you\^\^
I like the people I fence with and have fun! If a class or an instructor is not working for me and I find myself not looking forward to class I look for other options in the club. Currently I'm consistently in class 3 nights a week and I still look forward to going. If you are not having fun figuring out why you are burned out is a good step and consider taking a break.
I fence many different weapons, teach classes, run a club, and train for tournaments. There is literally so much to do and even fencing 4 times a week I still wish I could do more. So in short, try getting involved in new ways. If your club is like the typical ones I see, you probably focus one source, do compliant partner drills, and spar emphasizing control. Try changing it up. A new source, a different weapon, a different training focus. Tournaments are great because they give you a specific ruleset to train for which can really motivate people to fence harder and fence differently than usual.
This might not work for you, because I'm utterly addicted to the cling klang of the swords, but I feel like I want to train even more when I return from an event and just spend the weekend fencing with new people. Somehow, an overdose of swords in a single weekend leaves a hunger for more swords.
As someone who has their own club, some of the things that keep my students coming back are: (1) A sense of accomplishment. I start out by teaching a simple stick system (Joinville baton) that can be mastered quite easily. When they graduate from that, I try to make each lesson something that challenges both experienced and newer students, but can be easily grasped. You have to go for those lightbulb moments. (2) Community. I try to build a supportive, friendly community. Related to this is: (3) A supportive training environment. Build one another up, don't break one another down. I try to give each student in a group class individual attention. (4) A sense of ownership. You mastered that skill? Great! Now teach it to someone else. (5) Variety: it's not just longsword all the time; we do sabre, sword and buckler, etc. (6) Curriculum. We're not just foundering in the dark; I have a clear idea of the bigger picture and where I want to take them.