30 Days in the Dojo: My Martial Arts Experience
It's been more than a month since I started martial arts. I was drawn to this sport primarily because of the mental benefits. People often claim it changes their lives, and I wanted to understand how.
From Gym Rat to Martial Arts Enthusiast
I was traditionally a gym rat, working out 4-6 days a week with a focus on gaining strength. Initially, my motivation stemmed from insecurity about my skinny-fat body. Many people start that way, and it’s a solid beginning. Over time, I began lifting decent weights for my 63 kg body weight. My PRs were a 32.5 kg dumbbell bench press, a 115 kg deadlift, and a 100 kg squat. While not impressive for a bodybuilder, they were decent for me.
However, my diet was inconsistent; I'd eat protein-packed meals during the week and indulge in junk food on weekends. This led to some muscle gain but also fat accumulation. I avoided cardio because I wanted to look bigger, and in my mind, cardio didn't fit that goal.
After 1.5 years of this regimen, I realized my cardio was terrible. I would get breathless climbing stairs and couldn't run more than a kilometer. Attending a few cardio classes at the gym exhausted me and instilled a fear of high-intensity workouts. I decided to break that pattern.
Why Martial Arts?
I’ve always been fascinated by boxers and MMA fighters. Watching videos on the importance of martial arts and how it made people more confident and mentally strong piqued my interest. All my life, I had felt weak. I was scared of the big guys and the bullies, which is why I started weightlifting. When you look big, people respect you more and assume you can handle yourself. But I wanted to address my insecurity at its root. I didn't just want to appear strong; I wanted to be strong.
I heard Joe Rogan once say, "If a fight breaks out, I want to be the one in control because if that’s the case, I know nobody is getting hurt." That statement resonated with me. I started watching more content on martial arts, and soon Instagram began showing me ads for local martial arts schools. I decided to search for schools near my home on Google Maps.
Bob N Weave
I found a school called Bob N Weave. It seemed relatively new, with a few recent videos. The dojo was super clean and looked like a world-class gym, which was a pleasant surprise. Most martial arts gyms in India are not well-equipped and lack good trainers. So, I decided to inquire.
One of the founders, Himanshu, who now coaches me sometimes, spoke to me for about 20-30 minutes over the phone. He was out of town for his father's last rites but spoke patiently about my potential path and how it's a two-way street—I’d have to prove I could work hard.
I decided to join not because he convinced me or because the gym was fancy, but because of his dedication. If a man could continue his business and take a call with a potential student after losing his father, it showed me his passion for the sport and his business.
Before joining, I took a bike trip to clear my head. I returned a week later, met Himanshu, and joined the classes. During this week, Himanshu advised me to try Tabata workouts of 30-45 minutes. The first two days were hell, and I was gasping for breath in the first 10 minutes. But as an engineer, I know problems can be solved by "divide and conquer". Slowly, I managed 20 minutes before stepping into the gym. Now, I was ready to go.
Highlights from the First Month
Boosting Endurance and Stamina
The first few days in the gym were as painful as I expected—fatigue, breathlessness, dizziness post-workout, and shin splints. I remember coming home so tired that I fell asleep as soon as I hit the bed. My body would heat up during the night, like a rusty engine starting to work hard again.
[One month in and kicking the bag without shin gaurds, thinking I'm a freak of nature! Example of me being a complete noob.]
As a beginner, the coach at Bob N Weave focused on improving my mobility, flexibility, and endurance, which are prerequisites for practicing any kind of martial arts. We did a lot of high-intensity training circuits in the first month. As a result, my endurance and stamina are at an all-time high. It feels great to progress from a guy who couldn’t climb stairs without breathlessness. Anyone starting martial arts can expect their stamina and endurance to improve significantly in the first month.
Nutrition and Body Changes
Burning tons of calories on the mats allowed me to eat almost anything and still maintain a flat belly with a bit of ab definition! (One of my favorite parts). I indulged until I came to my senses and started eating clean again. With bodybuilding, I had to be overly cautious about my diet and protein intake (thanks to my vegetarian diet). But with martial arts, I stopped stressing out so much. I maintained a clean diet with decent protein intake. Over the weeks, I saw myself getting leaner. My belly fat reduced, and I noticed more definition around my shoulders from all the boxing. I probably lost some muscle, especially around the chest, but I’m not worried since I’ve resumed strength training twice a week. Restarting the gym after martial arts was exciting since I could feel the muscles better. I remember doing the lat-pulldowns after the break and I felt my lats better than I've ever felt in my life!
Understanding My Anatomy
A good portion of my gym time went into conditioning my body. Soon after starting, I realized the pain points in my body. My flexors were jammed (they still are), my shoulders and back were stiff. My quads burnt out really easily (even after pulling off 100kg squats). I also opened an un-healed ankle injury that I got from badminton few months back, which is fortunately healed now. I am paying attention to these issues and working with my coaches at Bob N Weave to design routines for them. I'm confident, I'll be able to resolve these issues in a few months or at least be in a better place. This is one thing I love about martial arts: You start to understand how different muscles and joints work. You discover new muscle groups you didn’t know existed! You become one with your body.
Immunity
This might be controversial since I can't say it was directly due to martial arts, but I used to catch colds with even slight temperature changes. Until recently, this was frequent. I’m not sure if my training improved my health, but it seems unlikely to be a coincidence since other lifestyle factors remained unchanged.
Realizing It Is More Than a Sport
In the past month, I’ve learned that martial arts is more than a sport. It’s an art. Every move has intricate details—what part of your fist should make contact for maximum impact, where it should land for the most damage. If someone holds you in a guard, there are numerous ways to escape and counterattack. There’s a lot to learn, and I’ve barely scratched the surface. This is really exciting for me!
My Vision
Almost every new person I meet at the gym asks, "What are your plans? Are you planning to fight?" Even though I don’t have a definite answer, I usually say, "I’m just going with the flow." But deep down, I know why I’m doing this, and I’ll try to summarize my vision with a quote I heard somewhere in a video: "There are three kinds of people on the mats:
The Athletes: People who are good at sports and general athleticism. They would excel in any physical sport.
The Fighters: People who love to fight. They are naturally charged and thrive on causing damage and emerging victorious.
The Artists: People who create magic on the mats. They are naturally curious learners who execute moves with utmost perfection. They treat martial arts as an art and do it for its own sake.
I aspire to be the last kind. I see this as a way of life. Given the chance to be human among a trillion species, I want to explore all that my body and mind have to offer. After all, This might be my only chance to do that. If you have always wanted to get into martial arts, take my word for it: go for it. It might be the best gift you ever give to yourself and your lineage.
Thanks for reading. Keep growing.
Love, Saransh.