Burnout
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Some causes of burnout
- Training becomes more monotonous. When you first begin training, you have a lot of new information to learn and absorb. As you move up in rank, your emphasis shifts from acquiring knowledge to perfecting skills. After some time, your skills plateau and you no longer see progress. At this point, training gets boring.
- Ranks become more distant or far between. As you move up in rank, your testings become farther and farther apart. It is difficult to maintain your focus during these long periods of stagnation.
- Rank goal is achieved. When beginning a martial art, many people have the goal of making black belt. Once they reach the goal, they are satisfied. Some consider black belt as nothing more than recognition of “mastery of the basics.”
- More emphasis on teaching and less on training. As students moves up in rank, they inevitably be called upon to help teach lower ranks. At some point, they are teaching more than training. For some this is rewarding, for others it is a chore.