Monday, 7 April 2008

A regular martial artist

It's been a long time since I've been in a normal training regime due to half term and laziness- I could have found a club in Brussels or Hartlepool or even just trained for 20 minutes in my own time and space, but no I haven't trained actively for a couple of weeks. I'm reminded of my Tang Soo Do teacher's analogy of rowing a boat up river: when you stop you don't stand still, you go backwards.

He also was keen on emphasising that it's easy to say we don't have time for things that are hard work, require effort. Oh, I'm tired and I've had a long day. Oh the children were keeping me busy. Oh I was invited for a beer with a friend on that night. He would say simply that if you desire something you will make time for it. Simply put if you are invited to dinner on Wednesday, the only reply can be: Wednesday is training night, so no thanks. Regular training is an essential part of martial arts. You just can't study it from a book or in isolation. For a time, maybe, but long term, like many creative arts, you need critical input.

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