I recently stumbled over the popular poem relating to why people come into your life, entitled Reason, Season or Lifetime? I'm sure that any Facebook users will have seen it many times before.
It wasn't long before I realised that 'people' could easily be replaced with 'karate', or any other martial art that you practice, and subsequently encourage you to examine your goals and motivation.
My personal thoughts are:
Reason - this type of student comes to karate training with a defined goal, be it to lose weight, get fit, or become a Black belt. Once the initial goal has been achieved, the desire to continue training often evaporates, and the student invariably leaves to pursue another goal.
Season - this type of student comes to karate training with no defined goal, but instead has a dedicated and committed attitude which allows them to continue training as they reach and surpass the goals that the 'Reason' students set themselves. These students usually attend every session to begin with, however there becomes a time when the 'Season' student reaches a plateau, and begins to lose their drive and motivation. They begin to miss sessions as the excuses roll in, and eventually they decide that their time is up.
Lifetime - this type of student comes to karate training with any of the previously mentioned reasons, and may take some considerable time to change from 'Reason' or 'Season' to 'Lifetime'. However, at some point in their training, the proverbial penny drops, and they suddenly have difficulty visualising their life without karate. They continually want to improve themselves and others, and realise that they will never know everything or attain perfection. It won't stop them trying though.
So which applies to you?
I am not suggesting that any of the three definitions are wrong, but sometimes recognising which path you are on can help you plan your training accordingly, or seek assistance and guidance to change paths if you feel you are heading in the wrong direction.
Until next time,
Sensei
I have just read this blog and probably should take time to construct a comment. However:
ReplyDeleteI probably started as described (reason). Being 14 years old having a lack of confidence and believing falsely that a black belt around my waist made me a force to be reckoned with (what a childish view). I then became as you describe (season). The habit of training camaraderie competition and I hate to admit it but still male ego kept me training but for all the wrong reasons.
After a 12 year break for various reasons, I started again once relocated with my family to the south coast. As described I feel at last my ego has been put into check (I am 51 for gods sake its about time)!! I feel happy to concentrate on training for my own self improvement and helping other students is amazingly rewarding. My only caveat for me is my life does not give me enough time to train as I would like to. In my mind I am still 21 however my body some mornings feels 71!! from Dan Jones