focus

[Spirit At Choice]

Some days it's there, and some days the cracks on the wall are just way more interesting than what the sensei is saying. Then everyone is moving in unison except me... I'm a split second behind because I just wasn't paying attention.

It's frustrating because I spend only one hour a day in the dojo. You'd think that for one hour I could laser in on karate and not think about my ex-husband, or my shopping list, or the fact that taxes are still a bit of a jumble.

At first it was easy. It's odd that even though my passion for karate is as high as when I started in October, my focus is not always at that same level as when I started.

I often wish the opening meditation lasted just a bit longer so I could really get in that karate-zone in my head, but often just as I'm letting go of the day's adventures, the meditaiton is over and I'm still thinking about whether or not I need to stop by the Safeway for milk on the way home.

I wrote some affirmations to read through before class or whenever I have a spare moment (as if!) but I was wondering if you more experienced martial artists have any other suggestions.

[Jiffy]

Hi There,

Yes, acceptance. Sometimes we loose focus and I myself am really bad for this. The key for me (not for everyone) is not preventing because I find this impossible, but to learn to recognize and correct it. Often we don't know we are drifting off to fairly land until we have been there for some time. Practise is the only way to learn to recognise this quickly. What you can immediately do though is the remedy. I find consiously talking to yourself (silently) and reminding yourself what it is you really want to achieve long term is the best way to get back to the task at hand. Also, sometimes we loose focus because we are trying to concentrate on too many things. Narrow it down to just a small element of your training (eg. footwork) and just work on that for a while till you get your focus back.