Finding the time for MA practice

[okimura]

Life was good in college. All my martial arts classes were in the same location because the instructors came to us, and it was within walking distance. Despite a course load and a part time job, I could work it into my day so I could practice 6 times a week.

Now I'm about to start a new job and it's going to take up a lot of my time. The standard 8-9 hours of work a day or more if its needed, an then 1.5 to 2 hours of commuting on public transportation each day because I don't have a car right now (and even if I did, traffic is pretty bad around here). The few gyms/dojos are few and far between. Now I'm left wondering how I'm ever going to find the time to get in any MA practice, so I'm just wondering how other people do it.... How do you find the time for practice? How often do you get to practice?

[Shotokan-kez]

Hi okimura! I don't have the problem of working my ma training around work, because at the moment i'm not working. The problem that i do have is finding a babysitter for my toddler Ethan. Sometimes she can't babysit or i can't afford to pay her. Obviously this sometimes results in me missing classes.

What i generally do is work from my video's on my p.c and go through my grading syllabus at home, having a training partner helps too. Try doing this until you can find a suitable regime to fit around your lifestyle. Best of luck with that i know what it's like when un-able to train.

[P.A.L]

if there is a will then there is a way, i am up 6 AM and i work till 6 PM and i go directly to practice, i get back home from practice 9:30 PM , and i practice 3 days plus Sundays at noon for 2 hours, and i have some friends calling me and telling me that they have been in a party the night before and can't make it to practice by Sunday noon( I do the same some times we are in a same party, how come i can make it?), well who give a d... for this kind of leazy people. they will remain in a same level forever? just don't give up in your training, allways find some time just for yourself to do some thing you like, otherwise ,today is your work, tomarrow is the wife then the kids then ..... there is no end to it , you just have to learn how to spare some time for yourself.

[JackCrevalle]

You might want to Google in your area for MA clubs and public recreation programs such as YMCA. This hould expand your options beyond commercial dojos.

[bushido_man96]

Sometimes, if you really want to do it, you have to MAKE time for it. If you can practice on your own, then that is great. If you really want to train at a school, then you may have to arrange a schedule.

You could do what I like to call a 'time budget.' Get one of those handy scheduling books, and whenever you do something, like wake up, get ready for work, commute to work, amount of time you work, etc, you right it down in the schedule book. Do this for a week or two. By the end of the two weeks, you will have a very general idea of what exactly you do with your time, when you do it, and on what days. You will also see where the gaps in your time is, and then you can 'budget' in other activities.

Hope this helps....keep at it!

[Shotokan-kez]

Great idea there from Brian, i would defo give that a try!

[CheekyMusician]

I can understand where you're coming from. I'm often in the same boat. I'm at Uni, but have to commute in and out every day plus I work, teach kids guitar, teach Sunday school, and go to piano lessons. I don't drive, so that can make things even more time-consuming. For example, in first year at Uni I finished at 4, so by the time I'd commuted home it was already 6, then I had to try to get something to eat and leave to walk to karate which meant I had to leave the house again by quarter to 7.

I eventually had to just give up karate that year. It was taking up too much time, especially by the time karate had finished and I'd walked home it was already about 9.30 and then once I'd had a shower I only had a very limited time left to do Uni work before going to bed since I had be up at 6 every morning.

Sometimes you have to choose where your priorities lie. As much as I loved karate back at first year in Uni, I was going to fall behind with Uni work if I kept up attending twice a week. So I had to decide that my priorities were with Uni for a while and stopped going to karate. Yeah, I missed it, but it was only for a limited period and I knew I'd get back to it, and when I did, I began to appreciate my training even more.

If this job is a short-term thing, you might want to consider just training at home for a little while, but if this job is long-term then I guess you'll just have to choose what you want to do. Keep in mind that training just a couple of times a week is OK if you're suffering from time constraints. Just make sure you make those training sessions count all the more. Remember, too, that the commute can be a useful time to do some martial arts training. Take a martial arts book on the commute with you, or think over new kata applications while you travel. A friend of mine has kata videos on her video iPod and you could do something similar if you feel that would help. Or try and hook up with a martial arts buddy near your home if there's anyone and use them as a training partner.

If nothing like this can work out for you, you could maybe consider just changing jobs. I probably wouldn't be willing to accept a job somewhere if it made me unable to train, but then again I've not got a family to look after or a mortgage to pay or anything, and if you do, then that might not be an option for you. Keep us posted on what you work out.

[SBN Doug]

You could do what I like to call a 'time budget.' Get one of those handy scheduling books, and whenever you do something, like wake up, get ready for work, commute to work, amount of time you work, etc, you right it down in the schedule book. Do this for a week or two. By the end of the two weeks, you will have a very general idea of what exactly you do with your time, when you do it, and on what days. You will also see where the gaps in your time is, and then you can 'budget' in other activities.

Sounds familiar . Let me dust off this article as my reply :

http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=14047

Now my schedule has changed over time, kids don't need as much help, job hours changed, etc., but the pricipals I use still work.

Good luck, we're all fighting similar battles.

[bushido_man96]

You could do what I like to call a 'time budget.' Get one of those handy scheduling books, and whenever you do something, like wake up, get ready for work, commute to work, amount of time you work, etc, you right it down in the schedule book. Do this for a week or two. By the end of the two weeks, you will have a very general idea of what exactly you do with your time, when you do it, and on what days. You will also see where the gaps in your time is, and then you can 'budget' in other activities.

Sounds familiar . Let me dust off this article as my reply :

http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=14047

Now my schedule has changed over time, kids don't need as much help, job hours changed, etc., but the pricipals I use still work.

Good luck, we're all fighting similar battles.

Ah, I recall the article now. I remember enjoying reading it! Very valuable info there.

[jaymac]

Good luck with your job. Don't fret. You love training and you will find a way to get your time in practice. It may not be 6 days a week, but if you can find at least 2 days every week to get to the dojo, your training will not suffer. The other 5 days, you can find time to train on your own at home, during lunch or breaks, in the morning before work. Just don't give up.