What am I doing? Need some help, guys.

[Jack]

I am having some problems with being motivated for TKD. I entered the martial arts a while ago I think for fitness, or simple because it was a cool thing to do, I really had no clue about the martial arts or which one was right for me etc.. I enjoyed it and started training seriously, I think possibly as some naive fantasy about following the tradition of the masters of old. I think what I really want is fitness, not to be a great martial artist. I mean my motivation is not there much. Maybe it's because my school seems to revolve around gradings and sparring, and not defence or spiritual developement, or maybe it's because I only ever entered for fitness which I now understand I can get from other sources.

 

I don't know what I want right now, I am not motivated to train TKD at the moment - either because my school focuses on sparring and frequent gradings, or because I would rather hit the gym for exercise. Just working out to be muscled, buff, cut or whatever would be nice but also seems like it lacks in spirituality a bit, but my school is not satisfying my desire for the spiritual practice of the martial arts.

 

Any ideas what I can do to determine what I want out my life, or what I can do?

 

No 'take a week off and you'll be good to go' posts please, I have thought these things several times throughout my studies and have taken weeks off before, it never really got my motivation together. Thanks, guys.

 

 

[KickChick]

What seems to be the underlying "negativity" here is your school. Seems to me you are unhappy with the way of instruction.

 

I understand your quandry Jack. But you can do it all ... fitness, spirituality and martial arts. There is no reason why. If you cannot find a school that "satisfies" your desire for learning you may need to check out other schools, maybe even another totally different ma other than TKD (but I would be unhappy to see you switch )

 

Join a gym (maybe boxing .... ), find a training partner. You want spiritual ... look into internal art workshops that may be offered (that's big here in the states as everyone is looking inward nowadays for something they are lacking on the 'outside'.... I don't know about there)

 

You are young and have the ability to try whatever you so desire now. Focus on what is truly important to you ... now.

 

I tell my kids to make a list .... write pros and cons down, making 2 columns .... I know it sounds pretty basic but seeing things in black & white before you sometimes helps you confront your the choices you need to make that will make you .... a beter you!

 

Wish you luck kiddo! We all tend to lack motivation at times ... some more than others, but what you need to focus on is not wasting time feeling as you are (... we older folks know more about that as time becomes so very precious!)

 

_________________

 

KarateForums Sensei

 

1st dan Tae Kwon Do (ITF)

 

Cardio/Fitness Kickboxing Instr.

 

[ This Message was edited by: KickChick on 2002-07-24 09:10 ]

[Chris from CT]

Hey, Jack.

 

Sorry to hear your not pumped about where you are training. If I were you, the first thing I would do is finish out whatever time you have there whether you've paid for one month or three. This shows responsibility in your decisions. Next I would look at all of the other schools in your area even iff you heard bad things about them. (some martial artists have a bad habit of unfairly bashing other schools). Now you have something to go on and you have all of us. When you go to each school make sure you tell the instructor exactly what you want to gain from your training. I hope this helps. Oh and ah, Jack... don't take a week off.

 

Take care, Jack and good luck.

 

 

[Jack]

Thanks for the response guys.

 

Hmm I have thought a bit more about this and I would have to agree that the negativity is from the school I attend. I think it is because I was going to leave it before to experiment with other schools and arts to see what satisfied me, and my father decided to have a 'go' at me, called me a quitter and said I'd be wasting the last year etc. I think because of this perhaps I tried to look for other reasons as to my unhappiness. Now I've realised this - it is my school I am unhappy with - I will have to have a chat with my dad on the subject. Just a shame he is majorly stressing over some eBay fraud thing at the moment.

 

Thank you both for the advice, now onto the next step of talking to the most uninformed, stubborn father of them all with some intelligent quotes like 'Jack why do you need to eat so much protein? Protein shakes will give you estrogen' and 'Why do you drink so much water? Your body is fine with 1 litre a day, and coffee dehydrating you is lies.'

 

Thanks again.

 

 

[CTpizzaboy]

:lol: My dad is exactly the same...so you're my long lost brother.

 

About your MA studies, it is more important to choose the right instructor than to choose the right style. A good instructor with true knowledge, will help you be a greater martial artist. He will push you harder during class than you could imagine, and help motivate you when you most need it.

 

When going out to check out different schools, go and watch the advance class, black belts, cause thats where you want to be. If the black belts suck, find some other school. If the black belts are good, take a intro class to see what its all about. Good luck, bro.

[karatekid1975]

Hiya Jack.

 

If you are negative about your school, come to mine Seriously, if you feel that they are "lacking" in certian areas, move on. Find another TKD school that does what you want (or expect from a school). Or find a school that does more of the "mental side" of MA.

 

 

[chh]

Have you ever considered looking for a tai chi instructor, Jack? You strike me as someone who is not bursting with impatience to become the best fighter on the block, and tai chi is the first thing that came to mind when I read your post. You'd probably still need to hit the gym for the physical development you want, but tai chi does have strengthening benefits, and the internal aspects of the art may be just what you're looking for. And as you advance you'd learn the secrets of the self defense principles, which are said to be extremely formidible. With the right teacher I bet you'd be the perfect tai chi student. Anyway, just a thought, good luck!

[Eye of the Tiger]

My Dad is exactually the same! When I changed from Wado to Shotokan he said that I just quite and that I cant stick to anything. I did it anyway. You should confront him and tell him the problem and if that doesn't work just change clubs, coz if he cant get down to your level just do whats right for your self.

 

I know it might be hard but thats life! Face your problems head on and great rewards will come to you in life! Don't give up, do what ever makes you happy and dont let anyone tell you what to do!

 

I hope this helps mate.

 

 

[Jack]

Thank you for the replies, everybody. I have looked further into my school and compared what I want from a martial art to what I get from my current school.

 

Physical Conditioning?

 

To a degree

 

Realistic, effective self defence?

 

No

 

Mental/Spiritual fulfillment?

 

No

 

Motivating instructor?

 

No

 

So, it appears that a move of some sort is in order. I will check out the Oriental Arts Centre nearby, they have over 10 different arts all practicing in the same building there. I was impressed by the Wing Chun Kung Fu lesson I attended there last Sunday, I will check out some different classes next week. Unfortunately there are no Thai Boxing schools nearby.

 

And I will wait for my dad to be in a better mood before I mention this.

 

 

[Bon]

I might be late posting, don't check this section too often..

 

TKD might not be the right art for you, or it could be the school. I've quit kickboxing for the time being and I've been doing BJJ. At the time I quit due to the school.. but, when I reflect back on it, I was there for a year, it was a good school and I was happy. I've always been fascinated by BJJ and I was stoked when I came across a school in my area accidently, I looked before and couldn't find any. I'm still deciding if BJJ is better suited to me or not. It's kind of hard to make a decision when you're rolling with almost good purple belts, or high purple belts. Only atending TKD once a week, you might be able to do another art as well. I still miss my striking at times, it's been around 6 months since I've striked. If you're not after self defense, you could be after an internal style like akido that has a lot of philosophy, or perhaps karate ?