Need a little advice here...

[wanting2learn]

Hi, I achieved my first brown belt in wado-ryu about 3 years ago. I have not really trained since due to work commitments etc.

I used to rain 3-4 times a week and was fairly good.

Anyway I want to get back in to it. I want to start training on my own a few times a week before I go back to my club. My karate teacher will make me do my last grading again which I'm ok with.

I'm really an all or nothing guy, which means I will probably go full steam ahead for about a year then probably stop it again.

I want to change this and try to make karate a part of my life so that I always do it on a regular basis.

Can you guys help me do this? Were any of you guys ever in a similar situation to this?

[Ueshirokarate]

I am going to guess that almost everyone on here has taken a long break of time from training. Because of my career, I stayed at the same kyu rank for 17 years. Through that time, I spent several years (cumulative) in formal classes and trained 100% on my own. For six or so of those years I did nothing physical. I have now been back for almost a year and am in the best shape of my life. Karate is a marathon. You are training for yourself and no one else. Just do it as the Nike commercials say. Don't worry about rank, just train for training sake. You can be a San-kyu and have more knowledge and skill than a Sho-Dan. The belt color doesn't define you, you define it.

[Spodo Komodo]

Really you need to identify and examine why you stopped. Was it burnout, loss of interest, other things intruding on training time, atmosphere at the club? If you don't know why you stop training then you might not be able to avoid it again.

Having a routine can help with burnout and loss of interest but if other things get in the way it can be quite detrimental. Planning one step at a time, just looking towards the next grading can get you a long way if your mind responds to that kind of process. I suggest having a think and talking to your teacher, they may have identified things you have missed yourself.

[Harlan]

The few people that I know that still actively train (almost EVERY DAY) after 20/30 plus years found a way to incorporate it into their lives. They have struck some balance between martial arts training, work and family obligations. The factors they seem to have in common are: stable home life and work situation, reliable income, and supportive spouses.

Every situation is slightly different, so you have to identify the factors that are in the way of training, and work around them. Not many of us are willing to 'get a new wife' (alluding to Dave Lowry's essay on the subject). But you might have to get a new job, cut back on hours, ditch an obsessive partner...in other words...look at your priorities and make sacrifices.

Personally, I have only been able to take one kobudo class a week since I started MA. That meant finding the time for solo practice. So, you don't HAVE to make it class every day (although mat time is crucial) - but training has to become a large part of 'who you are', and then you will find that time appears.

[kozushi86]

I've been training and teaching for 25 years. While I've only once ever taken an extended period from from the dojo (after moving ) I know for many people its a major hurdle.

Unless you've moved and are trying to locate a school teaching the same system, it really comes down to typically one thing... lack of commitment... and I don't mean that to appear derisive. Not everyone can or will have the desire or ability to make that commitment. However, its like the same commitment you make when you get married... Its supposed to be for life, you need to put time into to make it work, you need to make sacrificial decisions when it comes to it.

Do not however confused this with an "all or nothing" commitment where you train 7 days a week and do nothing but eat, sleep, karate...however you first need to determine your level of commitment... I want to make this a part of my life for ever... I want to make it a signficant part of my life for a period of time until I reach a goal... etc..

Then if you need to take time off due to a job or other life altering events... you will need to re-examine what you investment is. If you've spend several years devoted to it and have build a solid enough foundation, you can be safe to cut back a little in times of stress.. but BE SPECIFIC... I'm cutting back to twice a week until.... But make your new committed days specific...as well as your duration. I'm cuting back to Tuesdays and Fridays until December...

If your guidelines are nebulous and non-specific, you'll find it too easy to fall away... where two days a week is "negotiated" until you've missed the entire week... and the "end of the year" suddenly gets pushed back, since most your EOY work flows to the first quarter and then the next thing you know its September and you still haven't returned to a regular schedule and you feel like you're spinning your wheels.

Get someone to hold you accountable (other than your instructor) to return.

Good Luck

[brickshooter]

I think that if you spend 20 minutes per day doing Kata, all that you'll lose is timing from Kumite. And that generally comes back within a month of training with others. BTW, that 20 minutes goes by real quick ... generally between waiting for the coffee to boil and finding your car keys in the morning.

[tallgeese]

One thing to consider is the "going 100 percent" syndrome. It's easy to achieve burn out that way. Start in, pick a certain number of days per week that you will train. Make this a hard, fast number. Also, make it easy to accomplish with what you have going on in your life. Say 2.

Then, get that done every week for a couple of months. Then you've got a pretty good habit built. Plus, you've got plenty of time for your other interest. No matter how much you think you want to train more, DON'T!

If you find that after this couple of months that you have time, and energy to do another, then add a third. Do that for a couple of more months. Don't go to any more classes per week.

See how it works, ease in. If it starts to feel like a strain to get all of it in, then back off. Go to one less class. The idea is that it has to be manageable, and fun. You have to have a job already, don't saddle yourself with the mind set of a second.

Just some thoughts, it's a marathon not a sprint. Enjoy training. To that end, make sure you're at a club you enjoy. Your personality should fit, you should laugh with your partners a lot. You should want to, and occasionally actually do, go out with your training comrades. It's a good sign that going to class is FUN.

Search till you find that. It's imperative. Good luck and keep us posted.

[bushido_man96]

tallgeese has good advise. By making yourself train only 2 days a week, you will feel more of a drive to get back to that next session, and you won't be as likely to burn yourself out.

Also, I'd say don't hesitate to get right back into your club. Don't worry about "polishing up" before going back; that's what the teacher's job is to do, polish you up. Go back right away, and get your schedule going to build that habit of training.