How 2 stay a martial artist/karateka after quitting my dojo?

[RW]

Once a MAist, always a MAist. Take the dojo away and all it provides, the MAist still remains. Take the training away, the MAist remains; knowledge and experience might get rusty, but the MAist remains. Should all MA is forsaken, the MAist is still somewhere inside.

After all, the MAist label is still just that, a label. I've no desire to live by any label, nor do I desire to be placed into any label by others. I'm complete in my totality as a MAist, and not because others say so.

How can I keep my connection to karate by myself?

By getting on the floor and train your heart out, as though there's no tomorrow by yourself if need be. Train with other MAists that you know and trust in a plethora of topic that keep that effectiveness alive.

If you train seriously, then the needed connection to Karate IS STILL THERE AND ALIVE!!

this is really inspiring

[aurik]

One of the benefits of COVID is that almost every good martial arts school has gone to some type of remote learning. For example, our CI ended up absorbing a kobudo school in Colorado Springs (long story!)-- what he does now is he does remote learning with them, and he'll visit from time to time to give them in-person tune-ups. Likewise, one of his students moved up to Michigan after earning his instructors' license; he now checks in with him and his students via Zoom.

What I'm suggesting is that you don't necessarily have to stick with schools in your own area -- if there aren't any schools you can get to a few times a week, then you can consider looking for schools farther away that have a remote learning option. Train remotely as often as you can, and then plan on a regular roadtrip to get the in-person training. This can definitely open up the possibilities for you to find a school more to your liking.

Good luck!

[Zaine]

One of the benefits of COVID is that almost every good martial arts school has gone to some type of remote learning. For example, our CI ended up absorbing a kobudo school in Colorado Springs (long story!)-- what he does now is he does remote learning with them, and he'll visit from time to time to give them in-person tune-ups. Likewise, one of his students moved up to Michigan after earning his instructors' license; he now checks in with him and his students via Zoom.

What I'm suggesting is that you don't necessarily have to stick with schools in your own area -- if there aren't any schools you can get to a few times a week, then you can consider looking for schools farther away that have a remote learning option. Train remotely as often as you can, and then plan on a regular roadtrip to get the in-person training. This can definitely open up the possibilities for you to find a school more to your liking.

Good luck!

I think something cool that will come out of this is that MA will start being more inclusive to distance learning. Yes, in person will probably remain superior. It's important having in person corrections and tips but as far as accessibility I think that there a lot of people who would love to zoom in to a class and drive up once or twice a month to a class to get that connection. It's especially great in instances where the student is rural and can't justify driving to a school 30-60 minutes away 3 times a week.

[Wastelander]

Loosing the school you have been training at is always hard when you want to keep training, no matter how you lose it. I've gone through it twice, now. When I moved from Illinois to Arizona, I spent 2 years without a karate dojo, although I did find a Judo club to attend. During those two years, I took advantage of the opportunity to continue the Judo training I had started in my first karate dojo, and in my free time I researched karate, and practiced my kata, and did bagwork. I wrote little blog posts about the things I was learning and/or figuring out. The chance for discovery really kept me going.

That 2 years ended when I met my late Sensei, and I started training with him as much as I could. After he passed away, I continued training and teaching at the dojo he had started for a while, but I left at the end of 2019, for a variety of reasons. I had intended to start my own dojo, but the housing market and COVID put a stop to that. That's left me training at home for a year and a half, now, which can be disheartening. Thankfully, I have been able to teach private lessons, some in-person, but most over Zoom, as well as several webinars. These give me the additional motivation to keep up on my own training, and I've been building my collection of training equipment. I can work my kata, hit the makiwara, drill on the heavybag, train techniques on an improvised kakiya/kakete-biki, and lift. When I have the chance, I get together with people who want to train and are vaccinated or in my bubble.

I think that, as long as you still have the interest, you can keep yourself going. It can be hard, because you don't have the regular class schedule to rely on, and you have to find your own training partners to hold you accountable, but it's doable. Study, try to figure things out for yourself, and I highly recommend writing about it.