You don't know how lucky you are.

[tommarker]

beware... the following is a rant that makes me sound like an old, old man.

 

ramymensa posted in another thread:

well here the cheapest karategi is around 50 dollars. And the minimum wage is 80 $. So ...

 

Well she is not from Timisoara. Her parents are doing a great effort in order to have her in University in another city and it's quite expensive. She has to pay for training and food and so on and she can't afford to give 50$ on a gi or 100 for a good one. I think it's impresive her and other students in the same situation keep on training and do the best they can.

 

In the end that's what matters

 

I wanted to make sure more people saw this post. I'm going to guess that most of us have no idea how fortunate we are that we can take for granted spending $50+/month on training, not to mention of uniforms, videos, fancy weapons, tournaments, clinics, etc. Or if we're aware, we don't think about it everyday.

 

I've sparred guys from Puerto Rico who couldn't even afford to buy targets. They go out and punch and kick trees. They have one uniform, and it carries the grass, mud, blood, and sweat stains from their training. When it rips, they sew it back up and keep training. I'll add that these guys take their training seriously, and I couldn't hang with them in the ring. And that's 3 minutes. I can't imagine a whole class and I train hard.

 

Our Grandmaster tells stories of being so poor during the Japanese Occupation of Korea that he had to make his own shoes. He trained in an old rail station with giant cracks in the floor.

 

You don't need a $150 Sang Moo Sa uniform or the "Adidas Grandmater" dobahk with sweat-wicking action. You don't need the newest graphite bo with crackle colors, or the latest video. Heck, you don't even need a uniform or a belt, mats, targets, flags, gatorade, smooth floor, mirrors, etc.

 

However, we could probably all use the humility that comes from sewing your frayed belt, mending the holes in the uniform, making due with ugly pit stains, getting feet dirty from training outdoors.

 

My favorite pair of nunchaku are my oak pair that I've had since before I started training. I've oiled them, sanded them and re-strung them. Even though I'm obsessed with nunchaku and probably have 15 pair, these are my favorite, and will remain so until one of the rods splits in half.

 

"You can have anything you want in life. You just can't have everything."

 

Rant over... move along, nothing to see here.

[CheekyMusician]

*applauds*

 

Well said, well said indeed!

[IAMA_chick]

good point. i know i take for granet the money i use for tkd and everything. i am always wanting something new, a bow, a new uniform, gear, and etc. gosh, now ya got me thinking!

[karatekid1975]

Great post, Tommaker. But I don't take anything for granted. I grew up poor. Everything I have (till I moved here), I got on my own. I worked at a young age. I paid for everything. My parents paid for the roof over my and and food ..... barely. I paid for my clothes, karate, dobok (that I still wear, by the way).

 

Enough of my sob story. Tommaker is right. Don't take anything for granted

 

*bows to tommaker for that post* Tang Soo!

[ramymensa]

Loved it TOMMAKER. It teaches a lesson, I guess. With determination and passion one can do wonders. Karatekid, my situation is kinda similar to what you described. Still I enjoy doing all I can. It's tiresome but when you go to sleep you know you really deserve the next morning sun.

[karatekid1975]

I agree