Sunday, March 14, 2010

Do Something Else - Revisited

I wrote a post in January 2008 called Do Something Else. It was sometime after my ACL surgery and my sister suggested that I quit karate and do something else.

It has been over two years....today she said it again. I am sure if I stopped practicing and teaching I could find "something else". I wonder if it would be easy to pack away my equipment. How long would it take before I did not miss it anymore? Karate would be just a memory.

It makes me sad to even think about it. I would miss training, friendships, conversations, students, questions and the joy of discovery.

I guess it is good for my sister to tell me to "do something else" every once in a while. It makes me think about why I continue practicing.

It is a reminder to appreciate the WHY....

3 comments:

Shang Lee said...

How true... thanks for sharing.

Kicker said...

My feelings exactly! Thank you for sharing. I just tore my ACL in January, haven't had surgery yet and I'm already getting those comments.

Anonymous said...

Why would you ever want to quit something that makes you happy and gives you satisfaction? If something ain't broke don't fix it, there are enough things you have to do as opposed to something you do because you want to. To me martial arts practice is fun, it keeps me in shape & it makes me feel good about myself. What more could you want? It sure beats running on a treadmill or raking up the miles on a bike, or even worse: chasing a ball of leather around with a bunch of other idiots, hoping to put between a metal frame... The only thing more god awful and mindnumbingly stupid is watching it on tv while stuffing your face with popcorn, chips and beer. While I enjoy watching a boxing or kickboxing match nothing beats (no pun intended) actually being on the mat and punch, kick, lock and throw. It's something quite primitive I'm sure (the thrill of violence, war is mankind's favourite past-time after all) but at the same time it's about supreme aesthetics & the deepest philosophy. The way is in practice, and the way is far more important than the goal (if there is such a thing in the martial arts). Budo: the way of subdueing violence and evil thoughts, both in the world and in yourself. It's what I love, and I think you do as well. Many more years of practice to you.