Am I being a baby about this?

[Stac3y]

Thanks to everyone for the ideas, thoughts, and advice. I agree that some tournaments give ridiculous trophies--I wish they would switch to something cool but smaller (patches with the event, placing, and so forth would be great, or even something weird like belt buckles or paperweights). I can't keep them at my school, unfortunately, because the school has no physical location--all of our training sites are rented or borrowed for classes and serve other purposes as well (on Tuesdays, for example, I train in a middle school cafeteria.)

I'm definitely going to go through and weed out all the ones that aren't 1sts. Then I'll look at the 1sts. Last year's 1sts can probably go into storage so I can give them as prizes on fun night once I have my own class (that'll be at least a year--I don't test for my black belt until September 2010.) I may take the toppers off the cooler ones from this year and keep just those. Or maybe I'll make a karate trophy art car (just kidding).

Thanks again, all.

 

[Phoenix44]

You've gotten some good suggestions. Two points, I think, are most important: 1) find out specifically what your husband is irked about, and 2) make a compromise.

If the major issue is your trophies taking up a lot of space, then a simple compromise is in order. Display 2-3 of the most recent or most valued trophies, with a nice framed photo of you with the rest of your awards. Then store the rest. That seems fair.

If you don't feel that's fair, then you really have to examine your own motivation. No matter what happens to all the pieces of metal and plastic, belts and certificates, YOU still own the skill and the achievement.

On the other hand, you'll have a more sensitive situation if space isn't the issue, but your husband is projecting a different problem on the trophies. For instance, if your husband is actually concerned with the time or money you spend on martial arts, or if it's a power or jealousy issue. But even then, if you get the dozens of trophies out of his face, your actual participation in martial arts may become less of an issue.

Congratulations on your achievements, and good luck working it out.

 

[girlbug2]

How about, you take a nice picture of yourself with all of your trophies,

frame that and display it prominently,

then take your trophies and put them into STORAGE.

As you get more trophies, repeat.

 

[Bruno@MT]

Well... there are 2 sides. on one hand, you should be proud of your achievements. otoh, a living room is a living room and not a trophy display room. Or at least, that should not be the primary focus.

And if you bring home 3 per month, then I can understand the frustration of your hubby if you indeed have a small living room and you have problems fitting everything inside.

The key to living together is compromise. Try to agree on a trophy area, and then it is up to you to decide what to display or not. Simply keep the rest in storage. In the end, the achievement is the prize, not the piece of metal / plastic.

 

[still learning]

Hello...Something to consider? ...if one had only two choices? ...which would be in your best interet?

Husband or Throphies? ..which one would be everlasting...OK-- most would choose throphies here....but you know what I mean?

I love to fish...when my son was born..a few week later I went fishing...our style is call ULUA fishing..normally 1-3 days at the beach 24/7 fishing..SEE ULUA FISHING...

...when we reach the beach...I knew...I wanted to go home and be with my son.....Quit serious Ulua fishing till he was old enough to go with me...

Know what is your priorties....find the balance...

Ego's ....love trophies...keep your ego in place....trying to say it "nicely" here...! Please!

Aloha, .....Eagles...can fly high...NO trophies needed....

 

[Darksoul]

-Girlbug2 beat me to it, haha! Keep the ones most important to you. Take the others and photograph them, a digital camera will make quick work of this. Keep records about each one in the photos so you remember what you have. As others have suggested, taking the information plate off and attaching them to a wall plaque is a great idea. I hear you on having a small place and little room. I have four limited edition Highlander the Series collector's plates, and nowhere to hang them. Someday...


Andrew

 

[Milt G.]

Thanks to everyone for the ideas, thoughts, and advice. I agree that some tournaments give ridiculous trophies--I wish they would switch to something cool but smaller (patches with the event, placing, and so forth would be great, or even something weird like belt buckles or paperweights). I can't keep them at my school, unfortunately, because the school has no physical location--all of our training sites are rented or borrowed for classes and serve other purposes as well (on Tuesdays, for example, I train in a middle school cafeteria.)

I'm definitely going to go through and weed out all the ones that aren't 1sts. Then I'll look at the 1sts. Last year's 1sts can probably go into storage so I can give them as prizes on fun night once I have my own class (that'll be at least a year--I don't test for my black belt until September 2010.) I may take the toppers off the cooler ones from this year and keep just those. Or maybe I'll make a karate trophy art car (just kidding).

Thanks again, all.

Hello,
I picked a half dozen, or so, of the ones most important to me to keep and disgarded the rest.
That should allow you to "begin again", and just replace the ones you keep with those most important to you.
And... Your dusting chores will be down to about nothing.

Thanks,
Milt G.

 

[Kenpo17]

I wouldn't get rid of any of my trophies if I were you. Sometimes, like I know my school allows this, they allow me to bring in my MA trophies I recieved a tournaments and they display them outside in the lobby area. I don't know if your school allows you to do this, but this would be one option. Another option is to box some of the smaller trophies, and just keep the bigger standing trophies out and displayed. Remember trophies are a symbol of your accomplishments so never get rid of them.

 

[Stonecold]

Could you keep some of your trophies at your school, instead of your house?
Anyways, I have trophies myself (only six) and if someone told me to get rid of them, they'd suddenly find themselves turned into my new trophy case.

I think the idea of takeing the trophies to your school can help, you can still see them, if you box them up, you wont. It also gives the school something to display, the hard work of their student.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Whats more important, your trophies or your relationship?! You need to see why this bothers him so much.

I took my trophies and took the name plates off them and mounted them all on a wooden plaque. I have reminders of what I did but takes up a lot less room.

This is an excellent idea!

 

[Stac3y]

Just an update--I have moved all the big standing trophies to our storage shed and kept just a few plaques and medals and a really cool-looking small one in my bedroom. The plaques were non-negotiable--there is no way I'm taking down my Adult Student of the Year award or my Black Belt Medal of Honor, or the 3 first place plaques from my first school tournament as a brown belt. Period. But I did take the others out of the house and put them into the storage shed. I told my husband that I wanted to display new ones in our living room for the first week after getting them, and then they would go out to the shed. The kids get to keep their trophies in their rooms for as long as they want--that's also non-negotiable, but my husband is fine with it anyway.

On another note, my husband suggested I make them into a huge sculpture in the back yard. I think that would be cool, but would be very time-consuming, so I'm not going to do that.

Thanks for all your suggestions!

 

[zDom]

Last night when I came home from class, my husband asked me when I was going to get rid of my karate tournament trophies. ...

So am I being a whiny baby about this, or am I justified in feeling a bit like my dh is not being supportive of my accomplishments, and that I should be able to keep the trophies if I want to, or at least most of them?

I didn't bother to read the whole thread, but here is my two cents (all just my opinion, your mileage may vary, some settling may have occurred during shipment, etc. etc.):

I think your husband should be more considerate of your feelings: if they are important to YOU, that should be enough for HIM.

(I wonder if this isn't a manifestation of him being jealous of your martial arts and/or time spent on martial arts instead of with him.)

I remember that for the first 6 or 7 years, my trophies were VERY important to me. I could point at any one of them and tell you month/year, particulars of the match or form, etc.

And it kinda hurt my feelings when my ex-wife (was still married at the time) let my toddler children "play" with them and destroy them.

Then, eventually, they just ended up not being so important to me anymore — just a bunch of plastic junk.


But back to you: I hope your husband comes around and realizes that they ARE important to you for the time being and respects your feelings. IMO, that is an important part of being in love — and being in love is an important part of being married.

And no, I don't think you are being a baby about it. You feel what you feel and racking up accomplishments and having (sometimes) visual reminders of those is an important part of the character-building of studying martial arts.