How do you find Time & Energy for MA?

[goldwarrior]

How do you find Time & Energy for Martial Arts in your life? Even with all your other obligations.

 

[Cirdan]

Doing MA also gives a lot of energy which makes time spent in the dojo a good investment.

If I feel tired before a class I remind myself how good it feels after.

While getting in shape is not my main reason for training, there are huge health benefits. Taking care of your body should be a top priority even if you have a lot of other obligations.

 

[Chris Parker]

No, no, no.... the question is how do I find time and energy for everything else?!?!

 

[Bruno@MT]

How do you find Time & Energy for Martial Arts in your life? Even with all your other obligations.

I work with my head all day, which is mentally tiring. MA practice gives me energy. So that is not an issue. And time is a matter of priority. It's amazing how much time you have once you prioritize and cut out things you don't need, like tv, or posting in the study.

Apart from MA practice, I also study Japanese during my lunch breaks and when I am waiting in the cafeteria during my daughters' swimming classes and gymnastics classes. I also moderate this forum, and am administrator of another one. And I also have some other passtimes.

But I don't watch much tv, I don't spend time talking about soccer with other men, I don't watch soccer, I don't spend time hanging at the bar, etc. If you want to, you can find oodles of time.

 

[stickarts]

It's a passion and has been a priority.

 

[seasoned]

Put your life on a daily schedule, prioritize everything. You will be surprised how much down time you really have.

 

[Ken Morgan]

Manage your distractions.

 

[seasoned]

Manage your distractions.

Exactly what he said.

 

[goldwarrior]

I don't watch much tv

I cut the Cable cord almost 2 years ago... it's the Best Decision I ever Made! You realize how much crap is on TV, and how much more time you have for other more productive activities. I also feel a lot smarter since I cut Cable out of my life. I would definitely encourage other people to do it!

 

[Kacey]

I teach special education in a middle school - TKD keeps me balanced and sane.

 

[IcemanSK]

It's been a part of my life since high school. College, grad school, career, marriage, & everything else have included training as a big part of my life.

 

[chrispillertkd]

It's like others have said. You have to prioritize things. If you don't think you have time to train on a regular basis look at what you do in an average day and go through and cut out something that isn't productive. How much television does any of us need to watch, after all?

Mas Oyama once said that we should "train more than you sleep." While we might not have that kind of time how difficult is it to come up with an hour and a half three or four times a week?

As for the energy to train, putting on your uniform is half the battle. There are plenty of times when I don't feel like training. But part of martial arts training is to develop the will. Once I've started practicing I usually feel quite energized and by the end of the session if I'm not still feeling that way the tiredness I feel is the result of physical exertion and not just boredom.

Pax,

Chris

 

[jthomas1600]

"Putting on your uniform is half the battle..." that's a good quote from the previous poster. I don't generally have a problem with a lack of energy for class. On the few times I have, I've found that once I get through the door and warmed up I'm fine.

Time for me, on the other hand is an issue. I work away from home. I'm gone for 60+ days and then home for 30. So when I'm home there are a million things and a few people all needing my attention. I handle this by training at the same school with my kids. So it's killing two birds with one stone kind of thing....TKD/quality time with the kids. Still the kids have concerts, soccer games, scouts, and a dozen other activities in the evening as well, so I find pre-planning to be extremely important. Our TKD schedule is usually planed out days in advance when I'm home.

 

[MJS]

How do you find Time & Energy for Martial Arts in your life? Even with all your other obligations.

Prior to my wife and a real job, I was training/teaching pretty much 6 days a week, during the week, from about 4pm to 9pm. Saturday was 9a-1p. Fastforward to current time..lol...a great job, however I work the evening shift, 4p-12a, with rotating days off. I look forward to my days off, so I do my best to avoid doing anything MA related on those days. If I do, I limit it to 1hr.

I teach 2 classes a month at my school, during the afternoon. Anything else is fit in when I can fit it in. Yes, there've been many times when, due to work, I had to pass up on training, a seminar, etc., but thats the way it goes. I gotta work, so the MAs take a backseat.

 

[Supra Vijai]

Training is the highlight of my week. It's my favorite night as it's a chance to learn more about something I care about, a chance to spend some quality time beating up my friends as my mum puts it (and getting beaten up by them) and a chance to learn about myself in ways I couldn't with just day to day activities.

A couple of posters have mentioned cutting out TV, I personally don't mind TV. I have a couple of shows I like watching and that's a nice distraction when I'm too physically exhausted or have too much on my mind to get a basic kata right so I can just unwind for a bit before getting back into it.

A couple of posters have also mentioned juggling work and travel for work etc, I'm fairly lucky in that I live and study and work in the same area. I study full time, work full time and as of this week am going to be spending about 4 - 5 hours a week doing some form of MA. Financially it meant I cut out one night at a bar with my friends playing pool and drinking. Time wise it means well.. cutting out one night playing pool lol

 

[Phenix_Rider]

No, no, no.... the question is how do I find time and energy for everything else?!?!

hahaha That's how I feel. Everything else is draining: work, travel, maintaining the vehicles and the house, the girlfriend, etc, etc, etc. Karate is where I go to recharge.

 

[Yondanchris]

Its called priorities!

Mine in order are:

1) God
2) Family
3) Ministry (which includes teaching a class)
4) School
5) Teaching and learning martial arts

and I am thinking of training in another style of MA!

Chris

 

[goldwarrior]

Thanks for the advice! Some good things to think about.

 

[Yondanchris]

Thanks for the advice! Some good things to think about.

Your very welcome!

 

[Bruno@MT]

1) God
2) Family

Interesting.

Not the fact that they are there, but the order they're in.
God is eternal. People are temporal, and need quite some upkeep to stay alive. Especially children. Ergo, for me my family is number 1 because God can go a day without prayer, but my children can't go a day without food. And if God told me to take my oldest to a mountain and make her a burnt offering, I'd tell him to take a hike.

Imo, family is number one.