Down in the Wing Chun sub-forum, a young man was expressing his discouragement over how generally messed up his life was, and at how hard it was to find the kind of training he was looking for. And, even if he found the kind of school he wanted, he was short of money, didn't have a phone, and had transportation problems. His situation had given him a really negative outlook and he was considering giving up on the MA.
Some folks responded that if his life is really as messed up as he says, then he should forget about the martial arts and concentrate on getting his life straightened out first.
I disagree. I remember what it was like for me at a certain time in my twenties when I didn't have a direction either. Training MA helped to give me direction, discipline, motivation, and above all a more confident and positive outlook. I know it sounds hokey, but it's true. I even had better luck with girls. My wife of twenty-one years recalls that by the time we met, I was a probationary instructor. She watched me teach, and was impressed by the confidence with which I conducted the class. If she had met me a few years earlier, she wouldn't have given me a second look! And as for a career... when some of the grand schemes of my youth faded away, I chose a humble, but solid career as a high school teacher... using the same interpersonal skills I learned through MA training.
So on that other thread when people told the young man to get it together before training in MA , I think they had it wrong. If you wait for your life to be perfect, you'll never start anything! What do you guys think?
Some folks responded that if his life is really as messed up as he says, then he should forget about the martial arts and concentrate on getting his life straightened out first.
I disagree. I remember what it was like for me at a certain time in my twenties when I didn't have a direction either. Training MA helped to give me direction, discipline, motivation, and above all a more confident and positive outlook. I know it sounds hokey, but it's true. I even had better luck with girls. My wife of twenty-one years recalls that by the time we met, I was a probationary instructor. She watched me teach, and was impressed by the confidence with which I conducted the class. If she had met me a few years earlier, she wouldn't have given me a second look! And as for a career... when some of the grand schemes of my youth faded away, I chose a humble, but solid career as a high school teacher... using the same interpersonal skills I learned through MA training.
So on that other thread when people told the young man to get it together before training in MA , I think they had it wrong. If you wait for your life to be perfect, you'll never start anything! What do you guys think?