Is Martial Arts Training your Main drive in life?

amishman

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Curious how you all consider your martial arts training in your life whether it is the most important drive and what keeps you excited or do you have other hobbies/goals/drives in your life?

Reason I ask is it seems I may have too many drives in my head that I constantly think about day after day and I wonder if others are able to do all their drives and do them well or whether they stopped some of their past drives and now only concentrate on their martial arts to become the best they can be.

I myself have a couple hobbies/goals/drives in life. Family always comes first so what I am meaning is your own personal drives after family of course. For me, I am into working on old Volkswagen vehicles, want to get into making my homestead into an self sustainable living off the grid homestead where I plant my own rather large garden and start switching to solar and become more self sustainable, and then lastly, studying of martial arts for self defense and better health.

I just don't see how I could achieve all these things as there is only so many hours in a day and wonder if others here figured out how to both train in martial arts and get fairly well versed in the art and at the same time, do other big things in life like becoming an awesome VW mechanic (in my case) and becoming this slef sustaining farming man. hehehe

I am non of the above but in my dreams, would like to do them all. But, how to find the time. If I want to get good in martial arts, I wonder if I have to halt any other life hobbies and only do martial arts and the rest fall by the wayside. Can one person do great things in martial arts and also become a good mechanic and know the insides and out of working on vehicles and also spend endless hours of the day and weekends doing this hobby farm?

These are my drives and I know yours will be different. Just curious how you all juggle these things in life and how you fared.

tj
 

Bumblebee

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Well I keep my schedule pretty packed in my opinion. I don't try to do everything I do, everyday. That would be too hard. I would devote something on a day and write out a weekly schedule, which I won't have to do soon due to a now set schedule.

I play in a band and outside of practices, we also play shows. We also need to devote time to writing new material and recording and all that extra junk. I also practice Taekwondo.

So, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday mornings I practice Taekwondo. On Tuesday, Thursday and alternating days on Saturday evenings and Sunday I have band practice. I leave some flexibility for when I move things around, in case something comes up. That could be anything like family coming in town, a tournament coming up, or a show that we need to play. I'm allowed this flexibility with understanding band members as well as being able to train in a dojang Monday-Saturday. I also don't have a family of my own, aside from my parents and two sisters.
 

JBrainard

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Curious how you all consider your martial arts training in your life whether it is the most important drive and what keeps you excited or do you have other hobbies/goals/drives in your life?

Outside of raising my son, yes, martial arts is the most important drive in my life.

Reason I ask is it seems I may have too many drives in my head that I constantly think about day after day and I wonder if others are able to do all their drives and do them well or whether they stopped some of their past drives and now only concentrate on their martial arts to become the best they can be... I just don't see how I could achieve all these things as there is only so many hours in a day and wonder if others here figured out how to both train in martial arts and get fairly well versed in the art and at the same time, do other big things in life like becoming an awesome VW mechanic (in my case) and becoming this self sustaining farming man

While I don't think about them every day, I have the same problem with too much to do, too little time.

Hobbies: Video games and pen and paper RPGs.
Drives (other than MA): Meditation, journalling, reading (non-fiction, more like studying)

If you are feeling overwhelmed with all of your drives, the only advice I can give you is to "make" the time to do them. If you just wait until you have some free time, it will never happen. There is always something that needs to be done that will take time away from what you want to do.

I am non of the above but in my dreams, would like to do them all. But, how to find the time. If I want to get good in martial arts, I wonder if I have to halt any other life hobbies and only do martial arts and the rest fall by the wayside. Can one person do great things in martial arts and also become a good mechanic and know the insides and out of working on vehicles and also spend endless hours of the day and weekends doing this hobby farm?

If you make the time to practice martial arts on a regular basis, you should be able to get good at it without sacrificing other interests.
 

morph4me

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Martial arts are an important part of my life, but not my main driving force, that would be my family. I make time for the things that are important to me, sometimes some things take precedence and other times they take a back seat and I sacrifice one activity for another, but it all works out. I also make time to do nothing, to sit on the couch in front of the TV and vegetate. Balance is very important in the martial arts, it's even more important in life.
 

KempoGuy06

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Im only 22 and therefore have no family of my own of that would be my main drive. The three main drives in my life now are school, work and my training.

School and work are both nessesaties that I do not want to do.

My training is the thing that keeps the other two in check from driving me crazy

B
 

terryl965

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Lwt me start off by saying this Family and GOD comes first, but Martial Arts is a big part of my and my family life and will always be. It is the feeling of getting the most out of your day, it brings that certain measure of complition to me. It is what I know and love.
 

zDom

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There was a time when, other than God and family, that yes, martial arts was THE main drive in my life.

Even then, though, I realized that there would come a time when I was not able to spend five or even six nights a week training in the dojang. So I enjoyed it while it lasted, invested a lot of quality time on the floor, and the benefits of doing so are still evident in my training today.

Nowadays I'm not even sure I WANT to spend that much time on the mat. But then in the future, if I am able to retire (work takes up so much time, eh?) I could see myself entering another phase in my life where martial arts takes a more central position.

So if you are in a position to devote a lot of time to training, I say go for it — but be careful you don't burn yourself out! Even more important is being in martial arts for the longhaul.
 

aplonis

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By itself, no. MA is, however, an important element which adds vitality to almost everything else. Of my other activities, only meditation ranks similarly for its overarching benefit. Without either of those two, most other activities in which I take interest would be subtracted from.

There is, however, I am certain, a danger for some who invest too much of their personal identity into their MA efforts. When it gets to the point that they wear it like social armour all the time, get MA tattoos, can talk of nothing else at all...then has come the time to take on at least one other non-MA related activity.

It's like motorcycles. Don't be a slave to the image. Do that and the image itself will be your master. MA is supposed to teach you mastery of the self. And you can't do that by simply submerging into yet another fabricated personna. Devote your time and effort to your MA with vigor and humiliity, but don't surrender abjectly to it. Let MA take its own turn at enhancing the whole of your life. Approach MA like that and you will never burn out on it.
 

stickarts

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My family is my center. Martial arts is interwoven with every aspect of my life. It has helped with physical fitness, self defense, a great mental focus, and I have met many great friends through martial arts.
I have kept with it by keeping it exciting through being versatile.
Being a student, teacher, seminar promoter, school owner, and interacting with our community has kept it interesting for me.
It is a lot to juggle but it is important to set a clear list of priorities and just do what you can. you can't do everything and you have to make choices. I would need 5 of me to do everything that I want! :0)
It's been a a lot of work but very rewarding.
 

Sukerkin

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Excellent insights being given here, gentlemen. Particularly well said, I think, was the point that martial arts can serve to enrich both your character development and your life in general but can also serve to consume it if you're not careful.

Like aplonis said above, for me my training has wider impacts that just my ability to swing a sword around with a smidgen of style and accuracy. The control that I learn from it percolates through my whole week - indeed, I find that if I am beginning to get too angry about something, just running the feeling of starting a nukitsuke works like a mantra for restoring calm :D.
 

tsd

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I find it interesting that I have heard both arguments from working training moms. That is, Martial Arts gives them the balance they have not been able to quite achieve sinces starting a family and Martial Arts is requiring too much from the individual and the family.

I believe that the benefits, if everyone in the family is able to participate to some degree, are invaluble. The trick is ensuring that you don't loose focus and balance on the hierarchy of your values (God, Parents, Kids, Spouse, Work, Students, Training). My husband is my saving grace here....when I am getting lopsided:erg:, he can give me a nudge and I can re-center.
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SeanKerby

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I train because if I dont, I could die. If that sounds serious it is. We live in a dangerous world and I need to have the skills to bring my Marines home, and keep my family safe. I love my dojo and the people in it. It is my life other than my wife. She knows it and is okay with it. Besides if I didn't train I'd pick up a worse habit.
 

Last Fearner

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Curious how you all consider your martial arts training in your life whether it is the most important drive and what keeps you excited or do you have other hobbies/goals/drives in your life?

First of all (and not to criticize how you phrased this), my personal view is that Martial Art training and the experience of living life enhanced by Martial Art education is not a hobby. I believe that those who view it as a hobby do not fully understand it, and do not take it seriously enough to make it benefit them in the way that it could and should.

I believe the answers you seek pertain to priorities, and scheduling of your time to participate in a variety of interests and activities each day (only 24 hours in the day). The other terms you use are "goals" and "drives." Goals are those individual accomplishments for which we strive. There can be goals within your Martial Art experience (IE: rank, skill, competition, etc), however the Martial Art itself is not a goal. A "drive" is something, someone, or some concept or ideal (past, present or future) that motivates you to act, or to work toward your goals. Martial Art training can provide a sense of motivation to "drive" you forward, and might become the drive for some who make it a career. However, the Martial Art is much more than just a driving force.

I believe that Life is a gift - - a very valuable gift to be respected, protected, cherished, and lived to the fullest extent. I believe that the most important priority is to preserve the honesty, and integrity of that life. This is why many say that God (or religion) is their top priority. The act of selflessness is right up there with this priority, therefore, taking care of a family (parents, spouse, children, etc) is among the most honorable commitments one can have. Laying down your life for a good cause, in defense of a good nation, and to protect the lives of others is immeasurable. A life worth giving is a life worth living, and vice-versa.

For me, the most important thing is finding the right path for me to follow, and having the skill, courage, and confidence to stay on the right path - - not wandering off the path because of my own poor decisions, or being knocked off the path by someone who wants me to fail. The Martial Art is the art of learning to appreciate every aspect of the journey. It is the way of living life in harmony with nature which includes the ability to fight and survive. Finally, it is knowing the difference between the right path, and the wrong path, and having the courage, strength, and honor to choose the right path.

Schedule your daily events to reflect your obligations and interests, but maintain your training, and living the life of a Martial Artist throughout. Allot time for activities you want to do, time with your family, and time to rest. If you choose activities to do with your family, you accomplish two things at once. It is about balance. The times that you chose to rest, or do nothing, is part of your Martial Art life experience. The time that you have available to spend in the Dojang will depend on other activities you choose to do each day. While that might increase or decrease, it should never disappear completely, and should not affect the amount of time you practice at home, or apply your Martial Art knowledge about life to living each moment. Obviously, the more time you spend with an instructor, the more you learn, and the more time you spend practicing, the more your skills will increase. However, the Martial Art is more than just how to kick, punch, and throw down!

Breathe as a Martial Artist, speak as a Martial Artist, react and respond to others as a Martial Artist, play as a Martial Artist, and even eat, drink and sleep as a Martial Artist. If you think this is a joke, you don't understand it. If you go to extremes with this, you don't understand it. People will notice a difference in you, in everything you do. They might not know what it is, but it will be there, ingrained your being, because it is who you are. It is a way of life.

A good, descent, fulfilled life is the top priority for me. The Martial Art is an educational method, and tool of application which enhances that life experience. It does not replace it, and it does not become a priority above or below anything within it. The Martial Art blends with your life to become the "do" - - the way you live your life.

This is my opinion.
 

Christina05

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I think when your younger and you have less responsibilities training can become your main drive in life because its something to look forward to and at times it feels like your training defines or completes you as a person of course that is just my opinion. But once you start a family or start focusing on your career it is no longer the main drive. In my teenage years martial arts was a very big part of my life I would spend countless hours there some of the time was spent for my personal training and some of it I helped out with the kids class, At that time all I wanted to do was be in the dojo. Now that I am older I have to consider other things so it is no longer the main drive in my life but still remains important.
 

kingkong89

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i am pretty busy between being a survival instructor for the bsa or working for the sheriffs dept, president of te honor society for my school, work, and martial arts, it is pretty fast, but evn though martial arts is not the main focus i still use it in m y everydaylife
 

kidswarrior

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My personal training is not so much a driving force anymore, as is my training of others, specifically kids at the margins of society. Without someone who believes in them, and the positive influence of their accomplishments in the martial arts through some critical years, many of these adolescents might not finish high school and/or be able to get a job (or see any career option other than crime).

So I offer that help, first by teaching them in an academic setting in my day job (vocation), then by offering them a chance to succeed in something, often for the first time in their lives, through MA training (my avocation, along with writing).

So my training and personal achievement are not so much what drive me anymore, as the achievements of others. And it's not as altruistic as it sounds--it's just something I'm driven to do. As some sage said, If you want to have pleasure, get all you can; if you want to be happy, give all you can. See, my drivenness is really a selfish lust for happiness. :D
 

Sukerkin

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Superb sentiments, Mark. It's a lesson that a lot more of us could do with learning :sensei rei:.
 

masherdong

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Well, here are my drives and the order that I place them:

1. Family of course
2. Work
3. School
4. Martial Arts
 

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