What Else Is There?

[Kaygee]

I won't have to remind many of you of my past threads on these boards. Most of you did not agree, nor really understand for that matter, my reasoning behind the posts.

In any event, I am wondering if there are people out there on these boards that have moved on from martial arts and what they are doing now...
I have been thru so much stress and BS over the past couple of months with the politics and such of the karate studios in my area, that I think I am going to give up martial arts all together! It is weird because up until this moment, I could never envision myself not practicing a martial art because it became so much of my life over the past few years. And even before I started studying one, I always wanted to.

But I wonder if it would be better for my sanity, my anxiety, and my wallet, if I just took up a new hobby. Maybe join a gym or something.........I don't know.
But I was wondering what other ex-martial artists do in their life after martial arts......if there is one.

Thanks!

 

[arnisador]

Taking a break is not uncommon. Sometimes it's healthy.

 

[Kaygee]

Taking a break is not uncommon. Sometimes it's healthy.

I understand where that may help in certain situations, but the issues that are apparent in my area will not go away with a break. I wish they would, but they will still be there later.

 

[Carol]

Stepping away from martial arts is like being single again. You don't have to make a commitment to be single. You can choose to remain single for as long as you like, you can try things that are new and different.

Try taking a break, because when you do, you do not have to commit to going back...but you also do not have to commit to away. Perhaps you may find that you don't have interest in going back. That's ok. Perhaps down the road, something will cause you to reassess your decision. That's ok, too.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Find a hobby, put the effort into that, and move on. Worked for me.

 

[shesulsa]

I understand where that may help in certain situations, but the issues that are apparent in my area will not go away with a break. I wish they would, but they will still be there later.

Then drop it and walk away.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Can you just find a training partner and train at home from what you have already learned? You don't have to go to church to be a christian.

 

[K-man]

When I got sick of the politics, about three years back, I left with a couple of friends and we kept training regularly. Three turned into four, four turned into six, then eight, then ten. Now we are back in full swing with invitations to train with other associations that offered once we had left the first association. Better than that, we can do the training we want to do. We removed a lot of 'dead wood' from the syllabus and added more RBSD. That totally rejuvenated our training.

So don't throw out the baby with the bath water. Give it a go by yourself. If it doesn't work out you can always go back to another school later. :asian:

 

[seasoned]

IMHO, martial arts is a life time passion, that at most times, needs our full attention. Sure you can and should have fun with it, but, if at any time it starts to become work, the rewards begin to diminish.
Step back, reevaluate your commitment, and return, only, with the enthusiasm you had when you first set foot in the dojo.

 

[Guy Preston]

In my experience, bad politics is usually due to 1 of 2 things;

Ego - what I/we do is the best, nothing else matters, any other idea/opinion is irrelevant, etc.. I don't want to admit that my/our style has flaws, or that others may do certain things better so I'll ensure that never comes up.

Money - if you don't do it our way, we can't make money from you...

If either are what you are experiencing, ask yourself - do I want to give up my passion for these people??

Perhaps you should try a different organisation, or even a different art, I've found multi style associations often have less politics than others as they have members with different ways of doing things, different arts, etc...

I hope you don't give up martial arts because of others, all the best in finding your way!!...

 

[geezer]

Kaygee, I here ya. The politics and BS in the association I once belonged to drove me clean out of the martial arts. At first I told myself that I was taking a break, but when that break stretched into many years and I began referring to my involvement in the martial arts as "something I used to do " I realized that I was done. Or so I thought. About 15 or 16 years later, I ran into some old training partners of mine, who had also left our previous association for political and business reasons. They too had quit for a number of years and, like me had tried other hobbies, but had finally started training again. So I started meeting with them in a garage, gradually got more serious, and now I'm teaching again ...with a different organization, and doing my best to stay clear of the stupid politics that poisoned my love for the martial arts so many years ago.

My advice follows what others have said. If you can't stand the politics in the group you train with, take a break. Maybe just kind of fade out of the spotlight, and then find some guys to work with quietly in a garage or back-yard dojo. Train for the fun of it and forget the rest.

 

[Uncle]

Take gymnastics. If you ever decide to get back into martial arts you'll be fit, strong, well coordinated, and flexible. If not you'll still be all of those things.

 

[Danny T]

I have been thru so much stress and BS over the past couple of months with the politics and such of the karate studios in my area, that I think I am going to give up martial arts all together!

Begs the question, Why are you so stressed over the other studios? Just train. Stay away from the politics.

 

[GrandmasterP]

TaiChi or QiGong can make a nice change.

 

[Kaygee]

TaiChi or QiGong can make a nice change.

Unfortunately, my area is dominated by TaeKwon Do and MMA.....there is nothing else, outside of a few Tang Soo Do Schools, which is really just TaeKwon Do with some Hapkido in it anyway.

It sucks, but the pickings are slim around here.

 

[Kaygee]

Begs the question, Why are you so stressed over the other studios? Just train. Stay away from the politics.

Because the politics are leaving me behind while others progress. It has become more about money than skill. It has become more about favoritism than technique. The entire vision that I had of a martial art, is all but a fool's errand at this point. I cannot find a school that doesn't care more about money than it does their students. I cannot find a school where the instructor really, genuinely cares about the progression of their students, not only in the art they are teaching, but in life as well.

Apparently, I have been reading many articles lately that this epidemic seems to be country-wide.

I think the main problem here is, I just set my expectations too high when I started this......I thought it was something that it was not and now I don't know how to fill the hole in my life that it is creating because I put so much into it.

 

[Sukerkin]

Sadly that is most of modern martial arts for you, especially in those places where people see teaching the arts as a business rather than a vocation.

It's happening here in the UK too - people like my sensei who charge to cover the cost of the hall and that is it are passing away and are not being replaced. Everyone wants to make a buck (insert national currency as applicable } rather than preserving the art. It will not be long before Britain loses the high regard it had amongst Japanese 'elder statesmen' of the martial arts.

If it irks you, KG then stop - it's really not as difficult a choice as perhaps it seems on the surface. You are not defined by your hobbies, you are defined by who you are; so whether you do karate or Gran Turismo for fun really does not alter you within the context of the world at all.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Didnt you say in a thread that the only school that the politics annoyed you was your original school, and the other ones you just didnt have the money for/didnt enjoy as much? Then dont go to those schools. As for your original school, then go to it and just ignore the politics part. If you're having fun but they dont advance you, fine. Why does it matter if you advance, the fun and the skills are the important parts (and there's no secret mindblowing and mystical techs they teach you after bb). If you aren't having fun/improving, why does the politics and advancement matter? Its a hobby, so there's no real reason to make yourself do something you dont like.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

(I feel like a couple of us have told you that before)

 

[GrandmasterP]

Unfortunately, my area is dominated by TaeKwon Do and MMA.....there is nothing else, outside of a few Tang Soo Do Schools, which is really just TaeKwon Do with some Hapkido in it anyway.

It sucks, but the pickings are slim around here.

You can cultivate QiGong in the comfort of your own home.
This is a nice easy form to start off with...
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=zxm9GGUDYCM&desktop_uri=/watch?v=zxm9GGUDYCM&gl=GB