“First, we’ll make a sacred pact. I promise to teach you karate. That is my part. You promise to learn. I say you do, no questions. That is your part.” – Nariyoshi Miyagi – Miyagi-do Karate
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It’s all about priorities, right? After all, you only practice a couple of times a week….. “I have something else to do. So I might as well skip class today.”
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Martial arts training is about training both the body and the mind. Part of training the mind is discipline. The discipline to do what is necessary…. and the first discipline is to turn up for class each time, to not make excuses and cancel.
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When I started karate almost five decades ago, I decided to make a commitment and that commitment continues today. Too many times I hear students say they can’t make class because of ………………….. (insert reason).
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When I walked through the door to the dojo for the very first time, I was asked if I could commit to my training. If I had hesitated in any way, I would not have got in.
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Do you REALLY want it? Or are you just playing at it? Do you keep making excuses for not attending class? Is there always something else you have to do, so you cancel class again?
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My sensei made this very clear to me from the beginning. He said to truly master karate the only thing you need do is to turn up and train regularly, week-in, week-out, month after month, year after year…. So I did just that, and I watched many other students who had started ahead of me drop out.
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It is as rare as “hens teeth” to hear a student say that they have CANCELLED an event to go to class. WHY?
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It’s the 80/20 rule…… There will always be a hardcore 20% at any dojo who are always there regardless… the others are just there for a brief moment of time….. and it’s important to remember the ones that are there….. You can’t want it for others!
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The truth is to become good at karate (or anything), to get anywhere near being proficient with your techniques, drills, kata, you need to do thousands and thousands of repetitions. This is what grows you as a martial artist and moves you along the path. All the time developing the right mindset. Making excuses for not going to class is NOT the right mindset.
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You wonder why you forget things when you do turn up, or you can’t make the connections? Everyone on the planet has the exact same amount of time every single day… no more, no less. It is what we do with the time we have that is important. Everyone can make adjustments to accommodate training. Having or not having time, is a choice you make on how you manage the time you have…… So STOP making excuses. You know when class is! 
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