(Approx 1 minute 45 second read)

Not long ago, a 16-year-old student left our dojo after being with us for just over seven years. He was an ‘ikkyu’, progressing really well, but over the last year, we noticed a definite drop in his enthusiasm.
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We sensed something wasn’t right. He was taking off more and more classes, missing out on what the other students were learning. When he did attend, he often looked almost lost, having missed out on important lessons.
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It was clear he was just going through the motions, barely engaging with the techniques, drills, and partner work, just waiting for the end of the lesson when his parents would pick him up.
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We tried to encourage him and talk to him, but to no avail. When he said he was quitting, it was a blow, though not entirely unexpected.
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Giving up is easy but anything great requires hard work and sacrifice. It’s tough, difficult, and challenging. It stretches you and forces you to dig deep.
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You won’t master techniques the first time you try, maybe not even the tenth time. But you will, and in the future, when you face new challenges and struggles, you’ll be able to remind yourself: Remember when you were learning ‘xyz’, and it was so hard and challenging? You didn’t think you would be able to make it, but you didn’t quit. You kept pushing, and in the end, it was some of the best training you went through. It made you what you are today – strong, resilient, confident.
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We are going to be challenged again and again, whether in the dojo or in life. These challenges remind us that we need the experience of struggle and failure. They remind us that we made it through last time, and we will make it through this time too.
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You become stronger when you face tough circumstances, don’t you? There are so many benefits to the martial arts: self-defense, confidence, respect, friendship, and more. But some of the biggest values are learning how to set goals, facing failure, and learning how to push forward, to keep going when you just want to quit.
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There’s nothing like the journey of perseverance. What will you be able to tell yourself in a few months or a few years?
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The hard work is worth it. The pain won’t last forever. The struggle makes you stronger. All of these things and more.
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There’s nothing like it – you just have to keep going. What’s your story going to be?

AC
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Photo Credit: Shigeru Kimura 10th dan Shukokai (1941-1995) teaching in the UK