Journeying and a rest

There are lots of different sayings within the martial arts, some are to do with the name of the style of karate or from the founder of the system. Muhammed Ali once said ‘Even the greatest was once a beginner. Don’t be afraid to take that first step.’ This is from the idea that we all have a beginning and though I have been training for 54 years I still try and keep this fresh this is new mindset present all the time. If you feel the journey is over then is it still worth coming to the dojo? Well, I feel it is, I don’t want this particular journey to end, but then not everyone is me.

I have recently been writing a book, it has taken a long time, my wife and I started it about 3 years ago. I actually struggled to get it completed, as I was doing the final parts, and I think its because I enjoyed the journey, I didn’t really want it to stop. Sometimes it has to though, if you are going to get something completed. However, back to martial arts, sometimes the journey needs a way-stop and I do encourage people to try new things to have that way-stop, as the journey can sometimes get tedious or wearing and the mind needs a refresh. So as another saying go ‘A change is as good as a rest.’ This change can reignite a passion or make you realise the journey is actually over though so sometimes people do leave.

Not everyone is like me and have that absolute passion for the training, some see it as repetitive, others that a black belt was all they wanted. The decision to stop the journey is as individual as the reasons to start in the first place. We have to be able to let go and allow some of our students, prodigies or friends leave us and start a new phase of their development. A saying often attributed to Seneca the philosopher is ‘Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end.’

Dr Charles Spring