The benefits of training in a martial art reveal themselves most in unusual ways. It is when you do not feel like training but you come to class anyway- that you develop the will, intent, and focus it takes to develop and succeed.

It is when you are tired and rushed, but you train anyway that you tell the ego-mind that it does not control you but rather you control your mind, your body, and your will.
Focus is developed by forging ahead when it seems hard.
The will is strengthened by the mind that firmly states it will keep on course.

If you are training for simply the next rank level then you are ensconced in ego and are missing much of what the Art has to teach you about yourself. If you train for knowledge, skill, and insight, you will set aside the stresses of the day and focus on your development.

A teacher can guide, but a teacher cannot make you learn nor can a teacher make you train. Only you can do that. It is a gift you give yourself and if you stick with it the benefits that accrue to you will also benefit the rest of your life and those in it.

Of course, one can train on their own and indeed, they need to if they want to advance. Class time with the teacher is to give insight, correction and direction. Your daily/ weekly training on your own time is where you will find consistent improvements.

The question is- what do you value? Only you can answer that but it is a question that needs to be asked.

Often we feel we must sacrifice the important for the urgent, but the reality is that is seldom true in the long run. Every day, every week we have “fires” to put out. These are the urgent matters that crop up. If we succumb to chasing the urgent we will miss much of what life can teach us.
By focusing on the importance, we take a long-range view of our life and our personal development. We prioritize the factors in our life that contribute the most to our long-range happiness and development.

Choose wisely every day, but know that every day, you have chosen your actions. Own your actions and inactions, for in the things you choose to do and in the things you choose not to do- you set the course of your future.

Jeff White
Versatile Fighting Arts
Versatilefightingarts@gmail.com
919-500-8746