i hate it when life interferes

It seems like forever since I stepped onto a mat. I'm in my last semester of my undergrad so I haven't been able to participate (since so much time is spent on school) in practice. For someone who did a three month uchideshi program, this "time off" really kills me. I've got one more semester and then I can start up regular attendance again. I never really understood why some people left, always attributing it to non-committal excuses, but now that I've become one of them, at least to my dojo, I think I will no longer jump to conclusions. Here's to a quick semester.

A good thought man, I am also in college and the only way I can train these days is to use private tutoring.

It is a major pain, but have patience man, you will get there.

Lawrence:

You have my sympathies. However, I think it might be more difficult to make time to train when you are out of school than when you're in it. I remember when I was at CSU, I was still able to train in kenpo and maintain my studies. Depending on what job you get, once you're out in the workforce it can be pretty difficult to be able to carve out training time. Add to that a spouse and kid(s), and it only gets tougher. Come to think of it, I trained a lot more often when I was in college than after. Maybe it's just me. Good luck!

I concur with Robert's sentiment...

I work full-time...commute to and from the city each day (3 hours)...run 4 days a week... parent 5 children... practice banjo 4 to 5 days a week...practice Iaido 1 night a week... and run a dojo 4 nights a week.

I am not trying to toot my own horn here...but pointing out that life has a way of becoming very busy...but/if you want something bad enough you just make it happen...period.

Pay careful attention to how you spend your time when not attending aikido practice. I'm also a busy undergrad, and for a semester I thought I would cut back on training to get myself more time for studying, but I noticed that I used my extra time in non-productive ways, and the awareness of that has me practicing 4 days a week now.

I don't slack off now because I don't have time.

I used to miss time around exams before i graduated college. I know it drove me crazy.

I also found a few times that I was too busy.

I have recently got back to my old schedual where I go every night and on saturdays. I used to always go every night before and was on of very few Usedeshi at our school. I had to take off three months do to financial difficultys. After coming back I found it hard to go to class for atlest a few weeks.

But now I am back, now that I feel right again. Eventually I want to make a career out of Aikido and open my own school.

But after 3 1/2 years trying to go every night I still think I got a long way to go

before I am ready. I will wait till sensi says I am ready to go away and start my own school. I don't expect that day to come for a long long time though. And I am in no hurry to get there.

I don't care if it takes twenty years, because there is making time and making quality time. And I am makeing sure I make quality time.

(yes that line about quality is from Zen and the Art of motorcycle maintenance.)

When I was in college I took pride in never missing classes and being there well before and after ever night. After graduating I had to commute an hour to make class and I started to make excuses to myself about not making it regularly and ended up taking a break for a while. After a time I started getting hungry and made the time to train. I would say that the art is my life and train whether there is a mat or partner. I am back to feeling bad if I miss any classes or there is nowhere nearby to train on a given night. So I agree that for most people, if you want to make the commitment to the art you will do it, just like having a wife and kids or anything else. Just my thoughts.

E

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" John Lennon

I also don't like to miss class, or to miss my son's basketball games, or my daugher's cheerleading, or my other son's football games, or my wife's...

So, when I am at aikido training, I think only of aikido. When I am at my son's games, I think only of his game.

Live in the present moment and go on. You'll get the best out of your training when you focus on your training while you're training...and you'll get the best out of life by focusing on life while you're living your life... Make the most of whatever you are doing.

I hope I make a good clear statement. It sounds really good in my head!

I liked the John Lennon quote a lot. It rings true of large sections of my life.

For aikido, I get extremely grumpy if I have to miss class. But sometimes it really seems like the universe is conspiring against me being there.

Last Monday night was just like that where I thought I'd left ample time to go home get my gear and go to the dojo from a work meeting. What I didn't bank on was not being able to get a cab as there was heavy rain, loooong taxi queues, no taxis in sight and all my attempts to order a cab in were foiled by my normally trusty mobile phone network being down for hours and even when I managed to find a public phone and got someone else to try on a landline, there were still no cabs available etc etc. Eventually after various other attempts to get back failed I bumped into a friend who was equally stranded and we both sat it out drinking coffee at the local starbucks till we got rescued by her husband by which time it was too late to make class.

Of course it has to be one of those few weeks where there was only one class at my dojo as it was Chinese New Year week and the centre where classes were held shuts down for the rest of the week.

C'est la vie!