Progress (or lack thereof)

Yesterday, a commenter on this blog made a good point - that he's noticed (presumably by the content in my posts and by their frequency of late) a waning of interest on my part. This got me thinking - have I lost my commitment to Judo? Have I lost my desire to play? My desire to learn and progress?

Personally, I consider myself a recreational Judoka, and I think that for adults, attendance becomes a struggle. Each of my dojomates has their challenges in terms of attendance. And we all seem to make it there. Of course, of late, I have not been making it as much. There is a promotional tournament that I want to attend in about 8 weeks, and if I have any chance of making my next grade I need to practice. Which means I will need to negotiate with my wife on coming to class. I want to win, I want to succeed, but I need (as my anonymous guest put it) to show commitment and desire.

At my last shiai about 6-7 months ago, one of my senseis gave me the best advice about my technique. "Your technique for Tai Otoshi is good, and your attack timing is good - but the real reason why you didn't land your throw is because you were not committed."

Although he was talking about throwing, the same would apply to practice and training too.

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The Road to Nidan

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