Written by Michael J. Rosati Sr.

"In the Old Days" When I was a student under Shimabuku Eizu Sensei (Okinawa : 1972-73) Classes were Monday thru Saturday from 6 PM to 10 PM, and on Sunday you were required to put in 1 hour of your own time to practice. This schedule was not optional, it was mandatory to remain enrolled in his Dojo. Sickness and or work were the only excuses. That's 25 hours in one week! Today those same 25 hours would be spread over 8 to 12 weeks!                   At that rate in one year....if you were still "alive and kicking", you were pretty good.

When I first opened my Dojo in 1982 you only needed to work one job and you were home by 6 pm. You ate dinner, cleaned up, and then you headed over to the Dojo to train. Classes were Monday – Thursday from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM. And on Saturday, we trained from 1 to 3 pm. Your Kata looked great because you were in the Dojo 4-5 times a week and you spent time reviewing and practicing at home every week.

But that was then and this is now. It's 2010. You and your spouse work get home from work at 7 pm if you are lucky. There is dinner to cook, dishes to wash, homework to do, and then the kids have to be put to bed. NOW you can rush over to the Dojo and train. And that's IF it's not too late and IF you didn't sit on the couch and falls asleep. And you have bills (and more bills) to pay. Sneakers don't cost $25 anymore and they weren't a fashion statement back then.

 You have choices to make. Do you want to go to the Dojo and train? Or do you put it off until you can find time to fit it in? And do you wait until after you lose that weight? Or after Baseball Season? How long will you procrastinate? We all know the answer. The longer you stay out of the Dojo, the less chance you have of returning to train in the Dojo.

So let's set our priorities: Health, family, work. All three are equally important. After that if you want to train then you should set aside 2-3 days a week for classes which should be at least 45 minutes for children & teens and 1 hour for adults. If you can do this it means you are "in the game" but you still need to review and practice at home several times a week in order to develop some level of proficiency. You don't need to spend an hour a day training at home. You need just enough time to keep you at the level of what is being taught in class; about 15 – 20 minutes. And if you don't practice at home you are just fooling yourself. We, as teachers, know whether or not you have done your homework!!! It's your choice.

                                                                           

P.S. And don't try getting on Hanshi's good side by bringing an apple.

It doesn't work. (But a bottle of Sake might!!!) LOL