Time Zones

(thanks for the inspiration Mike)

Here we are on this little rock, spinning around the sun.  This situation gives us days and nights and seasons as well.  It also gives us time zones, so my morning in Japan is evening in New York City and so on.  The fact that the times are different doesn't make one place faster or slower than another.

I was inspired by this video post.

It is easy to compare ourselves to others and think our lives are better/worse than theirs.  The reality is that we all have a different timeline, a time zone, for our lives and our paths unfold uniquely.  There really is no comparison.

Even in the martial arts, seeing someone effortlessly learn new material or pass rank tests and gain new belts can make us doubt our abilities or wonder of the training is right for us.  We can become discouraged at our apparent lack of progress.

The truth is that none of us were born with martial arts skills.  Even gifted athletes struggle to get their bodies to perform complex martial arts movements and lots of repetition is needed for muscle memory.  In my experience, since FMA is so diverse, no one picks up all the categories (varieties of different weapons, empty hands, boxing/kickboxing) easily or even at the same speed.  In my case, despite more than 25 years of martial arts study before KM, I struggled with many of the movements during the first few years and I am still trying to perfect them.  At times it has been frustrating, but I always knew I would get better at it if I just kept training.

Let go of any time pressure.  Relax and let the classes do their job.  You'll get there in your own time, and the journey will be worth it.

I promise.