30/09/2026
Potential students often enquire enthusiastically about classes, online or by phone, and often say they will 'see me there', but then don't show. Probably at least one a week. It is so much the pattern that i have become resigned to it and seldom go out of my way to 'chase' students anymore. I currently have just a handful of students, and most of them have been regularly turning up for class every week for years! What's the difference? You tell me - i think it's a bit of a 'koan'! I think maybe some people don't do commitment well. Perhaps they need more external (to themselves) structure. But sometimes it is better to take it day by day, week by week. Mostly i think we are creatures of habit. Is that all that separates the 'good' from the 'bad'? The committed from those that never try? Observe yourself through the day, week, year - how do you make choices? Does one part if you choose consciously, and another undermine and sabotage. Or does "you" (whatever That is!) come and go, so that you lack any real consistency? Are you just a bundle of habits? Can martial arts teach us to be more of a 'warrior' when it comes to making choices?
