THE MOST DIFFICULT TIME TO PRACTICE

 by Phillip Starr

I am sometimes asked, “When is the most difficult time to practice?” The answer is actually pretty simple; it's when YOU DON'T WANT TO! And at such times, it's really pretty easy to come up with what seem to be really good excuses... You quickly convince yourself that your excuse is reasonable, and you forego practice for the day.

If you do it once, the second time is much easier. After that, the excuses just slide through. Some excuses I've hear were fairly creative; nobody is going to say, “I'm just too lazy today.” Mind you, I'm not saying that you can't take a day off now and then...just don't let it become a habit.

Of course, there will be times when your reason for not training is perfectly valid. We all experience times of ill health, injuries, and so on. But such times are not what I'm talking about in this short article.

There's a saying that states, “If you ignore your gong-fu for one day, your gong-fu will ignore you for two.” And another... “Martial arts is like making tea. You must keep heating it or it will get cold.” Sure, there are days for me – especially at my age now (71 at the time of this writing) when I just don't feel like practicing. But I get off my butt and do it anyway.

The only REAL discipline is self-discipline and practicing every day, even when you don't want to, is one of the main things that builds it. Training when you're enthused about it...anybody can do that. Only a person who is disciplined physically and mentally will do it when he/she is not so gung-ho about doing it....