How has wado changed your life?

[karateman7]

The title says it all, but to get into it a little deeper--how has wado changed your life? If it has, do you think it's more because of your teacher, the class, or the art itself. I know many people have touched on this in the three here and there, but I thought it'd be good to have a main area for it during the time people attempt to make changes in their lives (New Years!). I also think it would help remind ourselves why we commit much of our lives to something that has no end.

Wado has been very interesting for me. I'm still very new, but I already see its impact. I was a straggler during my college years, running around to different schools in an attempt to find a home. Judo, jujistu, MMA, Tae Kwon Do--you name it, I probably tried it. For most of the classes I couldn't make it past a few months. Nothing kept my interest.

Then came wado. Giving me the desire and challenge to perfect my technique, which in the end, became part of my life. I found a home and a passion.

Even if what I learn is only 5% of what the Otsuka Meijin intended, that 5% is better than anything I've ever experienced.

[WadoAJ]

It is my life And in life things change. I can only speculate what my life would look like without it And can not compare it to my life without it as this does not exist.

It does not appear to me as change. It is normal.
AJ

[majin29]

karateman, I feel the same way. I dabbled in various martial arts over the years- Tae Kwon Do, Kung Fu, Wing Chun, JuJitsu, and Goju Ryu. The Goju karate kept me interested the longest of the bunch and I became more disenchanted with the school rather than the style but I also was odds with some of syllabus. The lack of interaction really bothered me because I felt and do feel that martial arts is about timing, distancing, etc. and you cannot really train adequately without that interaction, no matter the style. However, I did get bit by the karate bug so I was very happy to find Wado Ryu which emphasizes all the aspects that I yearn for in a MA. The Wado school I go to also is probably the best one I have attended of any martial art school I've studied with. The instructors are so good and organized (something I find wanting in most other MA schools actually). I enjoy practicing my basics on my own and so look forward to classes unlike previous styles which I sometimes found obligatory to attend.

The sanbon drills are by far my favorite. It's something that Goju never approached at the fundamental levels and something I feel is very important for the reasons I expressed earlier.

I really really enjoy Wado and see it being a part of my routine for the rest of my life.

[Tim49]

Interesting question, though like AJ I wonder if it’s answerable.

I certainly am not one of those who can speculate on what my life might have been without training, I can only postulate what I would be missing without my habitual Dojo time.

At one level I would say friendship plays an important part; I have been privileged to have met some really excellent people, a number of whom I have known for getting for thirty years. I have also met some really awful examples of what can happen when martial arts turn sour, but even in that I have learned valuable lessons. But I do not wish to dwell on those individuals; they can cause mayhem in their own sandpits.

The Dojo is a crucible, a testing ground where you often come face to face with yourself. It does not have to be Wado, it could be any martial art which has an honest heart and is not deluded by mumbo jumbo, pseudo-mystical fluffery and false credentials.

I think that martial artists should avoid bogus and spurious aspirations and just steadily trudge forward, one step at a time, always returning to the bedrock of foundational technique.

I also believe that martial art training should not begin and end at the doorway to your Dojo. Your training can contribute positively to your inter-human relationships, at work and at home, although I have to be the first to say that in these battles I often find myself on the losing side, but such is life. Just have to strive to be better.

Seasons greetings.

Tim

[shep]

I've lived with it, then without it and then with it again. My life is all the richer and focused with it.

shep

[WadoAJ]

I also believe that martial art training should not begin and end at the doorway to your Dojo.

Seasons greetings.

Tim

Hi Tim,

As someone pointed out to me once, we take Karate home and others leave it at the Dojo.
Season greetings to you and everybody else here as well!

AJ

[majin29]

I will add something about this- prior to taking karate, I always viewed complications in my life as just that. Now I view them as challenges to meet and resolve. My viewpoint has changed where I am calmer about situations that occur that aren't ideal. I also feel I'm more patient. I see my study of Wado as a long, gradual ascent up a mountain and I hope I never feel like I've made it to the top. It's about the journey, not the destination which can be applied to all aspects of life.

Happy holidays everyone!

[Gary]

From the age of 18 - Wado has been an indelible part of my life.

So as AJ says, not so much change but norm.

As far as how it has affected my life?...well, I have a wife who I met as a result of training and two kids as a result of that.

They all train in Wado btw.

Gary

[oneya]

From the age of 18 - Wado has been an indelible part of my life.

So as AJ says, not so much change but norm.

As far as how it has affected my life?...well, I have a wife who I met as a result of training and two kids as a result of that.

They all train in Wado btw.

Gary

Wow... that must be wado no hiden Gary, I have three kids but they were all the result of the conventional method..!

oneya.

[Wado heretic]

I get out the house a lot more then I used to, and I also spend more money a week then I used to.