A Padawan returns to her Master

[Padawan_Ronin]

Hi everyone,

And thank you for creating such a warm and welcoming place here (as far as I can tell, having been reading the forums for a couple of months).

I am looking to change my approach to training and a bunch of other things in my life, and joining your community seems like the right thing to do at the moment.

I have always been more of a lone wolf in my life (and a lurker on forums and such), but it seems to me now that walking the way together is actually much more fun, so to speak...
I am rather anxious now, trying to step out of my comfort zone, but that's the whole point of it, anyway

To cut a long story short, in June 2015 I passed my black belt test in aikido after about 5 years of training. I had spent a year and a half before the test attending 4-6 classes per week (sometimes it was 7 per week when there were seminars on week-ends). I enjoyed it immensely, but in fact, without me really noticing it - giving all my energy to this all-consuming passion for aikido - I left a whole lot of work-related issues unattended (I am a freelancer), which led to quite a disastrous professional situation later on (meaning that I REALLY slacked on marketing my services and hunting for gigs, and at one time found myself almost without work for several months in a row). 
It took me some time to recover from that, find new clients, etc (actually, still recovering, but it's much better already).

I've been almost completely focused on work for a year since then, and my aikido training suffered a lot. I've been out of training for several months (coming to the dojo 2-3 times a month doesn't count as training for me).

It's obvious for me that I have to find some kind of balance between work and training, but my all-or-nothing attitude really makes it much more difficult than it should be, I guess.

So I hope to establish some kind of accountability here which should also help me to see things in a different perspective (well, if I attend aikido classes 3 times a week, it's definitely not 6 as I would like, but already much better than 0! LOL).

I will also post in the 4 Week Challenge thread - Monks Guild, I guess? Or should I post in the Rebels Guild since it's my first 4 Week Challenge here? I am definitely a Monk though, and an aspiring Padawan returning to the Temple... I mean, to the Dojo.

Thanks for reading, and if any of you have aikido-related questions that I can answer (given my humble level), I will be glad to be of service

 

P.S. Sorry for my English, it's not my mother tongue.
P.P.S. Oh, and by the way, I am currently living in Southern France.

[Butternut]

Hi Padawan! Welcome! I think it's really neat you were able to fully be enthralled with your training, even though it create some set backs. My husband and I were just talking about how we learn more from our mistakes then accomplishments. 

 

To to answer your question, just go where you feel most comfy. I've been here for 5 months and I still chill in the Rebels challenges (I'm thinking Ranger sooner or later). 

[Padawan_Ronin]

Hi Butternut,

 

Thank you very much for your reply and encouragement!

I guess I will be hanging out with the Monks for this challenge (if they accept me lol)

 

Cheers