Zen Do Kai The Best of Everything in Progression

Hi all this is the first time I have posted anything and i am a little bit nervous! "Giving something back" -Most probaly not the best title but i couldn't think of another – and I edited this down from about four pages – aren't you glad i put the abbreviated one on :-)

I started Zen Do Kai when i was 14, my older brother wanted a sparring partner at home and dragged me along so I could gain some skills. I am eternally grateful for this, he started me on a journey that has formed an intergral part of who and what i am today. During the next 11 years Zen Do Kai training formed the foundation of my life unfortanetly it also slowly became an obsession – by the time I did my Nidan i was training six days a week sometimes twice a day and i loved it! But i had blinkers on – Zen Do Kai helped me to overcome my lack of self-confidence and shyness and provided a building platform for so many skills but instead of using these skills in a positive way I had started using training as a way to hide from the world- my favorite saying was “sorry can't make it, i have training tonight”. In concentrating so hard on my training and becoming the best i could be i was doing the opposite, I was restricting the skills i was learning as most of my training was solitary and my students suffered because of it.

About a year after doing my Nidan i became pregnant with my first child – i planned on getting back into training a couple of months after the birth, after all thats what everyone told me i could do – how very wrong i was – for the first two years of my daughters life i had difficulty getting out of the house due to extreme fatigue and illness. This was very hard because it made me take a good look at my life. I realised that outside of training i did not have a life - what skills and experiances then could i give back to Zen Do Kai? I tried to get back into training for a number of years but something always prevented me; lack of childcare, husband on shiftwork, two miscarriges and finally the birth of my second child. In the seven years it has taken me to start back at training I have learnt a lot about myself, i have gained immeasurable life experiances and skills. I am hoping that as my journey continues I will be able to give back to Zen Do Kai and that I will progress in my life with a well-balanced and more meaningful approach to training.

For all those who have helped me on my journey so far thank you, and for everyone else I look forward to meeting you and learning from you.