I know I’m not alone in experiencing the flow of time a bit differently during the pandemic years, but wow! Since our last update it’s actually been a couple of years.
We’ve been here. We’ve been training. Old students and new ones.
Like so many others we’ve lost family members and friends, and have more affected long-term by the virus and by the social and economic effects the pandemic. I haven’t been able to travel to Japan since 2019. Haven’t yet been able to introduce my baby son to Manaka Sensei. And haven’t seen many of my fellow dojocho or budoka for just as long.
In 2020 I got into possibly the best shape I’ve been in during my lifetime. Then a long-awaited pregnancy arrived and we welcomed our son in 2021. During that time I kept myself fairly active, but pregnancy is pregnancy and prioritizing a healthy body for gestation and birth didn’t line up exactly with a healthy body for action and martial arts. I gave myself a goal to try and get back to my pre-pregnancy fitness levels 9 months after my son was born.
9 months in, 9 months out.
It might have seemed to some to be an unrealistic goal (for others, maybe not!), but shooting for the moon has always served me well. So while I might have been off from a pre-pregnancy equivalency by a couple extra months, having that goal was a great motivator and helped me keep progressing in the right direction.
Now autumn is right around the corner, and that’s always been a time of energy and inspiration for me. We’ve just started a free outdoor community martial arts class, all levels of experience and fitness welcome! So take that first step, set your goal, and send us an email (info@ryusuidojo.com) if you’d like to explore yourself in training kobudo.