[QysnZWB4]

I gave kendo up after returning from university, it was partly to spend time with my girlfriend because we'd been apart fform each other for so long and also because I didn't drive or have a car.

Then came the first nipper so there was no chance of starting when he was growing up, then came the second, now he's about 15 months and I started back when he was about 8 months old. I regret believing my time at home was time 'spent with my family' because mostly I was probably doing my own thing anyway.

At least now I have something to focus on, something that defines what I'm actually doing with my life at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one who takes it too seriously and like this week for instance I called off going to kata practice, despite it being the last before my grading, due to family concerns.

It's important to have the support of your better half, deep down I know mine does, though each week it may seem like a battle in itself to get out and do it. I recommend a fair exchange of priveleges. I know that helps if you both get to have 'me time', I wish my wife would, though personally I would be overjoyed if she was 'otherwise engaged' more often. I don't mean that in a bad way, I mean she spends a huge amount of time with the kids so she needs to start spending a fair deal more trying to 'define her free time'