[ballingham]

I am in a bind, I am scheduled to start school in either June or maybe later. The problem that I have is that I will have to go to school at night from 715pm-12am...because I will be working in the morning/afternoon.

In which case, this leave me no time for my Kendo. I currently have Kendo from 7:30-9:15pm..what can I do. All the dojos in my area all have classes at night, I just started, too. This really sux.

[space-on-s]

Well ... do you think your kendo is good enough to make you money?? If not ... school? after you graduate you still have plenty of time to catch up on kendo. But why is your school at night dude, all the way till midnight .. thats mad. Can't you drop morning or afternoon work? only keep one? I dont know ...

[SweetCaroline]

Bear is exactly right.

Kendo practice doesn't = a job
Kendo practice doesn't = a paycheck

If you have to give up kendo in order to get an education that will mean a (better) job and/or (more) money, then this is not a question for consideration.

Get an education.

Kendo will still be here when you come back.

(After you get a good job and make good money, then buy a really cool bogu and get back into it.)

My advice,
tango

[Freedjome]

Well I'm going to UTI technicial institute..for automotive technology..and there evening classes are from that time for students who work in the morning or afternoon like me..

Morning classes are from 6am-12pm
afternoon 1215pm-5pm

Long classes..I know. But yeah..I can't really change my work schedule because If i work to work at 6am..i'd never want to get up for it..and I want to be bettter safe then sorry..so I'm getting I have a regular 8-4 job..that leaves me time to relax and rest before i rush off to school.

And you are right..kendo will not get me anywhere in life that equals a career. So I guess i will just have to take Kendo once school is over (the program is a little over a year anyways). Thanks so much.

[expomeHattePe]

Yep, you have the right of it...and you still may be able to sneak some in on a weekend. But putting it off for a year or so is not a big thing. Deal with what's important for your career and life, and then get back into Kendo when you can.

[Rememavotscam]

Go for the job opportunities. Then you can buy more/better toys afterwards.

[seosoftseo]

i can't believe this is even a question.

[LeviBrawn]

i can't believe this is even a question.

you didn't have to make me feel like a dumb*ss..if you didn't want to answer..u didn't have too

[xtc2d6u8]

you didn't have to make me feel like a dumb*ss..if you didn't want to answer..u didn't have too

i'm just surprised that you would even consider passing on the opportunity to better yourself and open up new opportunities to instead pursue kendo -- _THAT'S_ dedication.

just finish school and then do what you want. Of course, that's jsut my background -- people are raised differently, but i've always been taught to finish school and get the best education i can, and THEN work and pursue whatever else i want to pursue. Of course, these days, experience is very important, so work has to fit in somewhere. (parents are barely letting me work -- tehy want me to finish all my schooling and then find a job -- but, as i said, experience is extremely important, and i need it, so im working anyway -- i graduate with my double major in june -- in september i start my 3rd Bach and MBA; but none of them will mean anything to any potential employers unless i have experience, so these next 2 degrees im gonna be schooling part time and working to gain experience full-time)

and as you said, the program is only about 18 months or so, so youll be able to do it afterwards since youll only be working and not going to school anymore.

THOUGH -- im sure youll be able to take kendo right now -- it should fit into your schedule one time or another -- even at once every two weeks or even once a month is good enough to get started, considering your schedule.

[gastabegree]

yeah..I know school is first and foremost..but to me there are other aspects, because my parents don't financially support anything that i do.. I have to think will i even be able to afford going to school full-time and working part-time..which I probably will not be able to do. If I had the financial means I wouldn't have to think twice bout this, but because for me it's always a struggle I have to make sure I can even afford this school to even go there right now.

And yes, I have fallen in love with Kendo it just sux to start something and like it so much only to find out that I probably can't continue wit it till later

[kubekniekubek]

I like how one of my sensei prioritizes life and kendo/iaido:

#1: Your own/Your family's (parents, wife, children, etc.) health and well-being
#2: Your work and/or school
#3: Kendo/iaido and everything else

All the previous posters are also correct.

[inchaaruutaa]

I am concerned that you are trying to have everything all at once, full time job (and the fun tickets that go with it) full time school and kendo plus whatever else you have on the stove. The race does not always go to the swiftest, the smartest, the best looking etc. All in all you will find that it is persistance that pays of in the end, which can be a long, long time from now. If your goals are unreasonable it assures failure. Take it a little bit at a time and don't forget to enjoy life.
It is possible for one person to eat an entire elephant. Just not in one meal.

[Hofonom]

Just from my own experience...

I never missed practice for 4 years. Then I went to college. Without a car, I couldn't get to the nearest dojo, 25 miles away. So, I almost never practiced. However, I kept in touch with my sensei and stayed up-to-date with what was going on in the kendo community. When I had the means to practice again, I jumped in head first, eager to make up for lost time. I learned to kind of sate my desire to practice by connecting with the kendo community, and it really helped spur me on as I got back into my practice.

I don't know about your situation, or what the community is like in your dojo and any surrounding ones, but at the very least reading these forums and contributing in that sense could help you get by and help you begin to mature your interest in kendo for when you can practice again.

[Unhappu]

My dad had all kinds of careers, jobs, etc. and didn't go to college until he was 30. And he found a solid career and foundation that he just retired from this year, at the age of 62. I guess maybe I take after him in some ways, cause even though I finished college at 21, I didn't find something I really loved above anything else till I found Kendo, at at 30, ironically.

Years ago, I was sitting at work with a crashed network at 3am after having worked something like 70 hours that week already, and I seriously almost had a nervous breakdown. I hadn't been able to make any personal plans for months, and had (quite literally) no life outside of work. It was one of those decisive moments where you just make a decision and it sets a precedent for the remainder of your life. I decided that if the network didn't come up and 8000 people couldn't log on the next morning, then that was just too bad. I let the burden go. Ironically, in no longer feeling such pressure, I was able to solve the problem in a few hours and by 7am, everything was "up". But I vowed that never again would I confuse priorities in my life. I talked to my boss about it the following day, and he told me I was stupid not to have come to that decision earlier - he said the age-old cliche to me with a grin - "we work to live, we don't live to work."

Since that time, I haven't stopped working hard for money so that I can make a living, but on the other hand, I now recognize that there is a fine line between "providing" and sacrificing what truly makes you happy. For example - I had a sit down with my boss a month or two ago, and said look - if you tell me I can't regularly attend kendo practices because of work - well, I need to find another job, because even if you do pay my bills there is no value in my life if I'm simply working and existing with no joy or happiness. All my other hobbies (rock climbing, cycling, disc golf, dancing, etc.) can get trumped by work, but kendo trumps work.

This isn't a decision that most people make. Almost everyone at the dojo I attend has the same philosophy - family first, then work, then kendo. For me, I do put family first, but work I put after Kendo in most cases (there are occaisional circumstances, but I can count them on one hand in two years). I don't miss three weeks of kendo because some project came up.
For you - if you're still doing college then maybe you're still young (though perhaps not). But I can tell you - I learned nothing of any pragmatic in college. What I learned was abstract things, such as how to write well, how to argue, how to work with politics in human organizations, etc. The piece of paper from a degree can provide you with a lot of opportunities, so I don't knock it, however. Still - what kendo gives you (imho) is in some ways far more valuable. It's too bad prospective employers don't tend to agree with me.

So for now - probably the best thing is to do what you have to do to get through college - if I were still in college, and there was a conflict between kendo and college, my priorities wouldn't be the same as they are now. I would go for the education. So maybe I don't disagree with the others so much. And there is another proverb - the man who chases two hares catches neither. But there does come a point where you have to ask yourself - all that I'm doing, all that I've achieved and am using to propel me ever upward in a career - what is it getting me? If the answer is nothing but more work into a career, then you need to ask yourself if your career is what you love in life. As Marx said, it is a basic human condition that a part of happiness is a feeling of productivity (which I take to mean achievement). So we want to be able to feel like what we are doing is somehow producing some result. A career can certainly do that for someone. And there are people who see their career as their passion in life - the game they love to play. These people are either very fortunate or very driven. But I see this as little different from kendo or marathon running, or collecting flag books, or any number of lifelong pursuits where one can either do it casually or show a serious dedication.

I don't care what it is - pick something, anything, and dedicate yourself to achieving excellence in it, and be willing to spend years and years doing it. Either make it your means of making a living, or accept that your living will find it's own way to support your real passion. Either way, that will make you a rich individual in terms of satisfaction with your life. It is those who prostitute everything and end up having no solidarity in their existence who are challenged in being content with life. While we all have to start out from the bottom and work to a place (financially, but also mentally/spiritually/emotionally - maybe this is what they call "maturity") where we can actually make a judgement on what makes us happy in life and what is worth going for versus what is worth hedging.

Do what you have to do to establish yourself, but also be aware that if you really love something, that love will reward you more than money ever will. Yea, I told my boss I'd quit if I had to miss practice a lot. He said that may end up having to happen, but that he respected my reasoning and that he'd work with me on it. So far, I haven't missed a practice this year due to work. I've put in some crazy weekends, worked some late weeknights, and definitely bust my butt for my job, but it's worked because I found a way to make it work.

It may still yet happen that I end up quitting over it. If that happens, a lot of people will think me a fool. And maybe I am. But I'll be a happy fool, because I'd rather have kendo in my life consistently than any job. Besides - I can always get another job. Maybe not as much money, maybe not the job I want, but we all have to make adjustments in order to focus on the priorities we really want.

If you have no choice, well, do what you gotta do. But don't ever underestimate the ability of a human to make something work when it is "impossible". And don't underestimate the value of following through on a commitment. Many philosophers across many times and cultures have all acknowledged the idea that one gains understanding of all things through devotion to a single thing. Food for thought, eh?

[IssuessBratte]

I am concerned that you are trying to have everything all at once, full time job (and the fun tickets that go with it) full time school and kendo plus whatever else you have on the stove. The race does not always go to the swiftest, the smartest, the best looking etc. All in all you will find that it is persistance that pays of in the end, which can be a long, long time from now. If your goals are unreasonable it assures failure. Take it a little bit at a time and don't forget to enjoy life.
It is possible for one person to eat an entire elephant. Just not in one meal.

True, life is not a race.

Most of my friends called me crazy when I announced that I'll be attending a junior college instead of an university at the end of high school. Now my friends barely have any free time with work and school. I have school, a job, a girlfriend, church job, kendo, and free time. There is no rush for me to go off to a university to rush my education, I want to enjoy life.


The sad thing is, my friends are taking the same GE classes as I am. I guess the university pushes you more?

[ffdfriendforurr]

yeah..I know school is first and foremost..but to me there are other aspects, because my parents don't financially support anything that i do.. I have to think will i even be able to afford going to school full-time and working part-time..which I probably will not be able to do. If I had the financial means I wouldn't have to think twice bout this, but because for me it's always a struggle I have to make sure I can even afford this school to even go there right now.

And yes, I have fallen in love with Kendo it just sux to start something and like it so much only to find out that I probably can't continue wit it till later

well then right now, you should probably be working to pay off school so that when u finish, you wont have any debts, and youll be working to buy kendo gear

[grinaJanoDant]

I can understand that family and work must come first. However, a balance between all is the best when possible. Are there other options?

When I was stuck in the same situation I started a small kendo club at Uni and also asked other student at the main club if they wanted to start an extra class at another venue at a different time. With the support of the renmei we were able to do this.

Keep your mind open to ideas but you need to provide for yourself in the future so do as well as you can at school. You can't train on an empty stomach. Good luck.

Rgds

[CurtisTH]

Hunnysan,

I can understand your dilemma, but, just remember, Kendo will still be there later.

Seriously, when I left a small rural community to go to uni in the city, I wanted to do it all, activities as well as class- in my case, archery and kendo- in that order. I started in an archery class at the uni, but found with pressures of classwork and lab pracs and earning money to live on I just couldn't do it, also I was too broke to afford the kit. The only real choice I had was to focus 100% on my work.

Ten years on, established in my work/home life, I started to pick up the broader aspects of life where I left off. I joined a local archery club first, and now I'm established in that I've joined the local Kendo dojo.

Although it was very disappointing at the time, looking back, coming to the activities a bit older, I find it easier to focus on the archery/kendo when appropriate, and also remember to meet my obligations to my family and work colleagues.

Even now I have to prioritise. I've recently had to decide whether to get a better bow to take me on to the next level in archery (in which I compete seriously), or to get bogu in a month or so. In the end, I got the bow- I only started Kendo in January and am not in bogu yet, so it really is less of a priority. Fortunately, our dojo leader is happy for new students to use club gear for a few months first, rather than rushing out any buying bogu the moment they are ready to wear it- in fact that is preferred. BUT- before I established that, I had to recognise in my mind where my priorities were... and I'm afraid it couldn't be the Kendo on this occasion.

So the lessons I learnt?

I think you have to reflect on where your priorities really lie. Deep in your heart I mean, although that sounds a bit corny. If you really truly prefer the kendo- then you may have to accept that you're going to have to run your career/work life another way. No shame in that, just you'll have to accept the limitations of income etc. which that choice imposes. Nothing to stop you going to school later on in life when you're ready for it.

On the other hand, if you really want the education- then go get it, and give it 100, no 110% and get the most out of it. Don't see it as "giving up" kendo- just putting it on hold for a year or two. You can still keep in contact with it, and it'll be there when you're ready.

I cannot suggest which priority is better, as I'm not in your shoes. BUT- unless you want to live as "might have been" I suggst that you will have to make the decision of where your priorities lie FOR THE MOMENT... and then accept the consequences. By all means ask for advice- but the decision must be yours.

I hope that is of some help, as someone who has a tendency to jump head-first into everything and wants to it all NOW, I have learned the things about patience and prioritisation the hard way... maybe I'm just mellowing as I get older?

Good luck, whatever path you choose to walk.