[Sheelldaw]

My Wife and I just had our first child. I want to return to Kendo soooo badly, But at the present I am so exhausted i couldnt swing a shinai or bokuto to save my life and given the chance to keiko would prolly fall over in Sonkyo. SO. How big a break did you take after this miracle of life effected you? Also if you care to share any wisdom on this stage of Kendo life I promise Ill read it next time I am awake. Thanks in advance.

[phsyalcvqh]

Hey Dan,
Congratulations on the new addition! In thinking back on it, the number of dedicated students that I've had quit because of a child is astonishing! I can think of 10 right off the top of my head. A child will cause all of your priorities in life to shift. I might mention though, that the stress relief that the sword arts can supply is very useful in dealing with children. At least I found it so.
Good luck in your new life, however you choose to handle it.

[Doctorpills]

Congratulations! As I recall I was back into it pretty quickly, less than a month. But this is something that is definitely very personal. It will depend on 3 people now and how they all feel. Even if it takes some time, don't stress - kendo will be waiting for you.

[Grennios]

Congratulations on the little one!

Had to deal with this about three years ago. From my experience, my husband started back up with practice a month after our daughter was born. He, like you, had the same problems with lack of sleep (and that sometimes rings true even to this day). I didn't start back with practice until 7-8 weeks after she was born.

But no matter when you finally decide to go back to practice, be sure you enjoy your time with your little one. They grow up so fast. Good luck and hope you can sleep through the night one day.

[ceagstuntee]

Congats.

None since I run the class. Kids were induced so we scheduled it after class those weeks. My wife took a couple or so weeks off. That's what grandmas are for.

I took a class off when I had my stents put in since the doctor sent me straight to the hospital after my stress test. One or two for my back surgery, scheduled it during the break.

[ariniaxia]

Congrats!

I took about a year off for each of my two children.
We didn't really have family or friends close by that could be available on a regular schedule. I was working around 50-60 hours a week not including the 2.5 hours commuting every day. The evenings up until about 2am were "my shift". It didn't help that my kids weren't/aren't good sleepers.

So kendo was deprioritized for me.

As others have said, kendo will still be here. You need to balance your priorities. Come back when you AND your family are ready.

[Janarealiti]

I was in Judo until my first child, then about two years off. After that, I started Kendo.

[Les Allen]

Congratulations!

I took only about a week off, however, I've cut my practices from 3/week to 2 and I end up missing a lot more practices and events than I used to.