Passion is the key to reaching what you always want for your life. It ignites the spirit in a person to keep on going no matter how rocky and bumpy the road is. There is no smooth road to success. We all need to be patient in walking down the road no matter how difficult it is.
Based on my personal experience, passion in teaching and practicing martial art at the same time has been like a love affair for me. It is now my 39th-year in the service of teaching in Dayton Metropolitan area. Having taught in New Mexico for two years make my teaching years a total of 41 years. Teaching for the last 41 years and practicing for the last 49 years have become my life since I was a child.
It all started from humble beginnings. Having no uniform, attending private lessons to group settings in commercial martial arts school, and researching and developing myself empowered the spirit in me. This, I considered self-esteem and self-confidence without arrogance. Just by knowing yourself a little more, and that you can kick someone if you have to seem to be important in both teaching and learning.
I was very quiet and unassuming since I was a child until I reach college. Getting married changed me which I considered my second love affair. It was good though, learning from oneself in a different way for it has taught me more things I need to know about life and in dealing with other people. It is more than compromising. It has now been about a relationship that is quite different from martial arts where training is about taking the instructions to the “T”.
Teaching has changed me and has taught me things I have never known before. But I have always believed that teaching has brought both good things and bad things. I will for sure take with me the good things I have learned wherever I go. On the other hand, I will still take with me the lessons I have learned from those bad things or bad experiences I have had in my years of teaching and learning martial arts.
Everything is all about passion. If you start feeling the passion for doing things, then go for it. Never let anyone or any circumstances to stop you from reaching the summit of success. Live for your passion.