Ponder this: who is doing it right - the student who practice a technique 1000 times just to do it a 1000 times or the student who does it 20 times absolutely correct each time?
Work, school, family, etc. will always make demands your time. But part of being a dedicated martial artist is to make time and use that time efficiently. If you got only 1 hour, then you use every second of that practicing, even if it means work on only 1 technique or even 1 aspect of that technique. Your goal not to do it just to do it, but to do it right each and every time. As far as you have come, you must realize there are aspects of your techniques that are not up to par. Analyze them and work to make them perfect.
Part of making time is to understand how you are currently spending your time. Think over what you do on a daily basis; what really is important and must be done and what is just a plain waste. Then cut out the non-essentials, spread out what can be done over several days and do a little each of those days, and anything leftover is what must be done for the day. I am certain you will find that you will have the time to squeeze in training.
It sounds like you're on the right path. No one can spend all of their time training. But you can spend the time you do effectively. You also can't undo the past.
So here is my suggestion.
First understand that going from brown belt to black belt SUCKS. It's a lot of hard work. It's hard mentally and physically. It'll test you and see if you truly are a martial artist or just someone that goes to the dojo and is decent at your art.
Based on your question I think you have what it takes to earn your black belt. But I also think you have the ability to be too hard on yourself.
My suggestion is to get with your sensei, and to come up with a plan. Figure out how many times a week you're going to be in class. Figure out how much time you have to practice, watch videos, etc. My suggestion is 4 or 5 times a week for a max of an hour. It might not sound like much but it is. And you'll look good when you test.
Now make the time in class count. Pay attention, work hard, but also have fun. Likewise when you practice, practice with intent. Spend your time wisely, work hard but don't spend all of your time working too hard. In other words have some fun with your karate. Do exercises, do drills, do your kata. Mix them up do them fast, slow, with your eyes closed, But DO THEM.
Now I"m not sure what else I can say here, but if you believe in yourself you'll see that your training is probably more valuable than you'll ever imagine. You'll probably also see that you learned more than you think. So good luck, and enjoy your training. It'll be hard from now on but it really is worth it
I say lots of Break Dance Fighting but they say your only supposed to know they get mad and say Kajukenbo.
Hey guys So I am 17 years old and a brown belt in Goju Ryu karate. I began training roughly 6 years ago. For my first belts, say white to blue I was very much enjoying my training; but I still didnt take it very seriously. By that I mean I was not 100% attentive at my dojo and I did not practise at home. Now that I have grown and matured a little, I am beginning too see the true value of my art and my desire to train and improve grows every day. I realize my mistakes now- I should have used those years to my advantage and trained whenever possible but I didnt. Today, I am no where near as skilled or as knowledgeable as a senior student should be. I feel ashamed that I misused my training time and I know in my heart that I have not truly earned my brown belt status( although my sensei would disagree, but part of his job is to encourage his pupils). Anyway, I have about a year and a half before I go off to university and I want to make up for wasted time. How can I become a better, true karateka? I wish I could spend days on end training but I just dont have the time between work and school. I want to hone my kata, kumite and sharpen myself body and mind before the next big gashuku(competition). I kn
