Ignoring the monkey ...

I received quite a few e-mails after posting my last two blogs - it seems that martial artists the world over have a lot in common. In several of those e-mails, people expressed their love for the work they do and re-iterated that the old model of 'retirement' didn't apply to them - in fact, they couldn't imagine not doing the work they do. I absolutely agree with this. it was, at heart, the point of those last two blog posts. For me, 'true retirement' would mean that if I was injured, I would not train until that injury was pretty much healed - and right now, that is not the case. I am carrying a couple of injuries, but still I need to hit the mat for five classes today (for example).
Doing 'the work' despite the fact that we have some 'evil monkey' gnawing at our knee or elbow, is par for the course - it comes with the territory in which the professional martial artist does his/her thing - in all truth, it would be smarter to let those injuries properly heal before getting back into it - but that's why we sometimes call it 'work'. We press on regardless.
Thanks for all the positive e-mails - I appreciate the feedback. A couple of people also posted comments on the site (an option for those who want to) and I am always happy to post those up - whether they be positive or negative. So feel free ..
Best regards all -- I need to anaesthetize that 'evil monkey' and get onto the mat ...
JBW