I don’t know the origin of this text, but it was given to me by my Aikido teacher John Tidder in the late 1990s.
It’s never let me down.
Sometimes nothing seems to go right, you feel
sluggish and uncoordinated –
train.
Sometimes the practice will appear confusing
– no worries – train
because you will understand when the time is right.
Sometimes bits of a technique go well
– good – keep training.
But when you try to put the whole technique together it
falls apart – this is natural, be patient – nobody juggles
seven balls in just a few months –
train.
Sometimes the practice is so brilliant that you can’t wait
until next time – be patient.
Next time you don’t feel like going because you’ve had a
tough day and you are tired –
train.
You will always feel better for training.