Have you ever had one of those days when karate class was the last thing you felt like doing? Where you know you should go, but it's raining and cold, or hot and sticky, or you've had a bad day at work and just want to hibernate.

The key to ongoing motivation is simple and effective; it is having a goal.  Think back to when you started karate, whether it was years, months or even only a matter of weeks ago, there was a reason you joined up and a reason you started attending.

Whatever that reason was, at the time it was motivating enough to get you to that first terrifying lesson. But like everything else, once the initial burst of enthusiasm wanes, how do you stay motivated?
 

This is where lasting, longer-term goals are required.  We set ourselves goals so that we have something to aim for, something to achieve and the feeling of winning. When we have an end picture in mind, it becomes easier to remain committed to our original enthusiasm. It spurs us on during the easy, difficult and downright difficult times in our karate training.

If you have never had experience at setting goals, ask your instructor for help. The goals you set can be based on the original reasons for joining, can be belt orientated, skill orientated, fitness orientated, etc.

Sounds good - but where's the practicality? How do you GET that motivation? How do you maintain it? Here are a few tips -

- Start by speaking with your Sensei and setting some goals to work towards.
- Ask the higher grade students for some tips on sustained training. Look to someone to whom you  aspire.
- Find a "buddy" at class and work together on your goals. Remember, a goal shared is a goal strengthened.
- Do extra training at home with the DVD training aids.
- Phone your ‘buddy’ and organise an extra training night during the week to attend together (perhaps a different dojo).
- Don't pay your fees ‘casually’. It leads to casual training habits. Commit to 3,6 or 12 months. Paying in advance is a fantastic motivational tool!
- Write your goals down. Create a karate folder for certificates, paperwork, goal lists. Refer to it often. Add to your goal list whenever a thought strikes you. This helps to keep your training fresh and exciting.
- Remember to reset grading goals the minute you achieve your last one. Know what is necessary and start planning your improvement. Make what is needed your primary focus.
- If you have to miss a class, make sure you ‘make it up’ during that same week. Your class is not the only one available.
- It's never too early to set a black belt goal. Want it with a passion that ties a knot in your stomach. Imagine 'when' you achieve it - not ‘íf'.
- Train with intent! Put everything you have into everything you do...always. Be on a mission!

Some people have difficulty setting grading goals thinking that it is somehow bad etiquette to focus on that particular aspect of karate. Just remember that a grading is the result of improvement in karate technique and personal growth as far as etiquette, conduct, attitude and maturity. The feelings of excitement of the next grade are not about the belt colour but about what you, as an individual, learnt and contributed to in the process. Personal growth is the aim and there is nothing more satisfying than becoming what you set out to be.

Sensei Kim Beattie
Regional Instructor - New Zealand