Join and drop out

Posted on by Hubert Schaub

Recently I was watching a Q&A show, when one of the panellists said: ”Complacency is Australia’s number one national sport”. With 64 years of frontline life experience under my belt, I couldn’t agree more, plus I’d like to add, “on par with procrastination”.
Those who verbally intend to engage in some activity like joining a club, school, or association, are many. Few actually put their words into action, and even more expect quick results for little or no effort. One of my previous Taekwondo students’ father once called me, complaining that our self-defence training was insufficient, after his daughter was assaulted at school by another girl. The matter was resolved quickly, when I pointed out that his daughter had missed 95% of her training sessions.
Facing reality, many drop out at different stages of progress, in fact, most of them do so at an early stage. Throughout the thirty years I have taught Martial Arts, I have heard every excuse under the sun. To begin with, there is no excuse or reason. They just don’t turn up anymore, sometimes owing several months of fees. Then there is this popular line every teacher or coach is very familiar with; “I am dropping out to do football, tennis, dancing, music”, or any other ‘something else’ which never materialises into anything more than 1 or 2 trial lessons, if at all. Then they tell their football, tennis, dancing, music, or ‘something else’ instructor; “I am dropping out to do martial arts etc!
Once, a student, who was known for his low attendance told me “I want to be ‘top notch’ in martial arts, but I am dropping out” – “what the f…???”, please explain.

Another classic drop-out is the ‘movie-inspired’ teenage boy, soon to be hero, who misses most the classes, lacks effort at training, then quits, intending to join the TRG or SAS. Time passing, you bump into him by chance, and learn he hasn’t done anything, nor is he presently ‘really doing’ anything. Triggering a call from the past, this reminds me of my teenage years when I was going to be an Astronaut, but at least I found and pursued various alternative paths.
Here is another common excuse, “I am devastated because I don’t have the time/money to attend classes”, followed soon after, by Facebook posts showing them ‘living it up in luxury’. My advice is be honest with yourself and others. If you are really that devastated, you will do something about the situation you are in. Try willpower, a learned and cultivated mental strength that provides the starting block for all your endeavours.

Alias the Original

Posted on by Hubert Schaub

Alias takes a break from stepping into other people’s shoes. His ‘original self’ strolls through the streets and parks, wearing his old runners, which have passed the test of time. He breathes easy in meditation, trying to clear his mind from all the hype and confusion of recent months when, un-intentionally, his mind’s eye captures memory flashes of fear and panic. Repeated, worrying news articles flicker on and off, such as: ‘The new Russian secret weapon the world should be afraid of’. ‘The whole world should be worried about the invincible Chinese Navy’. ‘Scary, catastrophic climatic disasters are imminent’. ‘Terrifying discovery on Mars’. As though this wasn’t enough, there comes a ‘chilling’ outburst by ‘Puterasputin’ the crazy Russian garden gnome, threatening chemical world war by the smoke from his ‘Bong’. Alias can imagine how all this anxiety promotion wouldn’t go down well with the mental health campaign. Resting on a park bench, he notices some welcome rain clouds appearing in the distance, signaling the end of a drought. Peacefully, he doses off until some soothing warm raindrops inspire him to savour the balance of nature, in this case, wet and dry. While still immersed in nature’s tranquility, he suddenly remembers another warning he recently saw on the news that said: There will be a ‘Climate Armageddon’ before 2050. Alias knows that Armageddon refers to a prophesised, final military battle on the plain of Armageddon, (northern Israel) un-related to the climate. Obviously, the authors of this ‘present day prophesy’ haven’t done their homework and perhaps, together with all the other scare-mongers, they shouldn’t be taken seriously. Relieved, Alias decides to view the world on his own analyses, distant from rumours, speculations, and baseless predictions. He liberates his mind from all projected shock, fear, and worry, as he dances down the road under his ‘Mary Poppins’ umbrella, singing: “Don’t worry, be happy”.