Commitment

Our kickboxing student never did show up. I didn't really expect her to anyway. My disappointment here though, in addition to my own lack of students, is really for her.
As a teacher, I cannot make a student take any of the steps necessary for succes. I can act as a guide and a leader. I can offer critique and encouragement. But I cannot move their feet along the path. Nor can I set their feet upon the path to begin with. If a student walks away, it is a sad day for them and for the martial arts, for contained within that first lesson is the biggest lesson of all, which is commitment. Commitment is loyalty and initiative. It is motivation, focus, drive, and spirit. It is the heart of what I teach, and yet I cannot give it. Oh, that I could.
I begrudge this nearly a month later because for two days in a row now, two of our already few students have failed to show up for class. They offer apologies and say they forgot, and this is understandable. We have just come back from a break for the holidays. But will they come again? I put my own heart, my own time, and my own energy into being there to teach them what they say they want to know. But they lack commitment. They have yet to learn what it is, and I only hope that they find it. When they do, I'll still be here.
Blue Mountain Martial Arts | Taekwondo and Kumdo Classes in Ellicott City, MD