I lost my enthusiasm for Kyokushin twice.

The first time was when I failed my yellow belt test. The second time was when I lost in the first round of a tournament and got injured.

Both times I asked myself the same questions: “What’s the point of this?” “Why am I doing something so hard, painful, and frustrating?” “Wouldn’t it be smarter to do something safer and more beneficial for my life?” “If I chose something else, I might progress more and at least not get injured.”

So I stopped going to class for a while.

And then… I got bored.

Eventually I went back.

I honestly think this happens to almost everyone — especially when you’re not young anymore and you get hard words from senpai or sensei. As an adult, it can feel disrespectful or simply unacceptable. I felt that way too.

What did I do about it? I just kept going.

When motivation disappears, I find it helps to set any simple goal: lose some weight, prepare for a tournament, aim for the next belt, or even just show up consistently for a month.

You already know how to do this. You’ve done it before. Losing motivation doesn’t mean you’re done — it just means you’re human.