Dreamy Regrets

Had a weird dream last night.

I'm not sure why I had it - I've not thought about this subject for quite a while. It was such a vivid dream though. It was pretty short (I was 7 - I was taking part in a Karate demo at a fete of some sort. Everyone was clapping and shouting and having a good time. It was an actual event in my life - so how I remembered it I have no idea). When I woke up though I couldn't work out why it had come into my head.

I guess it is my biggest regret really. My parents, when I was 6, asked me if I wanted to go to a Karate class at my local sports centre. I said yes and from the very first lesson I was hooked. I started training twice a week and flew through my gradings (like exams to get to the next belt) with full passes all the way upto black belt. I passed that first time, and was (at the time) the youngest blackbelt in Shotokan Karate in Yorkshire. I had started training 5 times a week by now - and twice a week at one of the best Karate schools in the UK in Leeds. I was competeing in National Championships - and at 14/15 had started taking classes at my local Karate club - and was helping someone out who was setting up his own club in Halifax - and I was only 15. I was just on the verges of the GB u16 squad - and then BAM! I went from training religiously 5 or 6 times a week (no wonder my parents look 20 years older than they are with all that driving me around!) to training once a week at best. I discovered girls and football. And it totally knocked me off course. I couldn't fit in playing football, chasing girls (unsuccessfully as wel!) and Karate in the same space. And at that age - I decided I liked football better than Karate. So I dropped Karate totally. It's my biggest regret.

I wonder what would have happened if I had kept going? I could possibly have made a good living out of it - or at the very least supplimented another job very well. Still - I guess I'll never know.

As it happens - I did OK at football too - I played Semi Pro for a couple of years and had some good times and good laughs. But I have never been anywhere near to making a living out of it.

I guess only having one regret in 29 years is not a bad ratio though so I can't complain (oh - not including never being able to marry Keira Knightly!!!)

Sometime, just sometimes, I wonder what if though.