03/09/2026
EXAMS
Now hear me out.
Exams are not the problem. The way they seem to take over months, or sometimes years, of a young person’s life is.
Picture this: you start karate, football, boxing, whatever, at a young age. You go on to do really well in that subject. It starts off as a hobby, then you work your way to national and international level. Suddenly, this hobby isn’t a hobby anymore. Now it’s a discipline.
Levels
Training has levels that go beyond the class time. You take what you know and you apply it to your everyday life.
You train this for a good 4 to 5 years, and at these stages they are still early development. You start to understand and scratch the surface of your discipline. Then, by 14 years old, suddenly you’re hit with mocks.
Then mocks get treated just as intensely as the exams themselves.
You get stressed, you start dropping your training level to study, then you get less fit, you get slower, and you start struggling to remember things that were easy to pick up before.
Other friends are in the same boat, and you don’t see them as often. Then you start to lose the buzz.
Very rarely, in this case, does the student come back ready to go. Because it’s like anything — the lack of consistency kills the spirit you once had.
You should approach your exams the same way you approach your training.
Obviously, some time will have to be shifted. However, stopping completely or cutting your training hours down drastically isn’t the best way to go about it.
You are not going to retain 6 hours of straight study. You are just going to cause mental burnout, then wonder why you lack the motivation to train.
You should use your hobbies, your skills and your training to destress, to give your mind a break and let your body train.
Healthy body, healthy mind — and, thus, you’ll retain knowledge better in your studies and perform better in both your external subjects and your exams.
People rarely do this. And this is the true test of discipline: to kick yourself up the backside when things get tough and soldier on.
Don’t let your training and all the years you spent building your skills go to waste just because you feel you need to knuckle down and study for hours on end.
Keep your routine, and you’ll be better off for it.
As your Sensei and your coach, I’m not suggesting it.
I’m telling you: this is a much better way to tackle your exams.
Exams are inevitable. They’re going to happen.
But they’re not going to rule your life. They’re not going to make you the better person you’ll become.
The way you tackle them is what will have the bigger impact on your life.
Because it will help you tackle other priorities later in life, like kids, jobs and your health.
Academics are important, yes. But what’s equally important are your hobbies, as they build your creativity, your character and your individuality, whatever that hobby may be.
Don’t sacrifice one for the other. You need to learn to juggle both aspects of your life to be whole, because exams are not the end of it.
You’ll juggle jobs and hobbies, having kids and hobbies.
Your hobbies are a chance to take away the stress of everyday life.
Giving them up at such a time is the worst time to stop.
