How I train with my wife

9 minutes ago

2 min read

How to Train with Your Wife (or Your Loved Ones)

Training alongside the one you love is truly a beautiful thing. Sharing a common passion allows us to know each other deeper, push each other further, and grow together.

Except... that’s only half the story.

What I truly want to share are the friction points I met along the way, and the shift in my own mindset. To be completely honest, training with Yin can be frustrating at times. Every so often, I feel like I want to teach far more than she wants to learn.

When other students express gratitude for my movement breakdowns and preparation, Yin while never takes me for granted but she doesn't offer that same reciprocal appreciation. It is simply because of who we are to each other.

I’ve tried using vivid analogies to explain complex anatomical concepts; while other students listen in awe, she remains unimpressed, sometimes even challenging me with a playful "Do you actually know what you’re talking about?"—a remark that leaves me somewhere between annoyed and amused.

Later on, she became a coach too.

As we began having deeper exchanges around training and teaching, I’d frequently switch from husband mode to coach mode in a split second. I often carry a complex set of feelings—knowing there are certain thought processes I shouldn't intervene in or interrupt too early, so as not to block her imagination or crowd out the space she needs to build her own identity.

So, I tell myself to offer just enough, and at times, to simply stand back and let her be.

Striking that right balance of letting go is truly a delicate art.

As I write this down, a realization hits me.

I think back to so many other aspects of our lives where she is actually the one leading me.

I am clueless in the kitchen, I get lost walking down familiar streets, and my travel itineraries are full of flaws. These daily realities are all quietly taken care of by her. Yet, I got so used to it that I forgot to be grateful. I need to take this moment to express my deepest love for my wife, and for my late mother, for endlessly accommodating my weakness.

It is precisely because we are each other's other half that we see both the best and the worst in one another. In seeing her, I see myself clearly. From the quiet texture of our daily life, I’ve come to realize that training originates from living.

We hold each other up, so that for each other, we can become better human beings.