In this running world not everyone has the time they would need to chill out, but we still have our interests in sports, art and other relaxing opportunities. I would say that almost everybody has a hobby that he or she really likes to do. For some, this hobby is their work, for others, their hobby begins after work time, or at the weekends.

 A lot of the hobbies are based on old traditions and their practice, like painting, martial arts and singing. For me, I have a lot of hobbies, but mostly based on old, traditional ones, such as kyokushinkai karate, originated from Japan. It’s history goes back centuries ago, when the first Buddhists started to invent different moves and techniques to protect themselves from others while travelling. It was based on the fact that they didn’t have any weapons for their protection, and they had to use their bare hands and fists. By American soldiers it was called the silent death.

 The greatest karate master, Gitchin Funakoshi invented the Shotokan karate, and he taught Masutatsu Oyama, who later  invented the most powerful karate ever, the kyokushinkai. This is the kind of karate I’m doing for three years now. To see how new it is, the first Hungarian book about karate was written by senpai István Adámy, and its first edition came out in 1988, just a few years later it all became popular in Hungary.

 This was we can see how fast the old traditions promote and became widespread around the world.

 Also, there are exclusive hobbies, such as golf, horse riding, scuba diving and others, which are not practiced by every second or third person, since they need very special equipment and personality, too.

 My tablemate at school has been doing horse riding for 8 years now, and she loves it. Horses can be a real passion to us, since these animals look at us as their partner, not as their boss, like dogs, and not as their servant, as cats. They are not pets, but partners.

 From Gica, my tablemate I know a few things about this sport, and as she always talks about her experiences, through her stories I started to like its idea, too. I don’t know who can’t imagine to ride freely in a grassy area, full of beauty, trees, song of the birds, scent of the freshness. It really is a pleasure for the riders, and for the horses, too, as they like to be free and simply run out of the grey everydays.

 Also, I have friends who do scuba diving in different lakes and seas. Father and daughter go together with some friends, dive in the water and see the beautiful underwater life. It can be a breathtaking experience, while you swim with colorful and interesting fish, see the outside world from under, you don’t even feel your own weight, just the easiness of your body. Like you would be flying.

 For a lot of people who are really into their hobbies, which is their true and only passion, they might choose it as their profession. Humans like to do what they love to do, not obeying the rules of the society. There are many people who became famous because they did what they wanted.

 There are two ways for a hobby to become someone’s job. The first is when you do something and you love it so much that you would like to live from the money or the benefit you can make out of it, like Oyama did with the karate: he made money out of his power by training others and promoting this sport.

 The other way is when you take something up, like painting or singing as a profession, and later you start to love it more and more, so this becomes even your hobby, and you do it even at home or vacation, not just in work time.

 Of course, we should make a difference between obsession and passion, as obsession sometimes may not be as pleasant as it can easily turn into something that can be harmful or make a fool out of the obsessed people. Those ones can easily hand out money on things that are connected with their obsession, and they do it without any control. But this is just the financial side, as they might take greater risks than they could overcome.