Why I'm not competing in sparring right now

This was originally posted on blogger here.

I keep getting asked this question. I really want to compete in sparring, but various reasons prevent me. Here is the list:

• I work a full time job that goes more than 40 hours a week sometimes.
• I do side consulting.
• I teach martial arts 10+ hours.
• When we do sparring practice, either I'm tasked with coaching or there is no one who is at my level.

On the last bullet, what I worry most about are hand and arm injuries. I can't afford to lose the use of what I type with, since that is what covers our mortgage. On the plus side, with the growing size of our adult class, I should be able to find good opponents.