I finally got the protective head gear so I can spar.<\/p>\n
My martial arts needs to go to the next level. I have to engage with a real fight. A real fight with lots of padding.<\/p>\n
I was excited to try, but when I put on the bulky headgear, I saw that my nose is completely unprotected. That was sobering, but I was eager to do this!<\/p>\n
So I got on the mat. The class had us all rotate through sparring everyone. And by the end, I had bruised ribs and I\u2019d been punched in the nose twice<\/p>\n
Twice.<\/p>\n
It hurt a lot.
\nI was crying a little.
\nI had to think about this as I shuffled out to my car. Was this something I was willing to do again?<\/p>\n
Why was I doing this?<\/p>\n
Studying self-defense and martial arts was changing my world. I was learning that I was worth protecting\u2014and how to do it.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t\u2019 have to accept other people hurting, cornering or taking advantage of me. I could fight back and defend myself.<\/p>\n
But this!<\/p>\n
I was letting someone hurt me. Wasn\u2019t that kinda the opposite of self-defense?<\/p>\n
It felt a lot more real than the practice sessions. This was clearly a new level. I had to be willing to be hurt.<\/p>\n
Which brings to mind a line from the Princess Bride<\/p>\n
Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something<\/p>\n
Pain will come. And it is shocking.<\/p>\n
What will I do with it? Avoiding it is a valid choice, but so is leaning into it.<\/p>\n
Since the pain is coming, it would be good to have an awareness of what I could do with it.<\/p>\n
As I held an icepack to my head, I realized I could learn to block those punches to my head.<\/p>\n
But that meant I\u2019d have to take a few more punches along the way.<\/p>\n
But the difference was my sparring partner cared about me and we were practicing together.<\/p>\n
That makes a lot of difference.<\/p>\n
I can do a lot more when I push past what I thought my boundaries were.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I finally got the protective head gear so I can spar. My martial arts needs to go to the next level. I have to engage with a real fight. A real fight with lots of padding. I was excited to … Continue reading