Frustration

"Strength doesn't come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn't."

-Oprah Winfrey

 

"Train hard, make it a part of you. When you are stuck, return to basics. Question what you believe, find better approaches and... Don't take yourself too seriously."

-Lea Zavodnik

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is something I'm pretty sure every martial artist has at some point or other felt.

It's that day where our belt goes on the rail, where it seems that nothing we do is right; every technique is done sloppy despite our hardest effort- that day when we lose every fight.

It can certainly be frustrating. But it does happen.

What does one do then?

What is the point in getting mad at ourselves when we know we are human, and the point of training is so we don't have to stumble when it counts. The road on our martial paths is long, and every now and then a stone may get in the way of what we do. Sometimes the road itself may be broken- and then it's up to figure out  how to cross the gap.

For some it's easier, for others it may seem daunting and impossible.

I know the feeling very well.

When a martial arts school I enjoyed closed- when a teacher died. When I went from being able to do fifty kicks and then after an injury could no longer do so; when I dislocated my left shoulder and couldn't fight anymore.

We will certainly get injured someday- it is a contact sport in certain senses. We are human and get sick. Setbacks and restarts will always happen. Hopefully not so often they test us extremely, but in some small way things will get frustrating.

I love the old metaphor that the good man may fall seven times and gets up eight, and I prefer to believe that all martial artists are good people, or at least are working toward that.

Someday someone will throw us, and we will have gotten dirty or injured. If we are assiduous in our path when we tumble we will get up, dust ourselves off, and try again to go on.

Remember if doing this right chances are you won't be walking the path alone. Hopefully you have family who can help you along, friends and training partners who will offer their hands, and maybe a passing teacher may be kind enough to caution you where to step to avoid such situations.

But anyone who has stopped for a time in their training knows firsthand how hard it can be to get back to where you were. But the endeavor is always worth the struggle. It is in tribulation we most get to experience a very real growth in overcoming those walls.

You will never be prepared for those blows that hurt you the most; those inconveniences which get in the way. But they should really only be viewed as just that; one should not worry too much about how hard things can be.

And when we get so frustrated we ask why bother? It is no different than feeling lazy and not wanting to do the push-ups we know we need to. And it is then that we should push ourselves hardest, instead of doing fifty going for one-hundred.

Martial artists see such hurdles as those points which will help us most. We should always try to make the best out of any situation, and if nothing worth fruition comes of it- there is always next time.

Remember, as a martial artist you always get up, no matter how long you had to stay down.

 

 

 

 

"Fighting is like life. You can do everything to a tee. You can show up and fail. That's no reason to quit."

-Frank Mir

"To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make the soul grow."

-Kurt Vonnegut