There is a fine line between
thinking you are toughing it out and honoring your body. The distinction is clear, the line between
the two is thin, and the difference is everything.
What do I mean by this?
Training and practicing martial
arts can be very physical. It demands balance, flexibly, muscular and cardio
endurance, and strength to name just a few.
And each day may be different depending on the amount of sleep, the
stress of work, an injury, etc. Each day
when you come into the dojang you should check in with yourself and know how
much you can be pushed. I am not saying
this gives you an excuse to slack off or not try, but you should be conscious
of your body and what your limits are.
We study martial arts in part as
a means to learn self-defense. The
number one rule in self-defense is not being chosen as a victim. In order not to be chosen as a victim, you
need to set boundaries and stand up for yourself. If your partner is applying too much power,
you need to request them to reduce the power.
If an instructor asked you to do something that causes pain in joints,
or discomfort in breathing, or feels like it is straining muscles, you should
stop and let the instructor know this does not feel right for your body. If you are injured, know what activities exacerbate
the issue and those you can do.
There are many things you can
still do even if injured or recovering from an injury. When I was recovering from my hip surgery, I
mentally went through techniques and forms but did not do anything physical for
the first few weeks. Next I was able to do
some upper body techniques in a chair or in a light stance. Eventually I could move in stance and throw
some light front kicks and turn away kicks and go through some forms with
minimal force. Each time I practiced, I
slowly tested what my body could do and paid attention to what my body was
telling me was okay to try or to add more force or power to. The last technique I could do was side kick, because
the pivoting on the base foot was a motion my hip muscles and joint needed more
time to heal and strengthen in order to perform. At first, I used the wall and very slowly
performed the motion with no force at all.
Over time, I was able to throw the kick with some power and then with
even more power.
As I said in the beginning, there
can be a fine line between toughing it out and honoring your body. As instructors, we tend to push you to your
limits to make sure you are progressing in the art form. However, we do not know your body as well as
you and rely on each student to know when they have come up to that limit.
Train hard, push yourself to your
limits, but listen to your body and know when to say no. This is an important part of becoming a
martial artist and living a key martial artist principle. And by honoring yourself and your body you
are not allowing yourself to be victimized by others or victimized by yourself.
Regards,
Kelly
"He who knows
when he can fight and when he cannot will be victorious." ~ Sun Tzu (6th
Century BC), Chinese General, military strategist, and author of The Art of
War“
