An important lesson
Hello all.
As some of you already know, I have taken up martial arts about a month ago. The style is "Sogo Budo", or 'synthesis of the arts'. It is basically a mix of jujutsu (that's the correct spelling, by the way), karate, judo, and aikido. We occasionally go outside and train with weapons also. It's a great place and I'm glad I found it.
Today I learned something important. I learned that morale has an enormous influence in battle. You can really vainquish an opponent without the slightest physical harm. Just showing him that he has no chances using a good hold and you're done.
At the end of today's class we sparred on the ground. First time, I went up against my friend Vince. The first time we sparred I won, but this time I did not concentrate properly and he thoroughly owned me (to his credit, he did improve since last time). That was fine. Then, the instructor put me up against a black belt.
What?
Right. This black belt guy wasn't a good teacher either; usually when fighting a highly-graded, he lets you do your stuff and shows you where you go wrong. But this guy, Anthony, didn't do that. He just waited for me to do the first move, then obviously counterattacked and got me in a hold right away. He squeezed just enough to show me that I had no chances, to break my spirit. Not to mention he bent my glasses (shoulda taken them off before going against this psycho...)
After that, I was just holding back the tears for the rest of the spars. The instructor put me up against a white belt that joined *after* me and I still got owned. All I could think about was how dominated I was. The instructor obviously noticed because at the end of the class he told everybody that it's important to get back up after failing, and that even black belts were once beginners like us.
So yeah, that experience taught me that sometimes, all you need is a mental victory. And that I need contact lenses.
As some of you already know, I have taken up martial arts about a month ago. The style is "Sogo Budo", or 'synthesis of the arts'. It is basically a mix of jujutsu (that's the correct spelling, by the way), karate, judo, and aikido. We occasionally go outside and train with weapons also. It's a great place and I'm glad I found it.
Today I learned something important. I learned that morale has an enormous influence in battle. You can really vainquish an opponent without the slightest physical harm. Just showing him that he has no chances using a good hold and you're done.
At the end of today's class we sparred on the ground. First time, I went up against my friend Vince. The first time we sparred I won, but this time I did not concentrate properly and he thoroughly owned me (to his credit, he did improve since last time). That was fine. Then, the instructor put me up against a black belt.
What?
Right. This black belt guy wasn't a good teacher either; usually when fighting a highly-graded, he lets you do your stuff and shows you where you go wrong. But this guy, Anthony, didn't do that. He just waited for me to do the first move, then obviously counterattacked and got me in a hold right away. He squeezed just enough to show me that I had no chances, to break my spirit. Not to mention he bent my glasses (shoulda taken them off before going against this psycho...)
After that, I was just holding back the tears for the rest of the spars. The instructor put me up against a white belt that joined *after* me and I still got owned. All I could think about was how dominated I was. The instructor obviously noticed because at the end of the class he told everybody that it's important to get back up after failing, and that even black belts were once beginners like us.
So yeah, that experience taught me that sometimes, all you need is a mental victory. And that I need contact lenses.