My path to the martial arts was not a smooth one

Photo by Kristin Wall, used under Creative Commons licence.

In my blog right now we’re having a look at the times when the path isn’t so smooth… when you feel like giving up. That was how my journey in the martial arts began. It definitely caused some difficulties between me and my dad. 

I went along for my first boxing lesson. I went in the ring … great. I felt like Muhammad Ali. Bang, bang, bang, bang on the speed bag. That was great. Then – my first real sparring.

I only remember my opponent’s fist was coming away from my face. His speed was unbelievable: every time I went to throw a punch, I was hit – bang. I knew immediately that boxing was not for me. 

My whole body was numb. My head was numb. Everything was numb. I remember walking away. I went to the changing room, put my clothes on, and I left. That was enough boxing for me.

But I didn’t know how to break it to my dad. When I told him, he said to me, “You’re going to do some sort of martial arts. That’s going to happen, whether you like it or not.”

I was up for it. I wanted my dad to be happy

So next he found me a judo class.  Once again it sounded great: I was up for it and I wanted my dad to be happy.  He bought me all the gear for the judo class, just like he had for the boxing. I went there. I did this judo for about four weeks just doing normal practise. It was nice. People throwing each other.I went in there training and they showed us all the moves.

And then I got thrown. At that moment, every last little bit of oxygen in my body left me. I knew very instinctively that this wasn’t right for me and that it wasn’t something that I wanted to do.

For the second time, I told my dad about it.

So now, at the age of  just 11, I’d given up on something else. Me giving up was becoming a bit of a problem for my dad, and it was starting to become a problem with the way I saw myself.