When we try something new, we are nervous. This nervous feeling is because we think that we’ll feel foolish if we make a mistake. The problem with this type of thinking is that everybody is a beginner at everything sometimes. Michael Jordan wasn’t born with a basketball in his hands. Michael Jordan was kicked off his freshman team in high school after tryouts because he wasn’t good enough to be on the team. He used that failure to go on to become a basketball legend.
What’s important to remember is that mistakes are the stepping stones to success. What we fail now, we become good at tomorrow. It takes courage to try something new, then continue to try when we haven’t become good at it yet. Like the Homerun kings, Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa will tell you that even if you miss hitting the ball five times in a row, you’ll get your hit if you keep on swinging. Babe Ruth was the champion home-run hitter, but he struck out 1,333 times.
Courage is an integral part of learning to be a martial artist. You gain nothing without taking a risk, and it takes courage to take a chance. Even a risk with less than successful results can help you learn a lot about yourself and what you’re trying to do. Learning martial arts and learning about courage can sometimes be the same thing. Courage is known as your journey through your lessons in martial arts.
