Patience in Martial Arts makes for Patience in Life
Get ready for the silly season!!!
The time of year is upon us. As Professor P had previously written, Black Friday turned into, as always a nightmare that people willingly took part in. For me, I take about 2 years to decide on what I want to purchase. I take my time. I do my research. I have patience. Like many things in martial arts, a stoic, calm approach can transition into your daily life. Patience in martial arts makes for patience in life.
When we are under pressure there is an urgency. The learning process in Krav Maga, Muay Thai, BJJ, MMA and Kali all take time. Everyone is different. Where we aren’t different however is knowing how we should treat people. Hindsight is 20/20. And I’m guessing that by people’s behavior over the past few years around the holidays, a sense of what should be important and what is important have taken on varying meanings.
Whether we make the choice to do the right thing is entirely up to us. We can justify or rationalize every action we take, right or wrong. In martial arts we have strategy and tactics. We prepare for a number of different situations. Overall the student at Elite Training Center has the opportunity to learn to not only survive, but thrive in various combative scenarios. This is something that is not inherent.
Some people flourish as they embark on their martial arts journey. Others, such as myself have to repeat, make a mistake or two or ten, then repeat again. I do know how to treat people though. I do know that shoving someone out of the way for a child’s bike or toy or a new television is the wrong thing to do. I do know that patience and an open mind is important to understanding everything.
After viewing the chaos that ensued during Black Friday (mostly via social media), I am simply glad I do not take part in that fiasco. People get hurt out of greed. This happens all the time I know, but we haven’t the bandwidth for that discussion. In this case Black Friday lends perspective to an already ugly scene.
Allow your martial arts training to flow into every area of your life. So many great lessons that we learn about ourselves on the mat can put what we deem as stressful normally into perspective, in this case Black Friday. Keep smiling. Be kind.
S. Derhammer
Elite Training Center
1628 South Pacific Coast Highway,
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
(310) 543-1600
www.elitetrainingcenter.net
