What,learned,from,six,years,Ma DIY What I learned from six years of Martial Arts

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in When starting a new work at home business it is very easy to become consumed by it. We spend so much time trying to get the business up and running that we may end up becoming burned out and lose our motivation. There is so much to learn and

Backin the mid-90s,I had just returned to New York after graduating frombusinessschool in France.I was feeling a little ungrounded career-wise – I had an MBA but noreal interest in typical MBA professions like investment banking orconsulting – and so, in the meantime, was temping at a mindless 9to 5 job.Beinga night owl, I realized, I still had a good six hours after workbefore bedtime and the idea of taking martial arts popped into myhead (like most of my life-changing decisions do). Flipping throughthe Yellow Pages, I found a taekwon-doschool a fewblocks from my apartment and signed up for the one-month trial.Withinthe first few days, I was hooked, going to class four or five times aweek. And for the next seven years that I pursued my first-degreeblack belt, martial arts training was my anchor -- through a myriadof jobs, roommates and relationships -- a profound source of lessonsand references that I could translate into work, music and everyaspect of life.1.Break down the impossible into the possible.When I first started training, I saw the students with advanced beltsleaping high up in the air and throwing  flamboyantkicks, and Icouldn’t imagine ever being able to do them myself. Luckily, aswhite belts, we began with a basic turning kick, which was vaguelydoable and, from there, almost without realizing, I made incrementalprogress until it was me who was one of the advanced belts breakingboards with a flamboyant kick.Thishas been an invaluable reference that I’ve applied to everything Ido. Feeling that awful “how am I ever going to do this?” pit inmy stomach when faced with a daunting challenge – whether it’sdistilling reams of information into a client presentation, learningthe thousands of notes in a Rachmaninoff concerto or memorizing thenames of all the muscles and bones for a fitness certification exam –I remind myself that I’ve done the “impossible” before and Ican do it again.2.Feel the emotion without reacting emotionally.It’s so easy when you’re contact sparring to get angry and takeit personally when your opponent lands a painful punch to the stomachor kick to the head. But when anger – or other strong emotion --clouds your thinking, performance suffers (it may also have somethingto do with the kick to the head). So, I learned to quickly process(not suppress) my emotions, and not let them (necessarily) dictate myactions or demeanor. (P.S. This is a handy skill to have at theoffice.)3.If your first attempt isn’t successful, try it again (or somethingelse). I think this mayhave been saidmore eloquentlyby someone else, but in truth, I often fell prey to the illusion thatif something didn’t work the first time, perhaps it wasn’t meantto be.Inclass, we would learn different kick combinations to counter orinitiate an attack. Practicing with a partner, they seemed so simpleand effective. And yet, I was frustrated when the combinations didn’twork in actual sparring. What was wrong with me?! In fact, it wasn’tabout finding a foolproof strategy or formula that would work rightoff the bat regardless of circumstances: it was about tweaking theformula or trying different strategies until one worked. (Hmmm, canyou think of other situations where this might apply?)4.No-one is good at everything.Surrounded by talented students -- some who competed internationally,had black belts in multiple martial arts or had been training sincethey were two years old – they all melded, in my mind, into oneincredibly fast, strong, flexible super-human composite. Intimidatingand discouraging, to say the least, and not even accurate. As itturned out, everyone had their strengths and weaknesses, and it was abetter use of time to maximize what strengths I had than to psychemyself out exaggerating those of others. (Corollary: Stop playing thecomparison game.)5.Energy starts in the mind.As passionate as I was about training, I didn’t always feel likegoing to class after work. Some nights I would drag myself sluggishlyacross the mat, shoulders slumped, focused on how I could sneak outearly. But then one of the master teachers would appear in front ofme with a kicking pad, and I would be miraculously flooded withrenewed vigor.Howstrange, nothing else had changed; I hadn’t eaten a Power Bar orgulped down a Red Bull. By virtue of the master’s attention, Isimply felt inspired to try harder, to show respect by doing my best.That instant energy surge was vivid proof that it’s the mind thattells the body what to do, not the other way round.6.Persistence pays off in more ways than one.Okay, it’s one thing to know this intellectually; it’s another toexperience the confidence-building effects. The black belt test takesabout an hour and consists of calisthenics, forms, sparring andbreaking a block of five boards with a back kick. No matter how wellyou perform on the other parts of the test, if you don’t break theboards, you don’t get your black belt. This was the one part of thetest I wasn’t able to practice and, as I faced the boardholdersbracing for my kick, I was overcome by doubt.Ididn’t break the boards the first time. Nor the second time, therequisite three months later. I don’t think I have ever felt sodiscouraged and inadequate. But I was determined not to walk away,like some of the other students who never came back after their firstfailure. It took me five separate tries and hours of practice overthe course of a year to finally break the boards, but the intensefeeling of relief, sense of accomplishment and confidence in myability to persist was priceless.7.Commitment trumps ability.My frustration from not being able to break the boards wasexacerbated when I saw students who were less fit or not as strong asme, kick right through with apparent ease. (And I’m guessing themuscular football player who also took several tries to break theboards felt the same.) The difference was they believed they could doit and they didn’t hold back. As the instructors used to say: "Kicklike you mean it."Ihave yet to use any kicks or punches in actual combat. But the mentalmuscles I developed – confidence, resilience, ability to adapt,self-control -- those, I have occasion to use every day.