I’m no different than anyone else. When someone cuts me off in traffic, part of me would love to teach them a lesson.
But I don’t.
The same training that taught me how to inflict physical harm on someone taught me when to inflict physical harm on someone. And when not to.
We often question our ability to defend ourselves. We tend to give great importance to how “tough” we are. But once you learn that you can hurt somebody, you’ll try harder not to. It could get you in big trouble if you don’t.
There are actually very few reasons to fight in the first place. You should defend your life, defend your family, and defend your property. No one, even the law, would deny that.
But, that’s about it. Somebody calling you names, somebody pushing you around…it’s all just ego problems that everyone experiences. It’s not an excuse to fight.
When you give into these lesser impulses, it is very often because you have lost proper focus. Keep things in perspective: you’ll realize how trivial it all is in the grander scheme. There is no reason to risk your health or freedom to fight over them.
Sparring. Patterns. Discipline. These things all stop us from losing our cool by making sure that we take the time and have the patience to reason things out. As you are learning how to spar physically, you are learning how to spar verbally and mentally as well.
The better the fighter is, the less they should want to fight outside of the martial arts realm. Because they know that with Tae Kwon-Do, fighting is organized and disciplined, whether it be sparring in the ring or sparring at a tournament. Tae Kwon-Do scratches the itch to fight.
Most people think about fighting as just a competition. It comes down to wanting to find out “Are you tougher than me, or am I tougher than you?” But as we’re training Tae Kwon-Do, we’re also enjoying the physicality and challenge of it. We’re not just seeking out adversarial combat.
When you learn to compete properly and respect your own abilities, that gets put into perspective.
Master Gorino’s Tae Kwon-Do offers a trial program for individuals and families in Buffalo, NY and the surrounding areas that allows you to get a feel for the different classes, meet our instructors, and experience our dojang. It’s a great way to see if Tae Kwon-Do is right for you. To learn more or to sign up, visit the Contact Us page or call (716) 836-KICK (5425) and a member of our team will follow up with you on next steps. We look forward to helping you achieve your goals. Pil-Sung!
