Tired. And kind of confused. I hardly knew what happened in my first class at Elevated Studios in Wilmington, Delaware. It took a conversation with my son, who had watched, to start to understand that I might have learned a couple things.
I’ve been watching my sons train and compete for five years. We’ve visited around a half dozen other studios and there’s no where else I’d rather be.
During the Lockdown I’ve been preaching self improvement, immune boosting, and holistic strengthening of mind, body, and soul. The opportunity to train with some of the best in the art seemed too much for me to pass on.
It was more uncomfortable than I expected, and in different ways. I was nervous to watch the drills and copy them, the moves are intricate. But that wasn’t so bad. It was the matches. Five five-minute rounds. I lasted four matches. I had no idea what I was doing. I just didn’t want to look like a fool. I expended energy all over the place. I was one degree away from “flailing.”
But what else could be expected? Brené Brown’s phrase, Fucking First Time (FFT) came to mind. I had been more scared about this first class than anything I can remember since bungee jumping over a canyon in New Zealand 20 years ago. Just like the jump, I did it. I knew what the fear meant. I knew that that’s where I needed to go.
I can feel myself pushing forward already. I want to participate in all five matches. I want to prepare myself for that, to be ready to push further than I did today.
It’s an exciting shift in my life, to be exploring and testing the world as a habit. More of an anti-habit, stronger in discomfort.
God bless and thank you for reading, I appreciate you,
Jason