It's Supposed to Be Hard

Martial arts gives you the full spectrum of emotions. I love every chance I get to train — if you couldn't already tell. But it's also genuinely challenging, and full of difficult moments. Physically and emotionally.

When I hear someone say "it's hard," my usual reply is some version of: "Yes. It's supposed to be hard. Otherwise, you wouldn't learn anything."

Anyone you've ever seen wearing a higher-ranked belt has been through the hard times. If everyone quit the moment things got tough, no one would learn how to face a challenge — and that, more than any technique, is the real point of training.

The same is true of any sport or significant achievement. I doubt anyone who climbed Everest told you it was easy, but they'll tell you it was worth it. If martial arts were easy, we'd learn nothing from the journey, and class would offer no real opportunity to grow as a person.

I love watching students who rise to a tough task. And I really love watching the ones who rise to it with excitement and determination. Those are the warriors. Those are the high achievers. For students who grunt and complain at a challenge, I work to redirect the energy — positively — and help them see what they're going to learn on the other side.

We train our muscles through movement. We train our minds through difficulty.

Do something for yourself that isn't easy. Do something that puts you outside your comfort zone. That's how you grow.

If you have a child who shuts down when things get hard, don't let them take the easy way out. Encourage them to push through, then ask what they learned when they got to the other side. And — just as important — do the same for yourself.

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Challenge. Change. Excel.

Train hard. OSU!