Life Lessons from Sparring pt. 2: Four More Points

since i was suppose to blog yesterday and i didn't, i need to do a double post today. here are some more lessons that i gleaned from sparring. hope they are helpful.

1. don't take a hit when you don't have to

in sparring, especially full contact, the best thing is to avoid contact with the other person's blows. of course, you can block, but blocking won't help if someone is hitting you with a full power kick. you could still end up injured badly.

in life, it's better to dodge and avoid the attacks if you can. oftentimes we get bruised from things that we could have just avoided. the tough part is, unlike in sparring, sometimes the things that you should avoid seem GREAT.

there are times that i wish i would've allowed myself to get hit. perhaps i could've slept around some and "sowed my oats" as the old folks say. had some drunken nights. just do all types of crazy stuff. but ultimately, this leads to bruises or worse. i've seen the bruises they leave on other people. it's not a good thing to carry a limp into a fight if you don't have to.

2. you WILL get hit

this may seem contradictory, but it's really not. despite your best efforts to dodge, sometimes you will get hit. it's inevitable. no matter how good you are at sparring at some point you'll get kicked in head, knocked out of the ring, or receive some sort of blow that will rattle you. as well as you might spar, your opponent is also talented. it doesn't mean that he hates you, or that your coach wants you to get attacked, but it's just a part of the game.

the same thing happens in life. it's not always some grand cosmic scheme that something negative has happened to you. don't be so quick to give god the blame (he doesn't make EVERYTHING happen)...or satan the glory (he's only as dangerous as we allow him to be in our personal lives). we live in a jacked up world where jacked up things happen. the end. there's nothing wrong with you. you just got hit. no more, no less. no need to make up a theological theory as to why it happened. the bigger issue is, "it happened, what now?"

3. you can't practice during a match

if only sparring matches could be like dragonball z. if i could just get angry enough to ascend to another level in the middle of a fight so that i could demolish my opponent it would be great. and i'm one of the few people that actually gets more focused when they are angry. but that's not real life. "potential" is given far too much credit nowadays, and it has no place in the ring. what you can actually do is all that matters. "potential" is like a diamond that needs to be mined out of the ground and refined via practice. there's no such thing as "instant improvement."

in the rough times of life, you can't fake it. either you have the chops or you don't. the circumstances will reveal if you do. it's best to prepare yourself before those situations come up...because just like in sparring you KNOW that you're going to get hit. you KNOW at some point a match is coming up. prepare. develop a relationship with Christ...NOW. it doesn't matter that you heard god in an audible voice two months ago. STALE MANNA IS USELESS AND IT HAS WORMS. what have you heard today? have you experienced god today? have you held his hand today? if not, how will you be able to connect with god in the rough times? what strategies will you have? will you be fit enough? strong enough? if you don't practice when there isn't a problem, you won't be able to show and prove when there is.

4. go on the attack

in the fighting game world, there is this thing called "turtling." basically, you just sit there and block while the other person attacks. turtling can happen for two reasons: 1.) you're scared to attack. 2.) your opponent isn't giving you another option. this happens in sparring, too. having great defense is good, but you can't win if you don't hit the other person. you've got to attack at some point.

turtling isn't always a bad thing, even in life. sometimes all you can do is block. sometimes attacks are coming too fast and furious for you to counter. but sometimes we duck and cover out of fear. that's never good. if you are turtling because of fear, STOP. you'll never win at anything that is important to you. get out there and FIGHT. if you get hit, fine. bear the scars of a warrior instead of the bruises of a wimp.

and if you have no choice but to turtle, pay attention. look for patterns. wait for your chance to attack. because while you may have had to endure a barrage...you've also gotten a chance to see a big picture of how they fight. remember that the one who attacks is also vulnerable to attack.