09/05/2020
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Unity Martial Arts closed our midtown dojo (our building) and taught exclusively online for 3 months. In late June we began re-opening classes and children’s day camps with many precautions. Although our community is strong, as owner, each day I have to face painful financials while constantly making sure everyone is diligently following new safety protocols—masks, always masks, no contact, no high fives, no sparring, clean, clean, clean. Even though students are tremendously cooperative with these precautions, being on high alert still takes a mental toll.
The 10 Don’ts of Sparring is one of our dojo philosophies for light-contact fight practice. It’s a list of reminders for overcoming fear in a situation where success is not certain.
In martial arts, we break down each of these pitfalls and examine how our minds will jump to unproductive distractions. We condition our thoughts, not just our bodies, so when an opponent tries to hit, kick, and throw us, we discard fear and open our minds to learning from them.
As we discussed each of the 10 Don’ts in class recently, I realized I needed to fold every one of these reminders into my pandemic response. In this uncertain time it’s easy to fall into unproductive patterns rather than to adapt and move forward. Anger, tension, and fearfulness will cloud your vision and hurt those around you. Panic can have you hurry or waste energy on an unformed strategy instead of taking the time to make a good plan. Overconfidence, distraction, and preconceived ideas are all about failing to adapt to new information or stay flexible. Being discouraged and afraid of failing will not only keep you from learning from adversity, but may even keep you from ever trying at all.
We challenge ourselves in the dojo so that when the world throws us challenges, we’ll have practiced. We calm our fears so that every challenge, COVID-19 included, becomes an opportunity for personal and community growth