Martial Arts: Get Hit, Get Bruised & Keep Going!

If I had learned one thing since I started martial arts training, it would that no matter how hard you get hit, you get up and keep going.

Blues all over become a normal thing, and your body gets accustomed to them, it becomes way more resistant and doesn’t get bruised as easily.

My First Bruise, yo!

I remember my first ever bruise was on my nose, and boy did I learn from it!

It was during my second kickboxing session. The trainer told us to form a horizontal line, and he went up to each one of us, holding a boxing Pao. We were all standing with the left leg forward. As soon as he held it in front of anyone’s face, that person will need to throw a left punch, then a right, and then a circular kick with the right leg.

So here I was waiting for my turn, telling myself I was going to give it all I had. Back then, “all I had” was basically “nothing”.

As soon as my trainer came in front of me, and before I even gave my weak punch, he hit me with the Pao on my nose. It was so sudden, I didn’t know how to react.

So then he said (or quite literally, screamed) “Always, ALWAYS, protect your face. NEVER bring your arms down”.

Yes, sir. Lesson Learned. 

Since I was warm, I didn’t feel anything. Plus, that session was in the evening, so when I was done, I took a shower and went to sleep.

The next morning I woke up and my roommate had this look on her face when she saw me. A minute later, I had that same look when I saw me; half my nose was purple!

Hundreds of Bruises Later…

If I had a dollar for every bruise I ever got while training, I’d be a millionaire.

Some of them I barely even paid attention to, while others hurt like a mofo.

In TKD class once, my training partner and I each threw a side kick at the same time, and our knees met in the middle. For two weeks, I had a bump the size of a tennis ball right below my knee.

I’m not exaggerating when I say that that bruise went through the colors of the rainbow before it faded away. Purple, blue with red stripes, green, orange, yellow, really light yellow, and then poof! It disappeared like it never happened.

During those couple of weeks, I didn’t miss but one training session. Perseverance is key y’all!

What the magically-disappearing big-ass bruise taught me is that no matter how hard you get hit (no broken bones included here), it will eventually fade away because our bodies are amazingly made that way. With each hit, our cells regenerate, thus making us stronger.

Today, I can proudly say that it takes a really really bad hit to result in a bruise on my body because I got hit so many times that my skin and bones got accustomed. Even if I do get a blue somewhere, it doesn’t last longer than 2 days!

I’m not telling you this to brag. I’m telling you this to let you know that it’s okay to get a bruise now and then. It can only make stronger.

So People! For the love of God, Stop Being Bitchy!

As soon as you make the decision to even try a martial art, doesn’t matter which one it is, you should mentally be ready to take on any hit that’s coming your way.

It may not always be a hit. It could be that someone tightens his grip around your arm, or pushes you hard enough to fall on your back, it doesn’t matter. You should be able to stand back up and keep going.

Martial Arts make us stronger, more confident, and better people overall. That’s a fact.

But bitching about every hit or every bruise will not get you anywhere.

Take it like the strong person that you are. The pay-off will totally be worth it!

Or like the great Rocky Balboa said:

The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!

Rocky ain’t joking around ya know…