Martial Arts: The Beginner's Mind

This is a slight twist on an article I wrote for my old blog, kungfunomad.wordpress.com/, having to do with the sort of mental hurdles one faces when taking up martial arts for the first-time. I still agree with the sentiment years later, and since this site is likely seeing more traffic, I thought I'd share it here.

Back in 2009-2010 I found myself going through some tough times and was suffering from some of the bad habits that many 20-somethings find themselves with (smoking, drinking, etc.). In an effort to get myself out of this rut, I sought out an activity that would get me out of house and help clear my mind. Many people are drawn to martial arts during tough times in their lives and it’s hard to explain what it does to you, but as you slowly build your body up, …your mind, and I guess spirit, follow.

I didn’t find martial arts right away though.

The first activity I got into was running. I spent half a year training and running a few 5Ks and running with a weekly group, etc. My fitness improved a little, but I wasn’t strong, and in fact I was having problems with tendonitis in my knee, and was faced with ceasing any semblance of a physical fitness routine.

Martial arts training had long been a dream of mine and needing something to do, I said f*** it and starting researching what was available in my area. I checked out different places in the city and I communicated with some instructors via email.

Instructors take note. Never underestimate these early-stage communications with prospective students. For many prospective students, it's a huge mental hurdle to reasearch, and create a short-list of a few schools to go check out when one is first getting into martial arts. If, as an instructor, you show prospective students respect, and answer their questions thoughtfully, it goes a long way to getting them in the door, and perhaps helping them to make a life-changing decision.

A word on beginning martial arts to the beginning martial artists… I think the biggest challenge for anyone thinking about starting training is making that first class. Understand that everyone who walks through that door for the first time in any school or gym anywhere experiences this same feeling. It’s perfectly normal. Also understand that the awkwardness you feel during your first training session is normal. This is your body and mind undertaking a brand new activity, so give yourself a break, and let the learning commence. There are some people who go into new activities with great enthusiasm, and some who will enter martial arts with a bit of uneasiness. Do not fear if you're of the latter variety as that's probably the majority of first-timers.

Also, be prepared for the after-effects of your first class. Your body and mind may be giving you conflicting signals. It’s likely that you’ll really enjoy the class, but you may be indecisive about joining. At this point doubts of whether you can do this may creep into your mind. Don’t let this happen. A good school won't pressure you to join, so no one's going to jump through hoops to get you to join, and that's the way it should be. The choice will really be up to you and I would advise that you go into your first class telling yourself that if you like it after the first one, then you’ll sign up for a month at the end of the class. There are times in life when you’ve just got to jump in. Give yourself a full month to see where things go. If you go home to think about it after the first class, a second visit becomes more unlikely as your mind may try to talk you out of returning.

Discovering martial arts opened up a whole new chapter in my life and I hope, if you are considering it, that you give it a try. Beginning with one martial art gave me the confidence to learn other martial arts and embrace all sorts of new life experiences rather than fear them. Taking up the activity has been one of the best decisions I've made in my adult life. As long as you find a good instructor and a good group of people to train with, martial arts can really do amazing, inexplicable things for your life.