Don't Be Afraid to Take a Punch

Don’t Be Afraid to Take a Punch

Good Day Introverts, Reserved Ones, and all of those who want to learn more about people of this nature,

Recently, I had my last martial arts class before I go off to college. I’m not stopping martial arts, I’m just not going to be attending classes regularly like I usually do. My martial arts organization has many locations and one of them is inside a multi-activity center with lots of other types of activities, especially dance. As a result of the fact that this extracurricular activities center has so many different classes with so many different students of all different age groups, every year a showcase is held to show off what each student has learned to their family and friends. As I waited back stage for the Taekwondo class to be called to go on stage, I recalled something that my Taekwondo instructor told me all the time during sparring. I was a great blocker, I blocked not all, but many punches and kicks. That was okay, but what he used to always say to me and other members of the class was, “Don’t be afraid to take a punch.” I thought about that for a while during my time backstage. When I first stared sparring, I was always blocking but I rarely moved my arms from the blocking position to throw a punch. This simple statement about sparring made me reflect on my own life. I’m very shy sometimes and I’m very introverted sometimes, but mostly shy. Many times my shyness crippled me and stopped me from doing certain things such as joining conversations or going to social gatherings. In middle school, almost everyone had some type of party to celebrate what seemed then as such a great age, the big one three. There were always fancy little invites being passed around or text messages(pretty new aged for back then.) When I got invites, I was often too scared to attend these events. I would turn the invitation over so I wouldn't have to keep thinking about it and how I was not going. When I got to high school I thought to myself, “Why was I so scared to go to a little party or join a little conversation?” Its funny now, but during the time when you’re facing these types of things they can be painful. So I thought about the piece of advice that my Taekwondo instructor gave me, “Don’t be afraid to take a punch.” In life many times we are so afraid of “taking a punch” and getting hurt or knocked down by people, situations or circumstances that we miss out on things that had we just taken a little risk, would have been very beneficial to us and actually very easy once we took the first step. For those of you who are very shy like I was, and sometimes still are, don’t be afraid to take a risk every one in a while and step out on faith. Not in me but in God. Just try it, it’s a lot easier than you thought once you just do it.

　

Unashamed Introvertish Girl