Although I didn’t know that it would at first, Karate has been really helpful with several things I do in and out of the dojo. It’s one of those unique activities that created benefits in all areas of my life.
First of all, it helps me with my discipline. For example, I train at home and even when I don’t want to, I keep going to force myself get better than I was the week before or even the day before. In general my mind doesn’t wander like it used to.
Second of all, all the pushups, sit-ups and stretches at the beginning of the class help me keep fit and athletic. I am also able to keep on being really healthy, and I don’t need to worry about being lazy.
Third, there is a lot of self-defense involved, so I know how to protect myself from attackers.
In the dojo, my resolve grew stronger and I can succeed in things I couldn’t do before. For example, when we hold our arms up at shoulder height at the beginning of class, I used to just put them down when I got tired. Now I try my best to keep them up longer. Also, I don’t look around as much during class when we are practicing and learning new moves and defenses.
Karate also helps me at school by making me more confident and less shy than I was before. The weekly Black Belt Leadership assignments we get also help me because they always make me think. For example, one question asked, “Who is your role model?” and that really made me think, “Who helps me the most?” A ton of people fit into that category, but as I said before, I had to think, and that’s what helps my mental training as well as my physical training.
I look forward to seeing where my journey with Karate will go. I will keep you updates on this blog!
Monika S.