Pure Wisdom

CHAPTER 6

Courageous

In order to learn karate, at some point you’ve got to fight a real person. Karate isn’t keep-fit combat – it’s get-hit combat. So eventually you have to confront the fear of getting hurt.

Let’s face it: people don’t want to get hurt. But in karate you can’t let this fear stop you. You’ve got to move forward and strike. So you learn how to control the fear: you develop a plan of action, you know exactly what you’ll do if your partner counterattacks, and you move towards the thing you fear. If you don’t, you give up. But giving up isn’t a real option. Not if you plan on attaining a black belt or mastering your art.

Imagine if you gave up learning to walk because you feared falling and getting a bruised bum. Think about ...