Life teaches us lessons in the
most mysterious ways.
For me, there were hidden lessons
to learn when I accepted an invitation to a martial arts class a good friend of
mine was personally teaching. To be
precise, I would call it a roller coaster ride on self-discovery.
I will not go into the details of
getting there, but the setting of the class does deserve special mention. As martial arts classes go, this venue was a
red flag as far as martial arts classes that this was SERIOUS stuff.
The venue, an old clan
association in the 4 storey shop house in China Town, a quick description on
the place.. Huge double doors open into a vast hall where the ground floor is
an old clan association, the walls all lined with black and white photos of
ancestors long past, a long long wooden table filled the hallway with rows of
old high backed chairs lining the walls.
On the second floor, a huge altar holding all the ancestral tablets that
I had to make my way past. On the third
level, there was a row of olden Chinese Pole arms along the wall, the lion and
dragon heads, and all manners of lion and dragon dance items.
On the roof, the roof extended
partway, and there, open to the sky was the training mat. Plus of course there was another altar where
Justice Bao, The Monkey God, and a whole manner of other war deities were overlooking
the training ground.
A quiet whimper I was very aware
of sounded like, “What have I gotten myself into?”
Most martial arts classes are
categorised by “grade”, and most often “grades” do not get into “fights” with
each other until they are very advanced.
This was a very old school class.
I was simply paired with a scarily built senior by height, with no
regard for experience or training, and the next instruction was simply, “Let’s
Spar.”
With the Gods of War watching,
there was no room to back out or turn chicken, barely after a warm-up, here I was
standing on the sparing mat squared off against my opponent. Oh, did I mention
that this was a Sanda/Sanshou class?
In essence, it is one of the most
practical martial arts forms, meaning to say, JUST WIN THE FIGHT. There will be kicks, punches, elbows, knee
strikes.. get too close and there will be sweeps and throws. I was way out of my depth, the blows came
from all manner of direction and angles and they HURT! Each round was supposed to last for 2 minutes
but they were agonisingly slow!!
2 minutes and landing on my back
a couple of times, I got off the mat bruised and winded. So ended round 1. After the rest of the pairings had their
rounds, it was my turn again. So begins
round 2. This time, I was paired with a
skinny tall Chinese guy. Looks and
sounds a lot less painful as the dark giant from round 1. Boy was I wrong. Big dark giant lands heavy punches and low
kicks so I had time to brace for each hit.
Skinny guy was fast and the kicks were low, middle AND high.
The lessons were simple. Drop your guard, get hurt bad. However, the problem was this.. If you want
to keep yourself from getting hurt, you keep your guard up. The problem is, you can’t hit the other guy
either. Nobody ever won a fight by NOT
hitting back. Hence, the internal
wrestle within me was to ATTACK, and despite my modest attempts, to hit hard
knowing that I will be opening my guard for a kick or punch to get through.
Round 3, this time, my opponent
was another big guy, this time, he looked fat.
Here’s some advice from me looking back.
FAT GUYS ARE NOT SLOW!! And they can hit really fast and hard. Landing on your butt on the far side of the
mat from a single punch is painful, and I was learning fast to get out of the
way of that shot really quick, or brace when it comes.
As much as this was a martial
arts class, the quick lesson for me, was that the biggest opponent was always
within me. 1 hour into the class, every
fibre of my being was screaming for me to “pass” my turn and keep out of the
ring, to stay someplace, ANYPLACE that’s far away from the mat and the scary
seniors who are dishing out the pain, and I suspect, enjoying it.
When my turn came again, looking
across the mat at my next opponent, there was always a choice, step in, there
WILL be pain. Stay outside, no
pain. However, I was fast coming to
realise that facing my opponent in the ring, and attacking him despite knowing I
am opening myself to be hit, IS the lesson for today. With the Gods of War watching, I stepped in,
again, and again, and again. The fights
were losing battles, but the one battle I knew I could not lose was the one
with Fear.
“Can lose to opponent, but never
lose to fear”, once you start running in life, you will never stop
running. This was my first lesson.
Over the course of the few
months, I came back again, and again.
Each time leaving with bruises both to the body and the ego. But each trip I made, I won a victory within
myself, for myself.
During my time as a leader
meeting potential new associates, a question that I am posed very often is
this, “What are the ingredients necessary to succeed?”
Today, I will add one that I
call, “The Will To Fight”.
Life to the business owner is
never a walk-in-the-park. Your obstacles
and challenges more often seem doggedly determined to keep you from your
path. Each challenge, frightfully
tougher and daunting than the last. Each
battle, right after the last, following the next one, and the next one, and the
next one.
Each fight, your mind, body and
soul screaming to you, “WHY?!”
To all new associates, the tunnel
is a long and dark one with your obstacles all in place to way-lay you. Each fight is a fight you must win to get to
the other side. Each fight will have more
reasons for you to turn away, than to advance and fight, again, and again, and
again.
Tonight let me put a face onto
your adversary. However logical and
reasonable and excuse otherwise, the opponent is always the same, it is within
you, it is your fear.
Thus, I leave you with this,
“Can lose to opponent, but never
lose to fear. Get up, and fight.”
To my Newbies, this is a rite of
passage that your seniors have made before, it is your turn now. Be assured that it is a fight for yourselves,
but you will never be alone.
--
Best Regards,
Mervin Tang
Group Director
Division Lead Trainer, Project Sales
CEA Reg No. : R030951Z
Huttons Asia Pte Ltd
Mobile: (65) 9184 0208
Website: http://www.SGrealestate.sg
Sales Enquiry: mervintang@SGrealestate.sg
Huttons Asia Pte Ltd
Mobile: (65) 9184 0208
Website: http://www.SGrealestate.sg
Sales Enquiry: mervintang@SGrealestate.sg
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