How can forgiveness help martial artists? Heres how.

I believe that forgiveness is the best form of love in any relationship. It takes a strong person to say they’re sorry and an even stronger person to forgive. – Yolanda Hadid

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You’ve been wronged. Hurt. Offended. Had someone turn their back on you.

It happens to all of us.

We sometimes carry this with us for way too long.

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Years ago, I had a group of friends and then things went wrong and ‘the band broke up’.  People that I considered to be great friends, no longer wanted anything to do with me.  I remember being really hurt.

It wasn’t until years later that I realized how feeling hurt wasn’t helping me and how I was always carrying it around. What did help me was remembering all the good times that we had and how we had helped each other so much.

I started seeing all the good times that we had as a chapter of my life. It started, it ended and it was great while it existed. When I did this, it lifted this giant weight off me and I felt all this relief.

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As martial artists, we often carry baggage with us and it impedes our development.

The one time that we struggled with a kata and suddenly, to us, we’re lousy at learning kata. That time a training partner punched us in the face suddenly means that their reckless and dangerous.

Our memories and perceptions of ourselves and others are often based on a single experience and affect us for the rest of our lives. The reality is that they have very little substance.

We often blame ourselves and others unnecessarily.

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This week, question some of your beliefs.  Find proof that they aren’t all real.

Forgive yourself of those misconceptions, free yourself of what weighs you down and watch how your life and training improve.

To your success,

Michael