Break Through

When I started training in the martial arts, I was overweight and so out of shape I was consistently teased that the smelling salts were on hand.

I can honestly say that there were a few occasions when, while kneeling in a corner trying to catch my breath, I thought about throwing in the towel, but I kept getting up for more.

One aspect of the training that I could not wrap my brain around was a stick drill that involved weaving them as well as mirroring the movement on both sides of the body. For some reason, I had a huge block in my head on this drill.

One day after struggling with it for literally a couple months, a fellow student took me under his wing to help me get it. He broke down the movements step-by-step on one side until I got those. Then we did it on the opposite side until I was flowing through the movements. By the end of the class I had it.

After that, whenever I have a challenging moment, I break it down “by the numbers,” as we used to say. Now when I hit that barrier, I step back and approach the problem or task methodically until I have it completed.

As for that stick drill, I literally do it in my sleep.

What is something you once found difficult but now consider second nature?