ABSOLUTE ASCENDANCY

Commencing operation . . .

Overview

Last month, I was supposed to have an amateur kickboxing fight. A couple of days before, I came down with a cold. As the match was not a massive deal in the grand scheme of things, I decided to pull out. Here is the thing, though. A week or so later, I find out that one of my Brazilian Jiujitsu instructors competed in the black belt division and won his bouts while suffering from a cold. He was able to persevere where I chose self-preservation. It got me thinking about the following things.

• Was I weak for bailing out?
• What made him stronger than me?

Was I weak for bailing out?

Kind of? I guess I do not know, to be honest. I was pretty sick, but even so. Perhaps my cold was at a worse stage than his, who knows.

What made him stronger than me?

I believe it was his prestige and the nature of the competition that allowed my instructor to preserve and triumph through the adversity of an ailing body. He has the reputation of his club to defend, and his students look up to him. Such prestige drives one to accomplish many great things.

To advance or to retreat?

That is the question! Like many things in life, it is a balancing act. Preserve yourself too much, and you will not grow. Only by pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone can you evolve. Persevere too much, and you risk overextending yourself. A personal example I have is over-training in an attempt to achieve victory.

I was preparing for the Koshiki Karatedo 2015 Oceania Cup, Australia. Desperate to attain an international win under my belt, I trained mercilessly, especially at home. A couple of weeks before the tournament, a group of friends arranged a catch up over a game of basketball on a Saturday afternoon. I trained in Karate and Kickboxing for over three hours, early on Saturday mornings. I saw this meet-up as an opportunity to get even more exercise on Saturday, so even though my body was exhausted, I went against my better judgement and played ball.

Unfortunately, as the game heated up and competitiveness was running high, I ended up spraining my ankle when a mate and I both jumped and collided while trying to receive/intercept a pass. I completely blew it. My ankle was stuffed, and it was not something that was going to heal in a couple of weeks. More like a few months. I still competed at the event, but I had to perform an easier Kata, and I could not fight effectively either. I suffered defeats on both fronts on that day and felt very bitter about it, but I learned a valuable lesson through it all.

Any trait, pushed to the extreme becomes a drawback. 

Conclusion

At what point would you switch to preservation? I know people who have fought with busted hands, broken ankles, and all other manner of injuries. A fractured ankle crosses the line for me, though. I have competed with a sprained ankle on multiple occasions. One time I had a dodgy knee and on another occasion, a bad back. I have fought through some painful injuries but a broken ankle, what on Earth. That guy is either seriously next level or just plain mad. I am not sure. Huge respect, though.

Ultimately, I think it is good to regularly put perseverance into practice but ensure you know your limits.

Mission complete – Overlord Drakow signing out.