Does Martial arts make me a better person...Hmmm...maybe

 For our karate test, we have to write an essay as part of the curriculum. The topic is "why does Martial arts make you a better person?"

My 10y old wrote this really cute nice essay about how it teaches her discipline, makes her stronger and more confident. And here is mine...if anything it is mostly true except maybe the part of the trophy wife :)

Here it goes...

I am an awesome parent, cool engineer, best daughter, trophy wife, accountable boss, pretty decent cook. You may wonder why I am being all narcissistic...well it's because even though I am good at many things, I am bad at karate, I mean the kind who almost passes the test but barely passes the test. And that is exactly why karate makes me a better person.

When we are children, we try many things, as years go by we figure out what we are good at and what comes naturally to us. I love math and logic, it comes easily to me, numbers make sense and work is fun! But Karate does not come easy to me, I struggle. When we practice at home and I cannot figure out a combination, my daughter says - “ Amma, go with the flow, it has to be the right hand punching for the combination to make sense”. Instead, I overthink...is the right hand on top, is the left leg going back...I get frustrated...but then I remember that we are all like this at one thing or another. I take a deep breath, sometimes even close my eyes to go with the flow. I try my best not to overthink but let my practice and muscle memory take me through the combination. Karate makes me a better person because it helps me let go of my overthinking brain and get out of my comfort zone.

So we have established that I am not a natural at karate. Did you know that I also hate it...sometimes. I honestly like the theory part of karate like the forms, the combinations. Forms are my favorite, they are super cool and I enjoy synchronizing with my daughter. Sometimes I practice the same form over and over again till I get so tired that I cannot even take another step. However I am not a big fan of sparring and grappling. I am actually scared to spar and grapple with teenage kids. I think they see me as this adult figure and come at me with vengeance. So you may wonder why is she paying money, spending time just to get beaten up? Well, that is life, isn’t it...if you want to be good at anything - whether it is relationships or work - there are parts we enjoy and parts we are scared of or detest. Karate makes me a better person - because it teaches me to “embrace the suck”. Even though I try to stay away from some teens, I still put myself out there. I still get punched, kicked and pinned down, it hurts, but I learn my technique and do my best.

I usually go to karate on Monday after a long day. As I enter the dojo for my class, I am anything but fun. But in the next 45 minutes something magical happens - I move, punch, kick, learn, laugh, roll my eyes!  Karate class resets my brain in the best way possible and when I leave the dojo I am stronger and happier! Karate makes me a better person because it reminds me that life is fun!