“There is nothing outside of yourself that can ever enable you to get better, stronger, richer, quicker, or smarter. Everything is within. Everything exists. Seek nothing outside of yourself.”  — Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings

I started my lessons at the dojo with a blank and empty mind, no expectations, and didn’t want to be stronger, faster, or impress people. I wanted to expend all the energy accumulated through lethargy, sleepy Sundays, and general inactivity.  To date, each session has taught me something new about people, about myself, and each lesson has come from within me. I have captured a few of those lessons below:

Lesson 1–  Abandon the Ego

My first lesson as I entered the ‘dojo’ was never to view oneself as bigger or smaller than the person or situation one is facing. This lesson got specially ingrained when a 17-year-old walked up to me to give me some instructions. I was sceptical, assuming what this scrawny guy might teach me. Two minutes later, when I flew 5 ft up and fell on the ground nose down, my question got answered. 

Many times your ego is what makes you bigger or smaller than who you truly are, and when one abandons it, one can create the path to mental and physical progress.

Lesson 2– Pain is Weakness Leaving Your Body

We had an international seminar, and an instructor from Kazakhstan chose me to demonstrate his skills. I was just a white belt. His skill demonstration resulted in a severely sprained back. After that session, I left the seminar cursing every citizen of Kazakhstan with the choicest of expletives. Later, my physio explained how I have a weak back, and that was the true culprit. 

It took me 6 frustrating months to recover from the pain. But later, when I gave my belt exam, I found myself doing stunts that I earlier shied away from. If it wasn’t for my pain, I wouldn’t truly know my weakness. At times one needs to find the pain centres of one’s body and ease it out to become a stronger and better person.

Lesson 3– Express Your Skill 

This is a classic ‘Bruce Lee’ lesson: Like in life, so in Jiu-Jitsu, we learn multiple techniques, formations. But when the time comes to use it, we get trapped in the rules and techniques that were meant to liberate us. It is akin to speaking in German but thinking in English. All the training and hours of practice engrave the solutions in our mind. When the situation calls for it, we just need to begin expressing ourselves.

Lesson 4– Seek Discomfort 

We won’t progress until we take risks; we won’t take risks until we are willing to move away from our comfort zones. Every time we want to try something new, we think of the consequences of failure, of what others will think of us, so much so we refuse to move out of our comfort zones. Seeking discomfort is the best path to self-discovery and progress.

Lesson 5– The Only One Thing That Prepares You for a Fight– The Fight Itself!

Instructor:“Do you want to get in the ring?”
Classic Ans: – Nai Sir aaj pair mein cramp hain.

When I can run 5 kilometres I will be ready to spar. Had a heavy breakfast…. Well, no amount of workouts or eating rights can ever prepare you to get in the ring. While one needs to train and learn, it is the ring that is the true teacher. 

Many times one might give up an opportunity just because one thought one wasn’t prepared or one isn’t adequate. We are adequate, we are ready. We just need to dive right in, sleeves rolled up, and face our battles rather than shy away from them.

These are a few of the many lessons I keep learning. And each time I enter the dojo or face a situation, I have learned to look at it without any baggage, mental blocks, and try to focus on the now.