SICKIES ON THE MAT

​I am on Day 4 of mat leave due to a cold bug a student gave me on the mat... 

​No Kenpo Girl is not happy.

This is the longest I have been off the mat for as far back as I can remember.  While I would love to put “The Sleeper” on the student that got me sick in the first place, I am trying to take the higher road…
​
Because everyone enjoys an enthusiastic student.  They not only make instructors life easier but make mat time entertaining with their eagerness to learn new things.  Yet, it’s usually these dedicated students that end up bringing more than just their enthusiasm to the mat.  They bring the sickies.

We’ve all known student’s that would rather work off a fever on the mat then in bed and it isn’t long before the domino effect takes hold and the rest of the dojo is sick.  It’s an unfortunate side effect of a close proximity sport that requires a lot of contact but in all actuality it becomes one of the unlucky lessons we must preach and learn.
​
When I attended a seminar by Sifu Marty Zaninovich he stressed that we should do martial arts not just for self-defense but more for self-preservation.  I contemplated his words of wisdom as I sipped my Theraflu.  

There are so many different threats to our well-being so why would we just train for a physical assault?  Whether you are stretching or washing your hands you are still practicing self-preservation.  Self-preservation is one of the basic, vast and most important lessons we can practice on and off the mat. With self-awareness we are one step closer to preserving our greatest weapon: our bodies.

If this is the case then martial arts which has been looked upon as a self-defense orientated activity is in all fairness truly about self-preservation.  It goes way beyond learning to block a punch or using hand sanitizer.  With your self-awareness you begin to recognize your strengths and use them to your advantage. 
​

But what about recognizing when we are at our weakest? 
​At what point of time do we transition from the warrior who pushes our body to the scholar who listens to the body?

​​Not many new students understand the concept.  Many martial artists are promotion driven.  They tend to try and squeeze as many classes in as an attempt to speed up their next promotion; even training when their body is at its weakest.  In turn they are failing to recognize the promotion is and should only be a fraction of the goal.

If you truly understand the material and have met your dojo requirements, then missing one class should not make a difference for your promotion.  If you are genuinely concerned it will, discuss it with you instructor.  They have been sick at one point of time and can guide you through it.
​
For the experienced martial artists that try to push their way through illness at a dojo, shame on you.  Not only is it disrespectful to your body but to your fellow students and instructors.  You are needlessly exposing them to sickness.

​As martial artists our ultimate goal is self-preservation.  Instructors, parents and peers we need to stress that sickness is not a weakness but a natural process. Help keep the dialog going that it’s okay to sit this one out.  Otherwise you might just find everyone catching the sickies.