Week 12 – David Brezinski

“Pain and pleasure like light and darkness, succeed each other.” – Lawrence Stone

Sunday sparring and accepting the pain. It is what it is! As Ike-san, Dirk-san and myself took turns sparring, my final round for the day was an attempt on my part to get in a step-in right fist hook punch on Dirk-san. I saw the opening! Crunch…as my fist landed heavily and the momentum of the punch hit Dirk-san square on his left side hipbone. Right away I knew I’d done some damage as I tried to shake it out, but the pain was shooting through my hand and wrist. We finished the round with lighter contact, Dirk-san realizing my right hand was out of commission.

As I sit here and type this blog entry, my right hand is aching and I must compensate by using my left hand and fingers to poke the keys. My right hand is swelling but I hope that continued icing and rest will allow it to heal quickly.

These things are bound to happen; a stinger here, a jammed finger there…bumps and bruises. Pain! Accepting the pain, feeling it, allowing it to express itself within the context of the human experience and as a martial artist is to me a part of the journey. A minor setback, something else to overcome and in doing so, grow. While no one likes to be injured or hurt, it is exactly these experiences that open the door for growth. I believe that the pleasure and satisfaction derived from training and becoming more proficient as a black belt candidate is to some extent commensurate to the level of pain endured. And endure, I will!

All three of us had some minor “stingers” today. I suppose when we all train hard, we earned it, together!