Comfort Zones in the Martial Arts

Imagine yourself climbing an infinitely high ladder. When you go up the first couple of rungs there is no fear; you are still a safe distance from the ground. But when you get past a certain point if you're like most people fear can set in. That fear simply means you've climbed out of your comfort zone.

You can avoid the experience of fear in two ways. First if you keep looking up and avoid looking down. Secondly at any given level, if you stay there long enough, your fear will begin to diminish. (This happens all the time with new construction workers who are terrified at first of working on tall buildings but after a period of time they just grow used to it.)

Comfort zones in the Martial Arts (or anything else) work exactly the same way. Often in your practice when you feel uncomfortable it simply means you've moved up a rung in the ladder; you've moved past where you were into higher, more uncharted territory. You can avoid most of the discomfort by keeping your mind on where you are going, and stay in the new place long enough for you to feel safe. Eventually the fear will subside and it will be time to move on again!

What has stopped more aspiring Martial Artists than just about everything else combined is the refusal to move into an unfamiliar area and or the refusal to move out of a comfortable area. If you study every great Martial Art Master they all had one major thing in common; they all were innovators, they stepped out of there comfort zones, often becoming students again and again, continually modifying their techniques and the styles they taught. If you want to be great you must keep moving and looking ahead!

There is some really good news about comfort zones. If you were on a ladder, climbing it higher and higher, eventually you would come to a place where going still higher wouldn't bother you at all. After all, is six hundred feet really that much different than five hundred? So in exactly the same way, when you get to a certain place in your practice moving to new territory isn't that big of a deal; it's just what you do and it gets easier and easier.

So there you have it; if you want to break through your limitations there really is a simple formula.

1: Don't look down, keep your mind on your progress.

2: Stay in your new area long enough to feel good about it.

3: Keep moving and realize eventually you will get to a level where progress will come to you with very little discomfort.

Good luck breaking through your comfort zones!