Humility

Few things are more humbling than any kind of sports. Martial arts, being my sport of preference, has more than its fair share of ways to crush one's ego. Often this is done in a fairly spectacular manner.

My "favorite" lesson in humilty comes in the form of sparring.

Sparring, for the unenlightened, is semi-practical application of one's martial arts training using a time limit and various set rules (don't break bones, hit only the torso, etc.).

It drives home how good (or bad) one's style and form is. It reveals who is fast, strong, and well-balanced... and who is not.

For reasons I cannot fathom, I was put in the "advanced" group for last night's sparring. Essentially, I was constantly paired against lower ranks in sparring matches.

A few things:

1) I haven't sparred in this style in over a year. I keep missing the sparring practices (they're usually in later classes I don't attend or on the rare classes I miss).

2) I haven't sparred properly in over a decade.

3) I've never been good at sparring.

So I spent an hour getting my ass handed to me by people ranging from girls young enough to be my daughter (*shudder*) to guys a few years older than me. To be fair, I didn't do that poorly, but suffice it to say I won't be flipping people around over my shoulder on the street anytime in the near future.

And I did get my ass handed to me by one girl who could well be young enough to be my daughter.

Then again, I've always been of the opinion that women are better at applying martial arts than men are, so I'm fine with that.