Practicing Courage: The Eye of The Storm

Courage is often mistaken for fearlessness. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned through martial arts, it’s that courage isn’t the absence of fear, but rather the willingness to experience the fear and face it.

From the outside, taking that step onto the mats might look like a bold display of confidence. But inside? A storm brews on. Boom-boom, boom-boom, boom-boom. With every heartbeat pounding doubts continue to pump into the brain. Fear of failure, injury, embarrassment flood your head like thick stormy clouds. Despite the storm though, you take the step forward anyway. That is courage. And when practiced regularly, it becomes a skill that you can carry into every other corner of your life.

The Courage to Step Into the Ring

Waiting on the edge of the ring for your name to be called, the storm feels overwhelming. You're staring down a skilled opponent, the crowd is watching, and there’s no one who can help you. Your name is called, and you take that first step onto the mat. The eye of the storm; serenity within the chaos. Like a pocket of serene stillness offering a brief reprieve from the storm’s fury. The doubts and fears haven’t disappeared, but you have done something so powerful by stepping into that ring; giving yourself a chance to overcome. The action of simply trying builds self-trust and personal confidence. It is the practice of facing the storm. The practice of taking a chance on yourself. The practice of courage.

The opportunity exists to practice your courage outside of competition as well. Sometimes it’s training with your own teammates, pushing past fatigue, ego, or injury. Other times, it’s recovering from a loss or stepping up to perform after blanking in your last competition.

The opportunity for courage doesn’t just show up in the big moments, it shows up daily, in practice, in setbacks, in the tiny decisions to move you forwards.

And over time, as you flex that muscle, it builds.

The Transfer of Courage to Everyday Life

In my own personal experience, I couldn’t recognize the powerful impact of this practice outside of the dojo, until looking back. Like so much of our life experiences, things only make sense when we connect the dots backwards. But, with that experience, I now feel that effect of courage through life’s many storms.

Taking on a new role at work, even though you're doubting whether you're ready. Deciding whether you should raise your hand to speak up in a meeting or making the leap into starting your own business. For kids, it might be raising their hand in class to ask a question or standing up to peer pressure. In friendships and relationships, courage often looks like vulnerability; being honest, showing up fully, and choosing connection even when it’s uncomfortable, or stepping away when it feels scary.

How scary is it to speak to the girl or boy that you like, but aren’t sure if they see you the same way?

In all of these scenarios, the foundation of courage has already been laid. It’s the same courage it takes to spar someone you’re intimidated by, to perform when your confidence is shaky, or to come back after an injury when you’re not sure how your body, or your mindset will respond. That is not to say that it becomes easy. Remember, courage is not the absence of fear or doubt, but the ability to step through it.

You’ve practiced this. You've built the muscle. Now you get to use it.

Courage Is a Skill, Not a Trait

One of the most important things we can teach, especially through martial arts, is that courage is not a personality trait. It’s a practiced skill. It can be practiced. Strengthened. Sharpened. Like any skill, it needs to continue to be practiced in order to stay sharp.

In the dojo, it shows up in the kid who’s afraid to speak up but still finds their voice. In the adult who’s never thrown a kick in their life but comes to their first class and risks looking foolish anyway, realizing they are more capable than they thought. In the competitor who’s coming back from injury, or the person who's walked through anxiety or trauma and still shows up to train. Every act of stepping forward builds that inner strength.

Martial arts is a unique space where you’re given the opportunity to challenge yourself daily. Not just physically, but emotionally and mentally. You intentionally face discomfort. You confront your fear. You get knocked down, and you keep going. That’s not just training for martial arts. That’s training for life.

Martial arts doesn’t just teach you how to fight, it teaches you to trust yourself; Your capabilities, your intuition, and your efforts. It shows you that you can overcome your thoughts and beliefs, and build a new, stronger relationship with yourself.

A New Ring Awaits

Courage is what allows us to step into new “rings” throughout life. Saying yes to the public speaking opportunity even though you’ve never done it before. Starting over when it didn’t work out. Joining a new group. Walking into a room where you don’t know anyone and saying hi to someone brand new. Asking for that raise that you deserve. Taking the risk to follow a dream and reaching out to someone you care about.

None of those things are easy. You might think you would rather take the punch to the face than face some of these things. As you stand on the side of your ring while your storm burrows on, creating dark clouds in your mind, remember that you don’t have to clear the storm all at once. You just have to take one step forward into the eye of the storm.

Give yourself a chance.

Written by: Kyle Craik