Whenever I talk to people about martial arts, (I do this a lot) they often tell me they always wanted to take classes, but never did because of certain fears.

Mainly they say "I'm worried I might look foolish."

You don't need to worry about that. You WILL look foolish, at some point. Everyone does. It might be on your first day, it might be long after you earn your black belt.

You see, there's no such thing as a 'perfect' martial artist. There are no 'naturals'.

If you practise martial arts long enough, eventually you will...

... fall down. In front of a lot of people. They will laugh. Hopefully, you will too. Get back up, and try it again.

... feel pain. It may be from a harsh wrist lock applied by an overzealous training partner. It may be unbelievably sore muscles from overdoing it in class. Rest up, and get back in there.

... accidentally fart in class. Experienced students in class will pretend they didn't notice. That's because it's happened to them. Ignore it, and keep training.

... freeze up, and forget what you were supposed to do. This can even happen during a formal testing. Calm down, take a deep breath, and it will come to you. If it doesn't, ask for the instruction again.

... get frustrated, maybe even to the point you want to quit. Calm down, shake it out, and know that you will improve. Everyone progresses at a different pace.

So if you're new to the martial arts, remember that everyone - the student next to you, your instructor, Bruce Lee - was a beginner at some point.

There's nothing wrong with looking foolish. Like I said, we all do eventually. It's part of learning.

What else can we add to the list?

Excellent post, ZZ! You certainly covered most of the common ones. Absolutley true that everybody has gone through the same things at one time or another.

I like your viewpoint and was thinking something similar earlier today. I'd also like to add that I have never needed any help from the martial arts to look foolish, hurt or embarrass myself, or forget what I'm doing. All of these things happen in all walks of life. I may as well get on and train, then...

I just thought I should add some of the more 'positive' things that will happen.

If you practise martial arts long enough, you will...

... walk a little taller. Not in a cocky way, you'll just have more confidence.

... make a ton of new friends. Pretty easy to do when you're going to a place where there's a bunch of people who have the same interest as you.

... get in great shape. For instance, I'm no longer out of breath when I go up a flight of stairs.

... become happier. Good exercise leads to good energy, which leads to a good mood.

That's just a few of the many benefits martial training has to offer.

I hate farting in class, especially during the splits.

I like this topic.

-eventually you will get kicked in the gonads

-kick someone in the gonads

-accidentally get poked and poke someone's eye

-get a fat lip and/or bleed somewhere

-tear something

-lose patience with a newb

-get to experience someone develop because of what you contributed

-come across some real crazy karate people

-hear a lot of smack talk about what you do

-convince someone who was a doubter

there's more!!!

I hate other people farting in class, paricularly when they have my head in a hold between their legs...

If you practice Martial Arts long enough...

- you will become a great master such as myself

If you practice martial arts long enough...


You will self defense against a high five.

If you practice martial arts long enough, you will eventually...

...hear someone ask if you could beat up Bruce Lee.
...hear someone ask why a woman would want to do "something like that" in a tone of disgust.
...get knocked down or out and get up and hug the person who did it to you.