Martial Arts and Imperfections

One of the great things about martial arts is that it reveals imperfections in you and challenges your character. When you are faced with something you don't like, you have two choices, either face it head on or hope that it goes away. Obviously, hoping that something goes away will not work. The better option is to face the problem/obstacle/imperfection head on and address it. Lord knows that I'm not perfect and admittedly that has been aggravated by my severe hearing impairment (which I've allowed to affect my sense of self worth at times and led to many embarrassing situations over the course of my life. That is a work in progress) and my personality traits. I have not always been socially graceful as I often don't know what to do when faced with an awkward situation. I often react in a way that does not come off well. I wish that I was as socially graceful as others and am constantly working on it !

Such was the case involving my earlier post regarding my martial arts biography, which was truncated in the first place. I was confronted by a student of Master Dan McConnell who indicated that she perceived my section on Modern Arnis to be insufficient. I have since then substantially expanded the martial arts biography to give a more full account of my entire martial arts journey. My reaction to this student was not very good. Admittedly, I was on the defensive and did not react well to her comments and revised the post without acknowledging said revision. It was done with the best of intentions and did not come out this way. I should have handled it better and apologize to all those concerned.

Episodes such as this serve as a reminder that we are not perfect and to try to own up to mistakes, as painful as that may be. I hope that others look at life in this way as well.