Ever feel like giving up? If we are honest, at some point in our lives we come face to face with the option of giving up or staying with something difficult.
What compels us to continue the struggle, the fight, the effort? The result at the end of all your efforts? The fight itself is worth it? Determination? Stubbornness? The goal we have? Does it help to have someone cheering you on?
We had an experience with Gracie last weekend at her taekwondo competition watching her compete at sparring (stylized fighting against an opponent with kicks and punches).
Every effort is made for the safety of the opponents. The kids wear a padded helmet, gloves, and shoes as they go through their stylized forms to kick or punch for points. A kick to the head is two points, the chest is one point, and so on. There are three to four advanced belt adults who are acting as referees and spotters for points and any kinds of improper kicks or hits, as the students put what they have learned into action. If any student makes another bleed they automatically lose and the fight is over.
This was Gracie’s first competition as a black belt. The other students, who had their black belt at least a year longer, were older, bigger, and more experienced. For the first time, the kids assigned to compete against each other were all from Gracie’s school and she knew them all.
They had practiced together and gone to other competitions together. One girl had won at sparring at the national competition. One was the son of the teacher of her school. Another girl consistently won at her competitions. Jayme was concerned about the way it was set up, but there weren’t many black belts at the competition and so that’s the way it worked out.
When Gracie had first learned all the moves in her form (the set of movements that get more complex and longer as you get higher belts) for black belt, she hadn’t been able to complete her moves—-she just went blank. That shook her confidence, but she came back and practiced hard.
Who was called to perform her form first? Gracie. Did she finish her form? With flying colors!
Who was called to compete against another student first? Gracie? Did she give it her all? Yes, and she won that match.
Others completed, and as they were eliminated by losing, she sparred against another student. She got several hits, but kept on going. Her hand was lifted high as the winner!
By now, she had been kicked in the eye, the bottom lip, and was getting a little tired. She was up against the son of her taekwondo teacher for first and second place. They were both good. They went at it with energy and determination, then he landed a kick to her leg and knocked her over where she fell over a chair at the edge of the mat.
Time out. The referees gathered around to check her leg and knee. Daniel went out to see if she was badly hurt. Gracie had a few tears, but nodded her head. She was ready to go back at it!
When the time flag was thrown down, they tied! Now the next point would determine the winner. Gracie made a strike to his chest. One point. Simultaneously he made a strike to her head. Two points.
He won first place and Gracie came in second at the end of hard competition. We were happy! She had done her best! She wasn’t hurt and she was more experienced now.
Most of all, she hadn’t given up. She had been hurt, but hadn’t stopped. She had been up against tough competition, but had gone in with confidence. She took it one fight at a time.
Those are important lessons.
In life we have we have fights and conflicts within ourselves and against the world, the devil, and the flesh.
But just as the adults watching over the competitions Gracie
