Learn a martial art.

“I've had more than my fair share of bad moments during training. I've cried, I've cowered, I've dislocated my shoulders in badly done escapes, panicked and gone harder than I need to, disassociated and tanked shots I shouldn't. But I've learned more about myself than in years of therapy. My therapist refers to it as the physical component of therapy, and it works better for uncovering and dealing with certain traumas than talking has. I'd set up a good life but I avoided a LOT of things to keep it stable and some of those were sustainable and a lot were integral to learning a martial art (being touched by anybody not my partner, being in someone's space, eye contact, those were the first signs that it wasn't just gonna be a physical challenge for me even if I avoided the actual triggers). I've learned that I'm good at it too. I pick it up quickly, I have the right mindset and I have fight IQ. Even when I'm triggered I am able to keep some semblance of control and not actually hurt my partners. I keep pushing and trying, even with the bits that are horrible and difficult.”

“I honestly learned the most about myself from breaking boards. As a youngin, it helped me to overcome my fear and build confidence. Especially because going into it, I thought it was impossible for me. I learned the most about martial arts in my first 3 months of Aikido. They taught me the art of hitting the ground. Never could have imagined how much that skill changed things for me. Boxing taught me humility because there were people in there who were worlds apart. Those people hiding their craft onto a dance. It's something I will always strive for, but it's pretty intangible, so I don't know if I will ever be able to raise that skill in myself to the point where it's recognizable.”

“I was 9 years old when I took my first martial arts lesson in September of 1966, and stuck with it until my father’s next posting without a grading (my instructor was a tough Army PTI who never even talked about belts). This would be unthinkable for most people today. I just wanted to learn, and he just wanted to teach. It was a small class and was so much fun! As a child, I had no concept of the belt system. I just wanted to know that it worked - and that I was having fun learning whilst working hard.”