Such a great thread, for a change.
Everyone started out as a āwhite beltā (I put that n quotations because some styles donāt use belts, but the principle is the same). How did we learn to take a punch? By getting punched. After a few times, you realize the worldās not going to end and you just carry on. Sure it still hurts, but you donāt get that shocked and panicked feeling after a while. Itās no different than most other things that really scared you at first, then because normal.
Of course you got swept and landed flat on your back. After a few times, youāll learn to tell when itās coming and get yourself out of trouble before you get into it. And when you get thrown, youāll learn how to roll out of it. And when you canāt, the schlock of it all will become practically nonexistent because youāve been there many times before.
I started out in a bare knuckle karate school that was a kyokushin offshoot. The first time I took a solid kick to my thigh, I thought I was done for the night. Talk about a sting. Luckily my wrestling experience kicked in relatively quickly and I endured. Same thing the first time I took a solid side kick to the stomach. No one laughed, mocked me, thought less of me, etc. Why? Theyād all been there, done that before. But I truly didnāt realize it until a while later when I saw enough new people come through and do the same exact thing.
You're going to get discouraged from time to time. Youāre going to feel like youāve got everything down and youāre at the top of your game from time to time. This will ebb and flow. Expect it. Donāt be shocked when you think youāre a badass and someone totally schools you one day, making you doubt everything youāve previously thought.