sparring

As most of you know, Sihing Robinson has got us the opportunity to do some extra practice on thurs nights. And, as most of us need sparring numbers, this last week we tried some.sparring. It was very good--relaxed. There were two of us that are nervous to spar, and for the most part we did ok. (And I've got the bruises to prove it!) I did, to my everlasting embarrassment, get overwhelmed and broke down. I think for me thats the worst thing I can ever do is to let down my guard like that. I felt horrible, especially knowing that just made an entire roomful of guys want to run for the door. To their eternal credit, they havent razzed me yet and didnt run. Sifu Wonziak and Ms Donahue helped me calm down, we even all chatted afterwards and yes, I will spar again. With my teams help, I can get through this, and I'm glad that even now when the team is just getting to know each other AS a team, they were willing to step in and help.
I know lots of us are afraid to spar. I hope mentioning what happened to me will help more of us step forward with courage and try again. With a group like this that is willing to help and grow together, we can do anything.