Top 5 Lessons Every Martial Artist Learns—Rhianna Cole

Every martial artist learns many lessons through their career; so narrowing it down to five wasn’t easy. In my career, I’ve been fortunate to come across many talented individuals and gather many tools from each of them. 

1. Don’t be so hard on yourself

In every sport, not just martial artists this is extremely common. You don’t perform as well as you would have wanted in a tournament after training hard. You don’t pass a belt test. The list goes on … and it can become very frustrating, but the key piece to remember is to hold yourself to a high standard, but give yourself grace. Haley Glass, multi world champion in sport karate told me these wise words. Everyone has off days, everyday is not going to be your day and that’s okay. 

2. Don’t compare yourself to others

Staying on a similar path to the last one - it’s easy to get wrapped up in the abilities of others and miss out on your own abilities. Remind yourself that you are there for a reason and everyone has different strengths. I needed this reminder last year … I’m extremely grateful to be a part of the Hawarang Dan League (HDL, an international demonstration team). And with this, comes very dedicated, talented individuals from across the US. I was learning new skills and wasn’t getting like everyone else was and couldn’t perform all the tricks like a lot of the other team members could. I was questioning my place and felt really down about myself for a while. It took a bit to get out of this slump; I reminded myself that I was put on the team for a reason and I’ve already grown so much; it’s only up from here. 

3. Someone is wishing they were in your position

With the usual grind of going to class, teaching and all of the other pieces that goes along with training in martial arts. We tend to take it for granted. “Agh, I have to go by train. I have to go teach. I don’t want to go to the studio.” Be grateful for your position. There’s many people who would beg to be in your position. Change that mindset. “I get to go train. I get to teach. I want to go to the studio.” 

4. To be a good leader you have to be a good follower

If you have the desire to be in some form of leadership position: instructor / sensei, studio owner, program director, tournament director, etc You have to be able to follow / shadow others. Learn from them, grow from them and gather knowledge from them. Now, this doesn’t mean that you copy them. The best thing to do is to gather different pieces from individuals who perform that role differently. Take all that knowledge and roll together into your own. 

5. You need to make mistakes in order to grow 

I like to joke that I make 100 mistakes a day, which is probably true. You need to fail in order to succeed. Try different methods to see which one works. If multiple methods don’t work that doesn’t mean that you stop trying it means that you either try that method again or try a different method. 

Martial Arts is a truly remarkable lifestyle, you learn so many skills that you won;t get with any other sport. I believe that martial arts isn’t a sport, it’s a lifestyle. 

—Rhianna Cole