I got punched in the stomach today. I want to tell everyone like a kid who wants to show that he has lost a tooth. I know it’s annoying to bait people like that, just so I have have an excuse to tell them about my MMA training, but the exhilaration I get from it is worth shouting about.
The next week it’s, “hey, guys! She hit me in the face!” Then, “hey, everyone I got to throw a kick to her chest.”
The response to this has been polarized. There is often the gleeful and interested exlamation of, “really??! That’s awesome!” Followed later by, “hey, Jen, did you kick any butt today?” Which I’m more than elated to confirm when, yes, today I have kicked butt, (or usually and more accurately: my butt has been kicked).
Yet, more often than I like, someone (typically a man) will groan, “why? Why would you want to do that? You’re such a pretty girl.” As if the appearance of my face is directly related to how much harm’s way I should put myself in. So…I’m a delicate flower and God forbid I get crushed, then no man will want me and then my life would be ruined? Is that what you’re saying?
Why? That’s the question/response: why would you ask me that? No one questions why a man would want to learn to box. He is a man, it’s in his masculine nature. I submit it is in human nature.
When my trainer is telling me to hit her, “Hit me! Hit me in the face!”, I’m no longer worried about my social media engagement. I’m no longer worried about anything outside of the experience unfolding before me. And this is a priceless gift. I’m not concerned about how sexy I may or may not look, I’m not driving myself mad over whether or not “he” likes me. I only want to be strong and powerful. And isn’t that what every human desires? To feel powerful in their lives.