Bears can kill you
Published: Thu, 11/20/14
Quote for this week displayed outside the Stav Centre. People do
stop and read them, the challenge of course is to turn curiosity
into action.
"That which does not kill us makes us stronger."
Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844 to 1900, German Philosopher
This is of course an intentionally provocative statement. I liked
the rider added to this quote that someone had on his tee shirt at
Fightcamp this year: "That which does not kill you makes you
stronger, except bears, bears will always just kill you!"
People may survive serious illnesses and accidents but be left
debilitated or crippled for the rest of their lives. So in a simple
and literal sense this statement is often not true.
However fear of risk and the unknown weakens and restricts us. It
is very easy to become afraid of undertaking challenging tasks,
entering into new relationships or embarking on journeys to new
destinations. The more we hesitate and let the anxiety build up the
less likely we are to take the risk. What are we afraid of? There
will be all kinds of self-justifications, perhaps of injury, of
failure, of rejection or just some disaster that we cannot even
imagine. Ultimately we are afraid of death and some how we imagine
that if we avoid all risk in life the fact of death itself will be
kept at bay. When you stop and analyse this notion it is clearly
absurd, we are all going to die one day, whether we take exciting
risks every day or hide in a darkened room trying to avoid anything
that could possibly harm us.
So Nietzsche's challenge is to examine your fear when it holds
you back from living life to the full. When you are challenged to
do something that brings up anxiety ask yourself; 'what is the
worst that can happen?' The answer is that you may die. If you
are considering playing with bears this is not improbable but most
other things in life? Death is probably not that much of a risk.
So go ahead, see what happens and if you haven't died you will
be a stronger and more confident person.
If you are reading this you may be thinking; 'A martial arts
school has opened in my town, I might learn something interesting
and exiting that could help me grow as a person but .....' Fill
in your own reasons for not trying out a class but I would guess its
a fear of 'what if....?' Well, no one has died training in
Stav that I know of, not since Viking times anyway (Stav does indeed
go back that far). Bears do come into Stav in a sense but not in a
way you need to be afraid of.
So, how do you approach life? Are you held back by fear of the
unknown and anxiety about what could go wrong? Or do you accept
Nietzsche's challenge? Knowing that you are going to die one
day so you might as well take some risks and see what adventures
life has to offer in the meantime?
If you think Stav might be part of your adventure then come along to
a free taster class and see how you get on. What have you got to
lose?
Regards
Graham
PS Next training opportunity, apart from the regular classes on
Mondays and Tuesdays, will be a two hour Stav for Self-defence
seminar at 10 am on Saturday the 29th of November in Crewkerne.