Coping with Fear

You have incredible potential within. Through Hapkido we are learning to tap into that potential, you are developing an amazing power.

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Everyone is nervous or afraid (to varying degrees) of sparring or of breaking wood etc.

For some that fear is irrelevant. For others it creates a state of paralysis.

One has power. The other has helplessness.

Sometimes they come in to my school with a big ego. Maybe they have to prove that they are better than me or my students – I really don’t know?

When someone has a big ego though it often means that they are living within a state of fear. They need to be better than others – in other words they are depending on external circumstances for their survival. Externally they appear to have a hard shell – but if circumstances aren’t kind they will feel helpless, depressed and paralyzed.

True power has nothing to do with anyone or anything else. The real power developed through Hapkido, is power within the self. This means, power over how you react within your life. It isn’t the ability to control another; but the ability to control oneself. When we blame others or a situation for what is happening within our lives we give up that power and replace it with helplessness.

With responsibility, comes power. This type of power is freedom.

You might have fear - fine. You also have the ability to choose how you react to that fear. If you put blame elsewhere then you are giving away your power.

The fact that you have that fear becomes irrelevant.

Breaking wood, for example, isn’t a test of your body. Any instructor can look at your kick and know if it is any good – we don’t have to make you break a board. Breaking wood is a test of your mind.