Is it about time CMA grew up a little bit?

[Doc Stier]

"I hate to burst your bubble, but...."

[Darth Rock&Roll]

MA nerds only need one lesson to have the truth of martial arts revealed to them.

In that crystalline moment they will absolutely know if they are going to continue with Martial arts or fall by the wayside and invest their efforts elsewhere.

That lesson comes in the form of a good hard punch to the face. It is the most brilliant and deep lesson of understanding a martial artist will ever have the favour of receiving. If you haven't had yours yet, you cannot call yourself a martial artist.

You gotta ring the bell for school to be in.

[nianfong]

hahah mine came in our second xingyi class. I also got a nice punch to the solar plexus. got my bell rung a couple times that day haha.

[Doc Stier]

Last thing I can remember from my first martial arts reality check is that I had contact with both of the teacher's hands just before getting hit. I never felt his break in contact, and whatever technique he used to hit me was delivered so fast that I never saw it coming.

I became a member of the Ceiling Readers Club of America that day, laying flat on my back wondering what the hell had just happened to me!

[Chris McKinley]

For me, the lesson came in the form of full-contact fighting as a kid. When I learned the hard way that the older guys I was sparring against weren't going to pull their punches and kicks, I realized I needed to be able to deliver something real....perfect or not.

[Areios]

ohh I needed a few lessons like that. Mostly It just made me think about an answer, but not a rethink of wtf i'm doing in general.