Knowing When to Speak Up
And why I should’ve done it sooner.
This weekend marked five years in the “uke club.” For those who don’t know, the uke is the person who has the technique done to them. There’s a whole trust thing that goes into it that I won’t get into here, but it is an honor to be chosen even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time.
In fact, five years ago, I was tricked into joining the club (FYI. it’s not a real club, just an in joke). One of my training partners complained we were the same rank but I never got chosen to go up. I shot off my mouth about how they don’t chose girls. The teacher was behind me and I didn’t know it.
I was the training dummy for most of the rest of the seminar.
The community for my martial art is small enough that most of the high ranking teachers know each other and talk regularly. I’m sure you’re seeing where this leads because I didn’t understand the far reaching effects of my mouth writing checks for my body to cash.
Fast forward five years and I’m still in the club, still picked to be uke. Only now, I will step forward when they ask for a volunteer. I even do the stupid thing of asking the teacher to do the technique on me if I didn’t understand what was going on.
I learned that speaking up means my training is accelerated because I get to experience how it feels to have it done to me. And sometimes I catch something the rest of the class doesn’t see. It means I can articulate with my training partner when something doesn’t work or feel right.
And it’s helped me get over the fear of getting hit. Because I get hit.
A lot.
If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to start speaking up in class and taking more hits sooner.
And it makes me more conscious of the other parts of my life where I stay silent.
Now it’s time to speak up there too.
Weekly Goals
Read one book: Success. I finished Holding on Tighter by Shayla Black.
Write 7K words: Failure. Last week’s schedule was super full with a martial arts seminar and a craft fair.
Sew ten dice bags: Failure. See my writing failure.
Go to the gym twice: Success.
Go to class: Success.
