Hard Truths

Competition brings out some painful truths about who we are and what we're capable of. It is a way to test the reality of our assumptions about ourselves, for better or worse.

With that in mind, there are two concepts that every coach and every competitor need to understand:

• There are certain limits to every person's physical potential. To be great, you need to have resources (time, money, youth, etc.) mixed with some genetic gifts. Most of us just don't possess that rare combination, so there will be limits on what you're capable of. But you don't need to be the best in the world to still develop your skills to a very high level and get a great deal of satisfaction from both training and competing.

• No matter who you are or how you train, success is never guaranteed. Even if you are one of the chosen few who has that mix of traits and resources to be great, martial arts of all kinds are incredibly difficult. All you can do is prepare yourself as best as you can, and then go test yourself. Sometimes, no matter what you do, it just won't work out. Again, this is just part of the deal and it doesn't mean you can't get tremendous benefits out of competing and training.

On the one hand, these are disappointing. We all want to believe that we're capable of being the best, that we can accomplish every dream we set our mind to. But that's just not how the world works. Everyone has a certain capacity for achievement in a given domain, and your desire to reach a goal does not guarantee you will.

The absolute best coach in the world cannot make a world champion out of just anybody. Selection of talent (which often includes a healthy dose of luck) is an important element of any coach's success. All a coach can do is do their best to maximize what attributes a student does possess and give them the best shot possible at achieving their goals.

A more constructive attitude for both parties is to feel a sense of relief, knowing that your goal is to simply be the best possible version of yourself. That may not include being a world champion martial artist or coach of a world champion, but it can absolutely include all the net positive side effects of going after your goals at full speed.