Strange Land ...

Life on the mat - at least in the first year or two, equates to life in a somewhat strange land.

This is a strange land for a number of reasons …

It is strange because (in the beginning at least) we do not understand the landmarks and their relationship with one another. We get lost easy!

It is strange because we engage in conflict with people that become our friends - as the friendship grows, the conflict grows.

It is strange because we walk knowingly into a situation that is potentially dangerous; we help others improve their capacity to (potentially) injure us.

It is strange because it can be a competitive environment, yet as we improve, so too do all those we are competing against.

It is strange because others ask us to explain what we do and the explanations we offer up make sense to them. 

It is strange, because over the long term, we can easily sustain more injuries than we might otherwise suffer in the odd real-world self-defence scenario that may or may not ever happen.

It is strange because the reasons we have for visiting the strange land are not the reasons that we have for staying there.

Strangers in a strange land … JBW