When do we fight?

If you've been following for some time, you know that I teach boxing and kickboxing.  Having the ability to fight, or better yet, to determine whether or not to fight, is a critical skill that many of us have and many of us have lost.

I credit boxing & kickboxing to controlling my emotions, specifically the anger that had built up inside of me (post Marine Corps).  It provided a laser-like focus to my energy and over time I've easily resolved many of my adverse emotions.  I've spent the better part of the last 10-15 years working on my own athleticism and technique.

My coaching is the more recent part of my life.  I've spent the last 2 years or so learning how to coach and while at times I feel effective, others I feel grossly unprepared.  Fortunately, my educational background does help in this area, as we need to evaluate mechanically a variety of movements.

Coaching boxing & kickboxing has been rewarding.  I've met some awesome people and have had some awesome opportunities to learn to coach and to coach.

Now, why do we fight?  We fight to make us better than we were.  Combat can bring out some of the best in humanity and some of the worst.  Our understanding of combat and it's application and our response to it can be applied to all situations, from a stressful presentation to an assault in the street.

The ability to fight allows for us to project our physicality, our mental toughness, and our evaluation of ourselves.  We fight to test us.  We fight to show the world that it cannot push us around.

The ability to fight is like having a fire extinguisher.  I want one around, but not to use it.  The ability to fight is the same, I want the ability to but never want to use that ability.  By not displaying the ability, we can blend into the noise that is the world.

Why do you fight?  What do you gain by fighting?  What do you learn about yourself from it?