Tina D’Amore

MARTIAL ARTS

Seven years ago something came into my life

that changed my perspective on life

and how to react to things. This something was

the study of Martial Arts. With Martial Arts

I learned how to control and limit my anger.

It made me an overall different person.

A couple of months ago,

there was a party I was going to

that my best friend, Sara, was not.

The reason was that she was spending

the night with her boyfriend

because that party happened to be

on the same day as their anniversary.

This brought up bad and mean thoughts

from some of her closest friends

including me. Since she wasn’t at the party,

my other good friends, Jess, Danielle, and me,

decided to discuss the situation.

After, the three of us felt bad talking about her

without her there, so we thought we should

tell her how we felt. Me, being her closest friend,

thought I should be the one to tell her.

The next morning I called her and told her

everything the three of us had talked about.

She immediately got mad and started

yelling about talking behind her back.

This is what helped me really learn

what the study of Martial Arts did for me.

The situation with Sara and me got

even worse than verbal. One day

she came to my locker and started yelling at me.

Before we even started yelling, she pushed me.

Now with all the anger I had built up inside,

I wanted to push her back

and cream her in the face with my fist.

But what I realized by studying Martial Arts

is that I had learned to use my self-control

and not push her or hit her in the face.

Hitting back and starting something

isn’t the right way to handle things.

Walking away and stopping a fight waiting to happen

helped show me something I had inside of me

that I could never even know about

if it weren’t for Sara and our fight.

I thank Sara for showing me

this controlled and good part of myself.

I wouldn’t be the same unique person I am today,

and I’m grateful for every trait I hold now.