If you don’t change your limits, your limits will never change.

 -by Sensei Connie Funderburk

Assistant Instructor and Office Manager for the Carolina Karate & Fitness Center & the Kenaki Karate Association, LLC

 Limitations are obstacles or shortcomings that all people face. Athletes, whether it is in gymnastics, baseball, football, cheerleading, swimming or track & field; are faced with both physical and mental limitations. Martial Artists see limitations as a challenge rather than a set back or an unmovable obstacle. We allow students to recognize their self-proclaimed limits, and we show them through dedication, hard work, and confidence building activities that the “limitation” they once saw can become a mountain in the rearview mirror.

I am a Blackbelt Apprentice student and instructor.  As I train students, I find myself using a motto from my Grand Master Instructor.  “We don’t say ‘I can’t.’ We say ‘I am unable to at this time’.” These words have lead me through quite a few obstacles and “limitations”!

All athletes are faced with difficulties and challenges. For example, runners have a specific time span to run certain distances and dancers must show proper grace, strength, and precision in their movements. I remember one student recently attempting a difficult kick.  She was seeing and attempting an advanced level kick. She was limited by balance, flexibility, age, and familiarity with the new kick. “I just can’t do it” she said with a tear. If that student had not worked to increase her own balance and flexibility, her same limitations would still be a hindrance today. The young girl moved her limit slightly that day; now, she has a new limit! One that she will change again soon.

Just as in many other sports, determination to overcome limitations separates the decorated athletes from those who simply go through the motions. Football players must endure strength training; golfers need upper body strength and flexibility, and soccer players benefit from strong well-developed legs. As with many athletes, Martial Artists are strong physically and mentally. If there are limitations between you and your goals:  move them, change them, go through them. Never allow a “limitation” to keep you from your goals and true abilities, because “limits” can be moved and changed!