The “Noble Art” of confrontation, despite inherent respect for the opponent, is violent and dangerous. This heart skill often involves facing faster, stronger, more experienced opponents. In a "sparring" (training combat), you must face—you cannot back out midway through.
Don't you see a parallel to the battle every person faces? In therapy, patients are fatigued after unpleasant occurrences, but except for those who commit suicide, they must get stronger.
A patient who has overcome several obstacles will be mentally stronger, like a boxer. He must find significance in his pain because there is no “existential world champion” belt for those who have sublimated them.
Therapy frequently begins with suffering. It should be reduced or eliminated as quickly as practicable. Most people shift from the bad to the happy, which is understandable. Therapy addresses, understands, and accepts suffering as part of life, like boxing.
A road accident victim's pain-controlling brain region stopped working a few years ago. His life was horrible, and he almost died from a dental abscess he didn't feel. A fighter who never suffers and does not need to protect himself from his opponent would have a tragic career.
In his 40 Laws of Love, 14th-century sufferer Shams of Tabriz wrote: "Midwives know that without suffering, the infant cannot be born and the mother cannot give birth. For a new Self to emerge, problems are needed. As clay hardens with heat, love can only be perfected through agony.
Attending a boxing gala will expose you to inexperienced and professional fighters in an hour or two. Even beginners will recognise the differences between these fighters. Beyond skill, fighters' emotional management will stand out. Beginners often “fire up” to the pleasure of fans.
Despite blows and tiredness, professionals will stay calm to implement their coaches' tactics. As a therapist, I found that once emotions were deconstructed and explained, it was easier for my patients to become "professional" and stop seeing them as "parasites" that distanced them from themselves and their loved ones.
After establishing a therapeutic relationship, a patient can finally be “himself” and admit shameful or unpleasant things. This "intimacy" enables patients to reveal their genuine "Self" to the therapist and others, beyond expectations from family, friends, and spouses.
Combat situations force “integrity” in boxing, which also causes this. Comparing a fighter's mindset upon joining a club to that during practice is unexpected. The gentle will become a brute, the tough will find ways to shorten arduous exercises, the shy will be arrogant, and the sad will smile through blows.
What society sees as a kind, gentle man who makes my mother happy is actually a fierce, proud fighter. Boxing, like therapy, won't let you hide.
I won't tell you that treatment offices have more "victims" than "executioners". These “victims” are there to grasp their position so they can escape fast or prevent it from happening again. Power is sought through therapy. Ability to handle events, others, and oneself.