Martial arts practitioners are a lot like popcorn.  All the kernels look similar, but when popped they end up transforming into beautiful, distinct shapes.

Maybe calling martial artists “popcorn” sounds a little strange, but isn’t it important that you get a chance to “pop” at some point in life?  Show your true colors?  Stand out because of who you are and what you believe in?  If not a martial art, then what?  When are you going to go full steam ahead and become a more distinct you?

If you look closely, I bet there are a billion things at which you want to excel, learn, understand, create, or practice.  There are so many sides to you that have not emerged.  Why wait?  Why not make your life worth every minute?  Why not let your dreams take root and your shape take form?  Martial arts have shaped me into a practitioner who, after many years of learning, has developed many different sides, some well-rounded, some sharp, some distinct, some blurry.  Like the edges of a single piece of popped corn, I’m as unique as they come.

So yes, I’ve reduced us all to a piece of popped corn!

It’s no so bad.  When unpopped, a kernel of popcorn will last indefinitely if stored in ideal conditions.  When heated, it finally pops into a bigger, more delectable version of itself.  I don’t know about you, but I’m okay with making some changes in my life to help me puff up to a bigger and better version of me.

Recently I picked up my guitar and with my eleven year old daughter wrote a song.  As I sat strumming and thinking of the words I felt so completely….me.  The creative me. The musical me. The writer me.  A nice, popped-up version of me.  Picking up the guitar was like reconnecting with an old piece of me, the kernel.  Then, without much effort, I started playing and even wrote a song.  It’s called “Like It That Way” and it’s all about how people who have touched my life make me feel.  Years ago, I would have hesitated to share it with anyone.  This time I sent it out to a couple of good friends because writing it without sharing it didn’t seem to make sense.  Another instance of my life transitioning from kernel to popped corn.

I am not the only song writer in the world, yet I am the only one who ever sang my song.  I’m no singer, but in a heartfelt moment I felt like the best singer ever.  I know the listeners will hear it for what it is; not a professional playback, but a simple song I found in my heart.

Pop…pop.

Your Unique Shape

In the same way that I am not the only song writer in the world, I’m also not the only martial artist on the planet.  I am, however,  the only one who has applied martial-artistry to my life the way I have.  I will never be the same martial artist as the next guy or girl.

You can apply this concept to your life, too.  You should realize that you never need to achieve   anyone elses goals, expectations or decisions.  You don’t have to change your dreams, adjust your plans, or  become a different person, unless they are changes that you want to make.  You should pop the way you want.

No matter what you do, your individualism and personality will shine and that is what makes you stand apart from everyone else.  Don’t hold back.  Share who you are with those you trust. They will embrace you and appreciate you.  Have you ever had someone write a thank you song for you?  It feels good to be the writer and the recipient. If you come across someone who criticizes you just for the sake of criticism or jealousy,  weed them out.  Keep your life flowing in a positive direction.  The tough kernels that don’t pop aren’t worth keeping.

I could be compared to many things.  I could be called many names.  A popcorn kernel  does not sufficiently describe the person I am or what I hope to accomplish in my life; but it does describe a part of me.  I want to burst from my smallness, like a kernel, into a person who makes a great big difference.

I could have chosen a more exciting food analogy, one where I would not be considered a simple, basic snack. Then I realized something.  It is the simple, basic tenets of life that I should find again.  Somewhere deep inside me sits the basic version of me and if not for that, I could never become the more enlightened version.  Without recognizing the kernel, I’d never have a chance at becoming a better me.   I would have never stepped up to accept a black belt after many years of hard work and effort if I hadn’t recognized the difference between a kernel and popped corn.

And to you I say:  It’s worth being a kernel first.  It’s worth feeling insignificant before popping into greatness.

That is how you win at life.

Pop….pop.

Oh and yea, it’s just an analogy.  Don’t worry about gobbling up anyone’s greatness the next time you dig into a big bucket of popcorn….

Andrea