Dealing with Pain – A Martial Artist’s Frequent Companion – Part II

Many years ago, I published a two-part article, entitled Pain - The Unnecessary Hindrance, in Black Belt magazine. I was at Stanford at the time and had access to people and information associated with a major pain study being conducted by the university. Leading experts in psychology and medicine were working to develop drug-free methods for assisting terminal cancer patients deal with the severe pain of their disease.

Traditionally, they were given morphine, which relieved pain but also badly dulled their senses. This prevented them from spending quality time with their families and loved ones during their final days. When my own mother was in the last stages of cancer in the 80s, she went through just such a treatment. She would sit and stare off into the distance, unresponsive to most of the conversation around her, unaware we were even there. She had been such a bright and vibrant woman that I found the effects of the drug (and disease) dehumanizing, stealing from her those qualities that had made her so special.

When I wrote the article, I interviewed several top martial artists and posted their thoughts. Some of these men, unfortunately, aren’t with us any longer.

One of these was my friend and martial arts brother, Bob Halliburton, the highly successful, longtime karateka and competitor and a man who was no stranger to pain. He believed the ability to ignore or suppress pain was crucial for a martial artist. “I think that in karate, overcoming pain is probably of prime importance,” he said.

Out of a martial artist’s journey to master pain came some of the benefits for which the martial arts are renowned. “People in karate always talk about the self-discipline aspect of karate,” said Halliburton. “But it only comes from learning to overcome pain, because basically that's what karate all boils down to. It's a very painful exercise and a long road to get over that pain aspect.”

Benny Urquidez, the undefeated world lightweight full contact karate champion, talked about what he called his "five rules for fighting." One of these was not to show pain.

"If you show a fighter that you're injured,” he said, “it's like you're boosting him. It's like you're patting him on the back. By showing him you're hurt, you give him more energy. No matter if you're hurt, the idea is to not show it."

According to Halliburton, the serious martial artist had little choice but to learn to overcome and hide his pain. And he thought it true not only in competition but also on the street.

"From a sport standpoint or from the self-defense standpoint," said Halliburton, "you have two alternatives. You can give in to the pain and get beat up, get killed possibly, or learn to overcome the pain, because it's really the lesser of two evils. You have to draw the line as to where your priorities are. You're hurt, you know that, but mentally you have to overcome that pain, at least until that situation is over."

So now the question is "How can I overcome pain?" We’ll look at that issue in my next post.