A Step Out of My Comfort Zone

By Sophia Marie R. Necesario - April 14, 2022

What is it?

Comfort Zone - a place where we feel safe and by the word, comfortable.

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I love this place. It’s my safehaven. It’s a place where I don’t feel pressured to do something I do not want. It’s my “Domain Expansion”. My comfort zone is a place where I escape to whenever I feel stressed and bothered. There I do whatever I like, setting aside those that trouble me. I watch movies, play games, distract myself, anything. Back then, I was the person who retreats back to this place whenever overwhelmed with the outside world things. Before I knew it, I became accustomed and content to staying in my comfort zone where things were how the way I wanted them to be.

But it changed when I trained again.

February 2022 - Speed Kicking Competition

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“Coaching is taking a player where they can’t take themself.”

When I saw this quote, I just had to agree. I also came upon another pinterest post that said that your coach is not just someone who teaches you stuff but they’re that someone who becomes your friend, your counselor, and your support. And yes, that is also true. I experienced how true these were before February’s speed kicking competition.

It was at the end of our training, Coach Rolly, one of our two coaches, announced that there will be a competition in a week. The first emotion I felt was awe at my teammates who volunteered themselves as players. Me? I just sat there looking at them. I have seen them compete before. I was there during the video shoot of their entries and they were amazing. They achieved more than 75 kicks in a minute with different kicking and punching combinations. I want to be like them but I was afraid. At the same time, I had a healing ankle injury (there’s not a time when I come back home without one). Fear made me reluctant and that injury made me feel disappointed at myself. And since my current situation stressed me out, there I went with my tendency. I didn’t volunteer and trained as usual.

Days passed and my injury healed. The day of video shooting of entries for the speed kicking competition was in two days and even though I did not volunteer, I was still thinking about it. I still want to join but the only thing holding me back was fear and worry. I want to be able to perform like my seniors and win like them but I didn’t know If can do it too. While we were training on the same day, Coach Rolly called me. He told me to do a sample speed kicking routine to show to another new member who was one of the participants and I did. I was nervous while I did it. In my head were these thoughts: “If I participate, I’ll be doing this.”, “I’ll kick like this, turn, and punch. That’s a combination.” I had these thoughts.

When the time was up, Coach signalled me to stop. He told the person I was demonstrating for that how I performed is how he should too. That wasn’t something I expected. It boosted my confidence though. Coach turned to me and said that I performed well. I thanked him and I thought that was it but he suggested I join the competition too because he saw that I had potential in winning. Inside, I panicked. For a second, I just looked at coach. For someone who was worried about performing well, that was a big booster. Suddenly, I had the resolve to join but there’s still something holding me back. I told Coach that I also want to join but I was afraid. He asked me why and I answered that I fear the result and what if I don’t win? This is the point of the conversation that made a turning point within me.

He said, “Mayo pa ngani tapos iniisip mo na agad na madadaog ka? Paano kung isipon mong mangagana ka? Iyan si mga ate mo, kuya mo, dai man ninda aram kung mananalo sinda pero sumubok ‘yang mga iyan. Ayan, sumubok ka nguna. Kung manggana, edi maray baga. Kung madaog, gibuhon mo itong motivation para manalo next time. At least, may exposure ka na, aram mo na kung ano ang kaipuhan mo pang iimprove para sa susunod, panalo na.”

I guess coach saw some reluctance left based on my facial expressions. So, he continued. His next words were the final push. They hit on a personal level.

“Pero depende sa imo kung hahayaan mo na lang na pirmi kang takot sa resulta. Pirmi ka na lang yaon diyan sa level mo. Dai ka makaka-move on kung diyan ka lang pirmi sa shell mo,” he said.

Shell. That word. Comfort zone. Same places. When I said that these words were the final push, this specific word was the scissor that snapped those hand cuffs of the fear that held me back. When we continued to train, I was still deep in my thoughts thinking. Our team captain, kuya Alex, walked to where I was. “Lahat naman kami kinakabahan din. ‘Wag mo masyado isipin ‘yung result,” He said. Kuya Tep added, “Kaya mo ‘yan.” I also remembered what he said on our previous training before. He said, “Try.”

I will.

Before our training on that day ended, I talked to coach and I said I’d volunteer. He wished me luck and gave me instructions on what to do and prepare for the competition.

On the day of the video shooting, I showed up in my kyurogi dobuk (the uniform with red on the sides for sparring matches but because of the online set up, it’s used for speed kicking). It took us 6 takes before we got the best video to be submitted as entry. After the shooting, it was as if a weight has been lifted from my chest. I overcame my fear.

Let me say…

It was worth it. I ranked 6 on the leader board. I ranked that high on a National Competition against people from junior to senior highschool thanks to my coach and teammates for helping me get out of my comfort zone.

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