I was just like them too. I've often told a story about how I started getting serious about combat sports. There was a Krav Maga gym that opened up in my old neighborhood in San Francisco. I was really interested in checking it out as I had done some Muay Thai and BJJ years ago, loved it, and really wanted to get back into that kind of a disciplined exercise program. Despite previous experience, I was still very nervous. The idea of me looking like a noob and not knowing what to do when everybody else did was daunting. I passed by the studio every day on my way to and from work and would always look in the window to see large dudes, many of them in local law enforcement and security, training there and looking totally intimidating. At the time, I was a 32 year-old-video game developer and not in the best of shape. There was no way I could compete with those other guys!
Plus, for me, there is always this fear of the unknown. I always want to know exactly what is going to happen and where everything is. Even if I have a reasonable idea and it doesn't really matter anyway, it is still important to me. Besides not knowing the content of the new training, I don't understand the structures and procedures either and that can make me just as uncomfortable.
So anyway, I finally mustered up the initiative/courage to do it BUT instead of stepping totally out of my comfort zone and join the regular boxing and kickboxing classes classes at the gym, I sort chickened out and bought 10 private training sessions with their head instructor first. That way, only one person, the trainer, would see me sucking and hopefully teach me how to not suck anymore. After my 10 sessions, I decided to finally try out a regular class. But I was STILL nervous about it! In fact when I went to the class and people asked if I had any previous experience, I pretty much lied. I said "No" and maybe mumbled something about working with Barney (my trainer) "a couple" of times. So if I still sucked, they would hopefully not judge me too harshly and if I did pretty well, would be extra impressed!
Writing this all out is pretty embarrassing as clearly, I had/have issues, but I guess the point is that I can definitely relate to being nervous about trying something new and to varying degrees, most all of us have these kind of social anxieties. And they are often irrational. But working through them can be well worth it! For me, it changed my life forever. Set me on a path of health and wellness and inspired me to get into helping others down that path. My confidence went up and my overall social anxieties went down. I became a transformed person in many ways and I liked the new me a lot better! Maybe it won't have such an extreme effect on you but I can pretty much guarantee you that you will be proud of yourself and feel good about yourself for surviving something you were nervous to try.
In our club, we truly do have people of all fitness levels, skill levels, backgrounds and ages. Everyone's on their own heavy bag and goes at their own pace. Every single one of them was new once too and will understand what you might be going through that first time.
I would say that a little more than half the people who sign up with us online to check out a boxing class for free actually make it in. Getting through that door the first time really is the hardest part. But again, everybody who makes it is glad that they did. Whether you end up loving boxing and wanting to do it more or not, the experience will be positive. So if you're on the fence about taking the jump, now is a perfect time to do it. And if you're already training, share this with someone who might be interested but is still, like ALL of us, a little nervous!
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