I was a hefty boy when I was studying 8th standard.
I was that guy the girls would turn to when they struggled to open their tiffin box. I was that guy the teachers would turn to when they wanted to move a bench from one class to another. And I was doing all of it with pride — I was the go-to person for them all.
I had started taking Karate classes in my school. Stone breaking and sparring were all happening and I was kind of in the middle of it all.
They announced an open Karate competition where students from every school would participate.
I was all ready. I was kind of famous in my school and I had the confidence that I could beat anyone in the sparring.
The day arrived and I was allotted in the Senior category. My opponent was also allotted and we were waiting our turn for the fight. I was all serious, giving stares at my opponent while we waited.
We were called to the bout. I was doing whatever I had learned and my opponent was just moving around. This was happening for almost a minute, then came that moment of glory.
He came around and gave me one punch right in the middle of my face. My feet weren’t on the floor and I was feeling like I was floating in the air — because I actually was — until I landed on my butt. My nose started bleeding. The referee allotted me 1 point as consolation for the bleeding. I stood up and continued, and as expected I had lost the fight.
A lot of my school mates saw what happened. It was a completely silent trip back to school.
That punch broke my overconfidence and sent me back to focus on my basics. And no, I did not pursue Karate and go on to become a champion as you may expect after all the buildup above.
But from that moment on, whenever overconfidence tries to overshadow me — or when someone tries to boost me too much — I forcibly remember that punch to keep myself grounded.
What is your Welcome Punch moment?