Learn to Take Hits

Learn to Take Hits

This may seem a bit excessive to some, but learning to take shots to the body or face can actually help you in the long run.  Along with sparring in the ring and getting hit, doing drills by taking shots to the body will help condition your body to take shots when moments count.
For instance, say you have never been in an altercation or physical conflict in your life.  Some guy is threatening you, and then throws a sucker punch at your head and makes contact.  You have never been hit like that before.  So, what happens?
You get stunned.  Subconsciously, you are thinking, I cannot believe that happened to me?  You can go into mild shock, worrying about the damage getting hit can do.  You get scared and panic, not knowing what to do next.  Chances are you clinch up and freeze, just trying to protect yourself.  Your mind does not know how to handle these things. So naturally, your brain is trying to protect the body.  In boxing, when you see someone getting hit in the jaw with a knockout blow, the brain is trying to protect the body by shutting down.  That is not the time you want to learn the hard lessons.  In a real situation, you are pretty much dead.
Training your body and your mind to take hits (though in a controlled environment, it is safer), will actually improve your overall survival in real encounters if the situation ever arises.  In the beginning of my training, I had a hard time learning to take punches and kicks.  Now, my training is not complete unless I have taken a few.