Courage in a dojo looks like stepping back on the mat with someone who threw you hard last week.

Your body remembers who hurt it and will argue for keeping distance. That argument feels like caution and works like a fence, because every partner you avoid becomes a thing you cannot do, and the list grows quietly. Going back on the mat with them is where the tolerance actually gets built, since nothing else teaches your nerves that the memory was an event rather than a rule.

Pair with them early in the session rather than hoping the clock saves you. Say beforehand what you want to work on, which gives both of you something to aim at.