When you are learning martial arts online, you will encounter many fears that you will have to overcome in order to succeed. These fears are different to those you will have to face when you are training with a school.
Fear of standing out
If you check on online forums, or speak to Martial Artists or Instructors they will all tell you that it is impossible to learn at home (you need a teacher, guide, guru etc.). Yet, there are many distinguished Artists, among them UFC Champions, Jiu-Jitsu Champions, Masters and Founders of Styles who have learned Martial Arts at home.
If you decide to choose this route you will have to stand out against the masses. They will question your ability when you tell them you have learnt your Martial Art at home. But there is only one way to shut them up, and that is to be good at what you do.
Fear of being good
This is the opposite side of the fear listed above, because the only way for you to stand out is to be good and the only way that you are going to be good is if you work hard at it. Many people who think about learning martial arts online don't want to work hard at their skills and so end up being mediocre with barely any skill at all; and then they soon give up.
You also see this fear in schools where someone is content to train for many years without wanting to excel in their skill, simply content to be somewhere in the middle of the class then eventually giving up, content to reminisce about the average old days.
Fear of fighting
This follows on from the previous fear, that if you're good then you will have to be a good fighter and to be a good fighter you will have to fight a lot; and very few people enjoy fighting or getting hit.
Sparring is something that should be engaged in with maximum protective gear and lots of previous training. You should have a good grounding in your basics and be in reasonable physical shape. Sparring should also be done with small increments in difficulty.
As you can see, there is only one real fear and this one fear shows itself throughout your endeavours; yet to succeed you will have to face this fear at various points of your training.
The best way to cut through your fears is simply to see them for what they are; your fear of being great and succeeding at learning a martial art online. The next thing to do is to make a vow to yourself that no matter what, you will succeed. Promises to yourself are sacred and something that you will and must stick to.
Finally, make sure that you get help from those who have done this before. There is an easy way to succeed when you are learning martial arts online; you just have to know the right way to go about it.