I was like you, afraid of getting hurt and not picking up the techniques. Everybody was sooo much faster than I was at first. My first sparring lesson was with a class of Tae Kwon Do MA's, (I'm taking Goju Ryu) that had come over for a joint class. All their black belts came over, and they were all over 6'! I had prepared by shadow boxing, looking for openings, and just one or two techniques that would work for me. The instructors were very understanding and 'let me' hit them, it was almost pathetic. I was still very intent on learning defensive techniques more than hitting. This may have been wrong, but it was instinctive. After a few more months of training, ( we do kumite weekly), I am now quite agressive and don't get hurt so much. Yes the odd bruise shows up and I have permanently bumpy shins from a few leg block trials, but people are now scared of me, because I'm so energetic in my attacks. The breathing really helps, keeping calm and focussed on your sparring partner, and when they get one on you, ask them to do it again, so you can learn the defense for it. You'll start to have fun with it after a while. Good luck.
