What a black belt means to me

As part of my black belt grading in 7 weeks, I have to write a one page essay on what a black belt means to me. This is what I submitted.

I strongly believe that you are never too old to learn something new.
It saddens me when people feel that they are ‘past their use by date’ and have nothing to offer society. Elderly people have so much wisdom and experience that they can share with others.

When my sons chose to learn karate three years ago I felt it would be something I could also enjoy doing, both for exercise and to have something in common with my boys.

After completing my first belt (gold) I realised that I thoroughly enjoyed the process of classes, learning Japanese, grading and achieving belts step by step.
I then set myself the goal of achieving my black belt.

As someone who works full time, has church commitments and is a mother with children to organise and run around, there are some busy and hectic days where the last thing I feel like doing is exercising. At almost forty years of age, my body also feels very differently now doing karate than what it did twenty years ago when I was dancing. Headaches and back pain are more frequent now. However, the thought of the goal that I had set myself encouraged me to push through on those days. My mindset for the past year was to push through as “a black belt doesn’t give up”.

I have found that if you want something enough, prioritise your time and finances that all things are achievable. I do not aim for perfection but I do plan to be the best me I can be, enjoying every experience that life has to offer me and hopefully inspiring other people to do the same.

I feel that I have had the heart of a black belt for some time and by completing the grade I will confirm to my instructors and to myself that I know and understand the training I have received over the past three years.

By achieving the standard of ‘black belt’ I will feel proud of myself for achieving the goal that I set three years ago and for having the determination to push through on days when I didn’t feel like it.