Martial Arts

There’s no feeling quite like accomplishing a seemingly arduous and time-consuming task. Martial arts has always been a source of fascination for me, as I grew up watching Bruce Lee films. His dedication to the arts as well as his unmatched fighting style caught my eye, which was partly why I chose to begin training as a martial artist. Another reason why is because I noticed a trend in our childhood experience. As kids, both Bruce Lee and I were weak and were bullied frequently. Consequently, we both had a desire to be able to stand back up and defend ourselves. I recently earned my black belt in Tae Kwon Do after seven years of effort, an accomplishment that I will cherish forever. But to be honest, it wasn’t the belt that I was most proud of, but the training that I endured over the years and how much I matured as a result.

Before I began training as a martial artist, I was a fairly indecisive, self-doubting individual. I always second-guessed myself, and I didn’t really trust in my abilities. When I first started practicing Tae Kwon Do, I constantly felt like giving up. I could barely do ten pushups, my form was weak and unbalanced, and I couldn’t react to my opponent quickly enough when I was in a practice match. Still, I wore on, remembering all the times I was beat down and unable to get back up. As I got older, I noticed some progression, which pushed me to keep training.

For a long while, it seemed that getting a black belt had slowly become my underlying goal. Looking back, I now realize that it in the end, it was just a belt. I couldn’t define my dedication and success by material accessories. It was my early failures and the fact that now I actually able to get back up after being pushed around that characterized my determination. It was all the hard work that piece of fabric symbolized that made me proud. Furthermore, I feel like martial arts served as a major confidence booster. Having to lead the younger students as well