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After finishing my second week of this test, I feel a little better about how I am doing on this test than I was last week. The first week was hard with trying to find the balance between school, teaching classes, regular karate classes, homework, and also getting in all of my numbers. I think that even after just one more week, I’m starting to find the best ways to balance all of it at once. I think that there is still room for improvement, but I’ve made progress. I also have been eating more than before. The weeks leading up to the test and the first week, I was really struggling to eat pretty much anything at all, which I know is bad for me, considering what I am putting my body through. This past week was better in terms of my food intake, and I think I am slowly getting back to my normal eating habits, allowing me to fuel myself throughout the day. My dad and I have started biking a lot to get my 1,000 miles in. It’s honestly nice to be able to just go on a really long bike ride during the weekends so that I don’t have to get a full three miles in on a school day when I am already doing so much to do. I think that it is allowing me to have more free time after school because I don’t have to run 3 miles, so it has been very nice for me. I’m hoping for the test to become easier to balance as the year continues.
My current Challenge progress as of March 7, 2026.
Pushups
(21,310 / 50,000)
Situps
(21,475 / 50,000)
Makiwara
(3,070 / 10,000)
Miles
(240 / 1,000)
Kata
(284 / 1,000)
Kumite
(348 / 1,000)
Kindness
(428 / 1,000)
Meditation
(1,963 / 5,000)
Books
(2 / 6)
Blogs
(25 / 52)
Videos
(1 / 12)
The first month is a learning curve to figure out what works best for you to be able to do the black belt challenge. It sounds like you are doing that. There are only so many hours in a day. Everything cannot be done in one day. It is good you are doing miles on the weekends because your weekdays sound very busy. The sit-ups, pushup, kata, acts of kindness, and meditation can be done daily to become a part of life. Consistency is the key.
This is very good advice Elan!