Written by So I began the One Heart Challenge on June 1. When Sensei Oliver invited me to join the challenge along with Elinor and Avi, I was grateful and yet scared. I know how much of my life I focused on preparing for my shodan test. It literally took an army of people to support me in various ways to get me not only to the testing day but through the test. Now I was being not only welcomed but embraced by my new dojo and new sensei, yet I’m almost 2300 miles away. I’ve oscillated between the excitement of creating a diverse and far-flung community to support me and the fear of failure. The first tenet is “no quitting.” In all honesty, I chuckled a bit. I’ve lived far too much life to think of myself as a quitter. And yet there I was the night before the start of the challenge asking Sensei “Do you think I can do this???” I was comforted by his reply “You’ve done harder things.” Those myriads of lessons have shown me so much about myself, life…all of it. Most of all, though, I’ve walked away embracing Shoshin — beginner’s mind. This curiosity about what’s in front of you opens even the most routine and monotonous activity to an opportunity for growth, exploration, and self-discovery. And I realized that I wouldn’t fail this test. Why? Because I will learn. And as a fitness song in the BodyCombat class I teach says “We always win or we learn, we never lose.” So let’s begin this journey. No matter the outcome, we will learn. And consequently, we will succeed!
Note: the image is from the day I earned my black belt at Delaware Bushido Academy on May 1, 2021. I’m pictured with my husband Rich and our son John. Our daughter Mars was unable to attend my test.
