Written by The road to a black belt is a long and tough journey. I’ve been told the actual black belt test year process is not the hardest part of a martial artist’s training. Originally, I did not believe this was true because there are so many requirements, including; 50,000 pushups and sit-ups, 1000 mile journey, 1000 repetitions of kata, 1000 rounds of sparring, and many more. This test seemed impossible to complete and it felt like I would never ACTUALLY make it to black belt. Since I started this test last June my opinion has changed drastically. I started to look back at the years I’ve been training and realized, wow this really is the end of a chapter and this is not the hardest thing I’ve had to overcome.
I started training back in 2021 when I was 12 years old. If I’m being honest, the real reason I joined karate was because I wanted to be like Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid, since that was my favorite movie at the time. I remember very vividly being extremely nervous on the car ride to the dojo before every class for the first year-ish. I felt like I was going to throw up because of how nervous I was. I hated being 12 and a white belt when all my friends my age were already yellow-black belts all the way up to orange-black belts, and had started training when they were 6 years old. I always felt very behind in my training. I loved doing karate and training with my friends but that was always nagging at me in the back of my head. I felt as though I had to prove myself and prove that I am a good martial artist even though I joined later than them. Looking back now I realize that way of thinking was really silly. It doesn’t matter how old I was when I started compared to my friends. What matters is that I started at all in the first place. Now I have more self confidence in my training because I’m not worried about catching up to my peers in rank or years training.
After about 3 years of training things started to go a little down hill. I had just gotten my brown belt, I was in class 6 days a week, I was helping out in the little kids classes, and I just loved karate so much. This was also the year I started high school. I was homeschooled for 7th and 8th grade which left me with a lot of time to prioritize karate. However, when I started freshman year I decided I wanted to try public school again. It started off fine, I still went to karate 6 days a week and I still prioritized karate over my school work. Slowly as the year went on my school work built up and I started struggling with social issues. I hated going to school and I just wanted to go to the dojo because it was like my second home. Unfortunately around this time I got hurt really bad at a tournament and broke my thumb on my dominant hand. Now I was struggling at the dojo. My katas weren’t at the level I wanted them to be at and I felt exhausted constantly. I was completely burnt out and I didn’t know what to do.
As all of these factors built up over the next year, I finally reached my breaking point. My love for karate was gone and I no longer wanted to train. I quit karate in May of 2025 because of how mentally exhausted I was. I thought quitting karate would make me feel better, but it really didn’t. I missed the dojo family and being in class every week. But I couldn’t find the motivation to keep going with my training. Over the next 8 months I couldn’t stop thinking about how I was failing my 12 year old self by not making it to black belt, because that had been my goal since the start. This past January was when I began training again. It felt really weird being at the dojo again because a few of my friends had gone off to college, new decor was in the dojo, and I felt very rusty. Over time I realized that there was nothing I could do to get the “old dojo” back and I had to accept that this was my new reality. I learned to love karate again and was even given the opportunity to start my black belt test just 5 months after returning.
All of the lessons I’ve learned over the past 5.5 years have really changed my view on what the hardest part of a martial artist’s journey is. It has also shaped my opinion on what a black belt means to me. Being a black belt is not about training for the most years or winning the most medals. It’s about learning self confidence, overcoming fears, finding balance, and most importantly not giving up on yourself. I almost gave up on my karate journey, but I’m pushing through and not giving up on what matters most.
Wow! What a great self-assessment and reflection! I appreciate your vulnerability in sharing. I know you will continue to be a role model in the dojo. Sometimes a “pause” is just what we need to help us see what we really want. May the remaining months continue to inspire you towards accomplishing your goals!