Becoming Black Belt

Becoming a Black Belt has been a dream of mine since I first came across a similar sport, Kung Fu, when I watched the 2010 The Karate Kid. Although Kung Fu and Taekwondo are not exactly the same thing, to the 11 year old girl who had never seen this sport before, I was very much intrigued by it, and thus started my five year journey to becoming a first-degree black belt.
I first started Taekwondo under Master Kevin at American Martial Arts in 2012. Walking in for the first time, I felt discouraged seeing my class filled with little kids almost half my age and size. However, I continued in order to accomplish my goal of becoming a black belt. Everyday I would go to class enthusiastic and eager to learn which helped me become pretty good, and then after a few months I approached my yellow belt mark of my TKD journey. At this point, I was 12 years old and met a certain height requirement , so I was required to move up to the adult class. I was really excited to move up finally, but as a yellow belt, we were first introduced to the concept of sparring with gear on which I was not excited about. This was definitely not as glamorous as Jaden Smith had made it in the movie! In this new class I was surrounded by experienced students with higher belts like red to black belts who were the cause of my fear. I always wanted to learn how to spar, but now that I was doing it, I was scared of
the fact that so many things could go wrong from embarrassing myself because of my inexperience to getting hurt badly. My fear kept on evolving throughout my years of taekwondo until I reached my third year of taekwondo as a higher belt when I realized I actually had nothing to be scared of. This fear had restricted me from becoming a stronger sparrer and becoming better in other aspects of the sport as well. I wish I had realized that earlier, but from that point on I remember going to every class with the same enthusiasm and eagerness I had when I first started. I could see my gradual improvement in my attitude and sparring. From being one of the most scared kids in the class, I became one of the best sparrers in my studio though I was a relatively younger belt (Purple/Red). Fighting the older, better kids which was once a challenge for me instead now helped me with my sparring strategy and skill level. This confidence that I gained helped me in my forms and taekwondo leadership skill. Fast forward to now, even after a gap year in between my move between two studios because I moved to a new town, I am finally able to receive my black belt.
Reflecting on these past years, I have recognized that I have improved so much because of taekwondo’s strong influence on my life.
From not knowing how to spar properly, sparring has become my favorite part of the sport now. From not being able to remember a 30 second form, I am now able to simultaneously learn four forms at the same time, and do them with the proper techniques. From not being able to do a jumping back kick, now I can do many combinations of advanced kicks. But besides learning these taekwondo skills, this sport has many physical, mental, and spiritual advantages as
well.
The most apparent advantages of taekwondo are those that are related to the physical aspect. After doing taekwondo for five years, I have developed a dedication to keeping myself healthy and fit which the sport helps me to do. Every week when we are told to do our situps, pushups, jumping jacks,etc., though they are not the most fun to do, we do them in order to help us to maintain our physique and improve our sparring. Thus, I am able to feel strong and healthy which is a good feeling to have. Additionally, doing taekwondo taught me a very important skill: the ability to physically protect myself. As a girl, I have always hear stories of how girls and women are often the victims of a variety of social problems, and how it is important for girls to be able to take a strong stance against the aggressor and protect themselves. In taekwondo, I have learned various kicks, punches, and self defense moves to help me whether I am in such a situation or someone else is. This independence that I gained from this skill is very valuable to me and a very important advantage of taekwondo.
As well as applying these important skills in taekwondo itself, the perseverance, self control, and confidence I gained, can be used in other parts of my life as well. This upcoming Black Belt testing is six years in the making. Moving to a new town, stopping training for a year, developing knee and shin injuries in the process all haven’t stopped me from testing for my 1st Degree Black Belt. It comes down to persevering in the hard times knowing that the reward is right around the corner. Through the physical pain such as the one I faced during the two hour meditation or the mental pain that tried to restrict me from being able to do something, I developed self-control. This self-control helps me maintain my chill at all times no matter how I am really feeling. This confidence culminated with the other skills I gained is used in everything that I do like in school and other sports that I play.
Finally, in terms of a spiritual aspect, the indomitable spirit doesn’t exactly mean spirituality, but more a way to guide our decision making process. Indomitable spirit is the part of me or any other person which defines us. It is the part that is hopeful, strong, and courageous to face every challenges I may face. It is the part that always looks for the most positive outcome of my hard work.
After five years of this hard work and perseverance, I am beyond thrilled and excited to be able to receive my first - degree Black Belt. Though I will be going to college in two years, and will not be able to test for my 2nd degree at Victory Taekwondo, I will try my best to continue the sport that has had such an impact on my life. My goal is to become at least a 2nd degree or even a 3rd degree. My passion for this sport is why I have been doing it for this long, and I hope to continue it in the future as well. Another goal would be to encourage other people especially girls to try their hand at taekwondo. Though girls are a still a minority in taekwondo, I hope that more girls and women will join because of it is fun and has many advantages.