Karate: 2nd Degree Black Belt

I started karate a long time ago. Joining as a 1st-grade white belt, I had no idea how far I would come, the struggles I would go through, and the victories I would achieve along the way.

Living in Burbank, CA, my first Sensei (teacher/coach) in karate was Sensei Frank. He was strict and encouraged discipline among his students. I recall learning various forms and doing my first sparring matches, under his guidance. After about a year or so, I reached the orange belt.

Around this time, I learned about the belt process for karate. Each belt was a primary color, the rank, along with the degree of the rank. A solid color was first degree, a white stripe was second degree, and a black stripe was third. After the orange belt, there were purple, green, blue, red, brown, and finally black belts. For some perspective, each color took me about a year to progress, and the prospect of 7 more seemed daunting, especially to my younger self.

Shortly after this, our family moved from Burbank to Santa Clarita, and I started karate again with a new sensei - Sensei Ted. He took me in as a purple belt, in about 3rd grade. He was more lenient than Frank but understood the value of hard work in the dojo (classroom/training space). From 3rd grade up to 7th grade, I continued growing as a martial arts student, training even through the COVID-19 pandemic and reached the final rank before black belt: Brown belt 3rd degree. With the black belt finally in my sights, I continued to train with the prospect of a goal in mind.

However, the ranking up from Brown belt 3rd degree to black belt was monumental. Firstly, I had to continue to train for a year to be ready for the test, the equivalent of a color of ranking. After this, I had to do a private training session over the summer to develop my creative form and increase my fitness for the black belt test. In the final week of the summer, I had to do an intense physical test for my black belt and a technique test, which culminated in a 2v1 sparring match. It was the hardest day of my life up to that point - but from then on, I was officially a black belt.

After I reached this rank, I started assisting in the dojo. I helped several upcoming students progress through the ranks, teaching them drills and techniques, and guiding them through forms. Then, after about 2 years of assisting, I took a test for 2nd degree black belt, which was harder and more consuming than the first. For the test, I made a creative form that was 50 moves long, did an intense physical test (3 miles, 75 pushups/situps/squat-jumps/leg-lifts/jumping-jacks), and even fought using a new technique called pummeling.

The journey to 2nd degree black belt was long and arduous, but I learned a tremendous amount along the way. I developed grit and determination through Sensei Ted’s intense workouts, I developed fighting techniques, and I mastered the art of self-defense. Even though the process wasn’t easy, I am grateful I had the opportunity to go through this to become who I am today.