Essay 1

My Black Belt

Martial Arts is by far the most significant part of my life. I should start by explaining the picture you see. On the right is myself and to the left is my Sensei, picture was taken after my 1st Dan test in the dojo (Dan is first degree black belt also known as Shodan). I started when I was just four years old and have not stopped since. Now turning twenty in September, sixteen years or roughly eighty percent of my life I have been doing something I love and enjoy. So you could say that Martial Arts have shaped my life in someway or another. First of all Martial Arts have shown me how to be kind and respectful to others.
Starting Martial Arts at four years I was already kind and respectful to everyone around me. With Martial Arts I believe this trait has been permanently sketched into me. The reason for this is when I met difficult people when I work anywhere I am able to keep my cool and talk to the person. Comes in handy when working at a dojo with middle schoolers and high schoolers within a mile and have think-they-are-funny-teenagers come in. While learning to be kind and respectful to others is a great thing I learned something more important.
Confidence is the single most important thing that I have learned from Martial Arts. I was always a silent kid and only talk when I had to and if I did not like the teacher you would never see me talk. Me being silent and not liking my teacher came back to bite me in butt in sixth grade for my core teacher wanted to hold me back because I did not contribute in his class but still had a B in his class. If you had looked at my other class you would seen me with A’s and contributing in class. When I had heard this at first I was mad and disliked him even more but when next trimester came around you saw me contribute in the class more than others. Major reason for this is I just gotten first youth black belt in Taekwondo at age ten in December. At the end of the test my Sensei told me that about 1 in 100 people who start get their black belt. After I realized that a black belt is hard to achieve and I achieved it. Made talking in public an ease after that, making me feel right at home talking in front of people no matter how many. While Martial Arts taught me about my body and soul it also gave me a career choice.
I starting teach about six years ago when I entered high school, probability the best thing to happen to me back then. The reason for this was I hit a big bump my friends and people I started Taekwondo with were leaving for college or quitting. This put me in a difficult place where the only people I was training with were adults and not kids and friends, made going much harder. My Sensei asked me to help teach some of the classes and at first I did not know if I would like it. Six years later here I am still taking different Martial Art in the same place and teaching my own classes. Fun how stuff works out in life something I was unsure of at first might become my career choice. Though still not sure yet but in the mean time I have a job and really enjoying it. The best part is seeing the kids you teach grow and apply the moves; you get a feeling of some kind of accomplishment.
In the end you see how Marital Arts has been in my life and how it definitely shaped my life. Martial Arts has shown me what I am made of and saved me many times from others and myself (knowing who to roll when I fall down avoids many injuries). With Martial Arts in my life for so long and helping choose paths through life you can be sure I will continue for as long as I can.