Rae's Karate Blog

Achievement takes time. It takes strength, commitment, sacrifice, and a willingness to learn. All of that combined is what I would call perseverance. Some days its easy, you wake up with energy, ready to take on the day, looking forward to going to the dojo. Other days its hard, you're tired, something negative happened at work or home and you think "what's the point." It is in these moments when a martial artist's perseverance and dedication kicks in and they go to the dojo, they go to train, to learn something new.  Only about 2% of people who start in martial arts will achieve the rank of black belt. The number of people who start in a class as a beginner, about half will leave after 1 session. And numbers continue to dwindle as time goes on and the training gets more intense or difficult. But, those who persevere who keep coming to class, who practice at home, they gain not just the physical and skill benefits of learning martial arts, they gain the confidence and knowledge that they can do hard things. That they can tackle difficult incidents either at the dojo or home or at work. Martial Arts training, working towards a goal of either the next belt or mastering the next skill gives us the opportunity to push ourselves to achieve and shows us and others in our life that hard work and determination, while it might not solve all of our problems, it takes us that much further towards our goals. 

The reason I wanted to reflect on the theme of perseverance is that I recently joined a new dojo. Not an easy thing, especially as a 3rd degree black belt, and trust me, the decision was not one I came to lightly. But, as I was training at my new school this week and had new skills shown to me, or I had to adjust my technique from the way I had previously done them, it was difficult. It is not easy to change. Muscle memory kicks in, your own personal thoughts can struggle to agree with new information. Your body and mind were used to one thing for so long, changing it seems difficult and tiresome. But, this is where perseverance comes in. It is my ability to persevere that will allow me to accept new approaches, achieve new goals, and make me that much better of a martial artist. I know I can do it because I've already done it time and again. I've trained, practiced, and learned and there is no reason I can't continue to build on the skills I already have.