Adventures in My Mind
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Oct 23, 2007
A Small Goal on a Long Road
I now have one of these ... in this ... After 12 years of on and off training - almost 20 if you count those 1st few classes my sophomore year at State - I've earned the rank of shodan or 1st degree black belt in Aikido.
The rank itself doesn't do anything to separate me from non-black belt students. I'm not in a privileged class of initiates to any secret societies. I don't know how to do the vibrating palm strike or kill a person just by looking at them. And everything hasn't suddenly become easy for me.
In fact, things have gotten much harder. Over the years I've gone from just trying to learn the techniques to trying to truly understand what makes them work and how I can best modify them to suit my physical abilities. The real work has only just begun.
The rank does, however, demonstrate a level of commitment to my art that separates me and all others who've achieved it, and more advanced ranks, from those who 'used to take karate/taekwondo/judo/kung fu etc.'. It takes a long time to earn a black belt in Aikido, with time between ranks often being a year or more. And it's even longer between black belt ranks. That's a lot of time in the dojo, a lot of additional seminars to learn from other teachers, and a hell of a lot of break falls (see picture above).
I've put in my time and learned some skills. The belt is simply a small token to recognize that effort. Ultimately, my new black belt isn't about mastery. It's about perseverance and commitment. Two things that I am much more proud of than the techniques I've learned.
3 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 1:01 PM
