Madelin

The Trip

I had flown to Nashville to test for my long anticipated San Dan (third degree Black Belt - This is a lot like becoming the state Teacher) a week ago. Prior the test I'd been training consistently sinc.. to.

Their often said in Fighting Styles that the meaning doesnt lie in how good you are or what belt you have, somewhat the meaning lies in the trip. I'd want to discuss my journey of the past few months, before I enter What Black Belt Means To Me.

The Vacation

I had flown to Nashville to test for my long awaited San Dan (third degree Black Belt - This is kind of like getting the state Teacher) a week ago. Prior the test I had been teaching consistently since April of the year at a friends dojo and my local gymnasium to.

It'd been about 5 years since Ive last applied my discipline, Wado-Ryu Karate-Do, therefore my remembrance of the device was very obscure. After as a young martial artist seeing numerous tapes of myself, I'd re-learned my under belt curriculum, nevertheless I was struggling to keep in mind my black belt curriculum. As the building blocks of ones education because it is considered once you learn anything about fighting techinques, ones under strip understanding is vital. On the other hand, a lot of people believe that your teaching truly begins once you obtain your first black belt. I couldnt agree more. When I was offered to Sho Dan (1st Degree Black Belt) my interpretation about Wado-Ryu and the fighting styles had grown significantly and I started to essentially learn.

As it had been ten years since my last official test In either case, I needed to understand precisely what might have possibly been thrown at me.

In July, I visited Nashville to teach with my highly recognized and beloved instructor Sensei Wayne Tyler. I consider him as a father figure within my fighting styles career as a result of his vast understanding of Wado-Ryu and unconditional love for his students and the art. Imagine being a scientist and your instructor was Albert Einstein that's what it feels like to be underneath the wing of Sensei Tyler (or Mr. Tyler, as he is called by me. I was in Nashville education with Sensei 2 3 hours each day for 5 days. I caught up on my program and took the information that was passed down by him and used it to my education in Denver.

Again, because I didnt know what you may anticipate, I conditioned myself to be ready for pretty much anything. Not just was I training my fundamentals and katas (Japanese kinds), but I was also running 2 miles, three times weekly, 15 20 minutes on the rowing device and about 6 7 miles on the stationary bike. I dont think I could have been better prepared with this test.

I successfully passed my test and was offered to San Dan on October 17th 2006. I must say, this was one of my greatest achievements within my fighting techinques career and a dream come true. It's taken me several years to achieve this goal, but it has reinforced my interpretation to be a belt, or in my own case San Dan. via