Blackbelt party!

The folks at work threw a little office party for me for receiving my black belt. I was totaly taken back and I thank them all for it....the cake was just cool.

Was asked yesterday what I thought about "the black belt". I told them that it weights on you. You are now an example. You are the one they are going to watch. You have to lead. You have big shoes to fill. You must keep your ego in check. In other words it is a lot of work. The darker the belt..the more humble the karateka.

Black Belt!

Well, I got the results of the testing and I passed! Am now officially a Shodan...cool. But seriously this is just the begining. I had someone ask me what I was going to do now that I had my black belt...I said continue learning. A black belt signifies that you have the ability to learn and now are ready to do more work learning the art of karate. It is a life long journey that most folks who start out in karate never even get close to...why? Well if it was easy anybody would do it. It takes many hours of practice and sweat to get there. Would I do it again..yes...that is why I am going to continue.

Congratulations to all the others who tested...we had 3 other for Shodan and 2 for Nidan. Time to get back to the dojo and learn some more good stuff. My next goal...in 2 to 3 years be ready to test for Nidan...got 4 kata to learn and more perfecting of all the rest of the stuff to work on. That may not sound like much for 3 years...but it is.

My wife said I looked like I was concentrating....I was.

Karate is a way of life....seriously

The other week I went to Coral Springs, Fl to the South Atlantic Karate (SAKA) Summer Camp. This was the 38th camp they have held there. We missed having our chief instructor Sensie Takashina there, but Arizona Karate chief instructor Sensei Koyama did a wonderful job as guest instructor for the camp. He emphasized that Karate was not just for defense, but was for life...a way of life.  He pointed out the health benefits of karate, which are numerous...but also the spiritual/mental benefits. The development of a sound mind and body thus can lead to a long healthy life. He challenged us to seek to follow the dojo kun and exercise/physical development of karate to help us maintain ourselves.

-seek perfection of character
-be faithful
-endeavor
-respect others
-refrain from violent behavior

I enjoyed my time at the camp and agree that karate is a lifelong journey. You don't just get a black belt and quit....you continue on training... Sensei Takashina made a comment at a camp I went to several years ago. He said life is like a swan dive...the object of karate is to make it into a glide. Makes sence.