Every Saturday morning, I am woken up at 6am. I fall back asleep and then get woken up

again 9 minutes later. I drag myself out of bed. I get dressed and go downstairs, eat and get in

the car. I generally don’t have a lot of thoughts at this time except that I need to do my best and

get through today’s boot camp. Every week I get closer and closer to my next goal, the Teen

Black Belt. I think about May 11th, the big test day, during each push up, sit up and each step I

take on the run. Every action counts and gets me one step closer to the big day!

When we started this Black Belt Bootcamp I thought it was going to be easy because I have

already gone through the process before. I thought I knew what to expect and I will be just fine.

I thought all I have to do is work hard, run fast, throw great punches in sparring, remember the

combinations and katas. I was wrong. This is a very hard process.

Looking back on week 1 I remember how I passed everyone during the run, I was the first

one done, I thought it was easy. In week 2, I kept the lead for a little bit and in week 3 I got

totally smoked by Nick. This made me remember bootcamp is hard and I need to step up my

game. Otherwise, the next 7 weeks were going to be awful. I took this realization to heart and

started stepping up my game full-time.

I thought about 6am Saturday all week long. I had to achieve my goal of successfully

completing each week of bootcamp to the best of my ability. I am going to put it in the bank and

leave it all on the mat. I'm proud to say that I've done this. I have pushed myself in ways I didn't

believe I could. I have been tired and starving yet I keep going. I have started practicing karate

every day and I work on my physical fitness. I ask myself why do I do this, why do I need to get

the next black belt? I think a lot about why I am doing this during the run. When I get through

the first and a half mile I remember the answer. It’s actually very simple. I really like doing

karate, the Dojo community and I really like a good physical challenge (except pushups, I have

a love-hate relationship with them). I like learning new combinations and practicing fight skits

with my friends in class.

I will never forget Sensei Dawn yelling at me about hitting my target. She was trying to get

me to hit the physical target in front of me but I know she also meant to hit the target of

achieving your next black belt. She was teaching me to keep going, achieve the goal,

concentrate, and do things that are just hard. After all these weeks we have all been working

super hard on our karate by practicing forms, fight skits, and board breaking routines. We all

have bruises and red skin but it's totally worth it.

All this training is paying off. I am feeling physically stronger, my push-ups feel 10 times

easier now and my karate has improved. I believe that I am ready for my test. I am excited to

take the test and receive my Teen Black Belt.