I’m Still A White Belt
Pax Lindenmayer
You may be a bit confused by the title of this piece, but it’s true. Even though I have my black belt, compared to other black belts, I am definitely a white belt, given my rank and skill. I have so much more to learn; even 10th-degree black belts who have dedicated their lives to karate could still improve. And I’m not talking solely about skill. I’m also talking about the way you do karate and the way you apply yourself. I have been doing karate for 10 years, give or take. In my room, I have a quote that says, “A black belt is a white belt who refused to give up.” This speaks to me because it states traits I find valuable as a black belt, like focus, commitment, respect, self-discipline, and tenacity.
“A black belt is a white belt,” says a lot to begin with. First of all, it proves the fact that even as a black belt, you are barely scratching the surface of everything involved with karate. In karate at its peak, you need pristine skill, focus, strength (physical and mental), and perfect your moves. When I watch Shihan execute his forms, I am extremely humbled. Statue of the Crane (my strongest form), I do pretty well. I like
to tell myself that I am good at Statue, and then when I see the Shihan do Statue of the Crane, the beauty and precision of the moves and flow explain that I have so much left to learn, even with the easy forms like One Pinon.
The other part of the quote is also extremely important: “who refused to give up.” In my mind, this reflects tenacity. Tenacity is probably the trait of a black belt that resonates with me the most. It is in the student creed, but rephrased as “indomitable spirit”. In everything I do, I always try to do it beyond my best. I’m just going to be completely honest here, doing things beyond your best for the first time is not fun at all. You aren’t used to it, and your body and mind are tired, and you just want to give up. Eventually, your black belt spirit kicks in. Then it's the best thing you’ve ever experienced in your entire life. That feeling of sheer awesomeness is called pride. Pride is, in my mind, the best feeling in the entire world. Especially when people acknowledge you for your accomplishment. Being a black belt is tough, but the fact that it is tough makes it a million times better. This is because the more tenacious you are and the harder you work, the more pride you will feel.
Karate is not just butt kicking that looks cool. Do you ever wonder why we meditate at the beginning of class? It’s because karate is quite spiritual. The focus you need to do karate comes from the connection of mind, body, and spirit. To be a true black belt, you need to know how to connect your mind, body, and spirit and attain extreme focus. I learned this not too long ago, from watching my instructors and talking with my grandfather, who meditates, does yoga, and works his body daily.
Whenever you are breaking a board, you do the focus breathing. The focus breathing allows your mind to catch up with your body. When everything is all caught up with each other, it generates the energy it takes to break a board. Watching my teachers break slabs of concrete showed me that I've got years and years ahead to barely scratch the surface of perfection.
Black Belt Boot Camp is a place where you can strengthen all the traits I went over in this essay: Focus, tenacity, and acknowledging that you have a lot to learn. Don’t believe me? You work your body until you can’t anymore because of tenacity. You need to know that you can never give up, and when you feel done, there is still much more left. You do forms in unknown places without mirrors, break boards, and get punched with left hands because it makes you focus. Focus is the key to good karate. You watch your teachers do forms and are astounded because you have much to learn.
I always think about how I can improve myself in karate, and I can improve in almost every way. I know that I can’t just do it all right away, so I take it one step at a time. And eventually, I’ll get close to perfection. Maybe perfection is further away than we thought.