After all these years, and after all the training and discipline, even in various martial arts, you know what? I finally got a blue belt! Yeah! Do you know what this means? I got blue!

Ok. I take chill-pill now.

But really! I still can hardly believe it. I just rejoined my karate class in January, then crammed for the belt test!

Lots. Of. Fitness. Training.

And after last week’s 2-day ordeal, I passed!

I awaited my turn to stand in front of my peers and the table full of black belts scrutinizing my every move. Literally! I practiced controlled breathing while waiting just to keep my nervousness low.

Some katas (forms) and combos of techniques are done in unison with others of similar rank. But some are done solo. And that can lead to being nervous and maybe sketchy.

By this point, your Sensei knows that you know the moves. The test is like a formal presentation to officially declare the fact to all. Of course it also tests your focus.

When your nerves are kind of jittery, it’s more challenging, more mental than physical. So for my solo katas, I relied on muscle memory and also tried to focus on correct breathing while controlling my speed.

And even though the testing is formal, it’s good to keep some fun and levity in the back of your mind so you don’t take things too seriously. You know what I mean?

Overall, it really was not too hard to do the skills portion. I did about as well as you’d expect. Not perfect, but well enough to pass anyways.

So where do we go from here? In a few weeks we will have the Belt Ceremony. That’s when we get our certificates and actual new colored belts.

And we’ll also get to do special stuff. This time, it’s breaking boards. I know Bruce Lee said boards don’t hit back. Oh well. It’s still good and fun training!

Already, though, I hold my new rank of blue belt. In Kyokushin karate that’s 6th kyu (level 5 going up). I listed the ranks in my other post.

Anyways, I’m stoked that I pushed myself towards a goal and accomplished it! Victory and congratulations and all that is sweet. It has a sense of value and fulfillment that is hard to express in words.

What goal are you working towards? Is there something hard you’ve recently accomplished and want to celebrate? Leave me a comment or email me. It’s nice to hear from you!