Peaceful Warriors' Student Blog: I am a Black Belt

Here is another article I found on the internet years ago. This one also dates back to 2000 or eariler. This is from the time when I was first president of the WBA (World Budo Alliance). It was at one time available on one of the first versions of our student website. I hope you all enjoy this one! The author is given credit in the article. The links provide may or may not work.

I am a black belt...

by. Mr. D. Williams, 2nd Dan.

This article is the response to an article I wrote for my first martial arts website - Moo Duk Kwan Tang Soo Do Network - entitled: "Am I a black belt?" I received many responses by e-mail and I thought the best way to kick TrainingHalls.com off right is to write a response article. So here it is….

My last article entitled "Am I a black belt?" sparked quite a bit of debate from my last martial arts website - the Moo Duk Kwan Tang Soo Do Network. I have received quite a wide range of feedback. I wrote this article in hopes of receiving feedback, but with a specific answer in mind. The answer is this: we can only measure ourselves with a standard that we set for ourselves. The real struggle that we each face will ultimately be internal - not simply questioning "can I do it better than them?", but "Is this the best that I can do?" The only difference between one who is successful and not successful is the drive to push themselves farther than they had thought they could. What is a black belt? Why do we hold this standard to such esteem? We see a black belt as being strong, brave, skillful, and exhibiting the qualities of honesty and respect that we expect from people of this esteem. These are admirable qualities that I think we have attributed unfairly to this title. These are attributes of a black belt, but they are only examples of the qualities developed through challenging oneself through their training. This is to say, black belt's don't make people brave, honest, or skillful; people who are brave, honest, and skillful become black belts. I am a black belt because I have successfully forced myself to face each of these challenges. I am strong, because when my body told me I can't do any more push-ups - I did one more. When I was afraid and apprehensive about doing the right thing (even though it was inconvenient) I did it anyway. In all things, I remain certain that no matter what the outcome, I will persevere.

Put simply: I have faith. I am reminded of the last stanza of a poem I read by Rudyard Kipling (1907 Nobel Laureate in Literature) entitled "If" which says:
"If you can talk to crowds and keep your virtue or walk with kings and not lose the common touch. If neither foe nor loving friend can hurt you, if all men count with you but none too much. If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty-seconds worth of distance run. Yours is the earth and everything that's in it. And which is more - you'll be a man [black belt] my son."

What do you think?
~ D. Williams 2nd Dan, Moo Duk Kwan Tang Soo Do --

Author: Mr. D. Williams is an avid martial artist, he has studied the Japanese art of Jujutsu for 2 years and the traditional Korean art of Tang Soo Do for 10 years. He has advanced to the rank of 2nd Dan in the latter system and is the owner of TrainingHalls.com

More to come soon,