Black Belt is the first step
12/Apr/09
I always tell my new black belts that “shodan” literally means “first step.” Indeed, while achieving a black belt is a mighty accomplishment and something to be proud of, it should only be the beginning of your martial arts career. I can still remember the feelings that accompanied Mr. Steen handing me that black belt certificate in 1968. But if I had stopped there, if I had let “life” get in the way of my continued training, well, you dear readers might not have been in the martial arts at all. And I can definitely say the AKaTo wouldn’t be around. Who can image what our six new black belts will accomplish? Four of them are teenagers, as I was. Even the two adults who were promoted on April 4th have decades of martial practice still in front of them. So let me encourage them as well as all of us that we should never stop training and learning and teaching. The martial way can be a lifetime journey.