Does the practice of martial arts keep you young? I think it must.
Today was my first Black Belt Club Celebration event at St. Matthew’s Martial Arts. Being with my black belt colleagues — and kids who aspire to be black belts — put me in a reflective frame of mind. So here are a few musings on my journey.
I’m currently a 4th degree black belt. A lot of luck and a lot of sweat have gotten me here. Here’s the surprise: I began studying martial arts for the first time at age 42, when my then 8-year old son became interested (many thanks to The Power Rangers). That was 16 years ago. You can do the math. If you had told me 16 years ago that in 2015 I would be wearing my 4th degree black belt, I would have laughed, winked, and said “Sure, right.”
So why in heaven’s name did a 42-year old woman with no previous athletic pursuits decide to try out, and then STICK WITH, martial arts? It was fun. It was a good workout. But mostly, it was because of the people at St. Matthews Martial Arts — the instructors, the other students, and Master Joan herself. No one tried to turn me into a mini-Bruce Lee. They took me in, saw what I could do, and encouraged me to keep pushing myself. I never stopped learning.
Now here I am, about to enter my 17th year at St. Matthews Martial Arts, continuing to learn and helping out as an instructor. By day, I am a high school French teacher. After school a few days a week and on the weekends, I come to the dojo, dump the stress of the day, and hope that in some small way I am passing on to my martial arts students a feeling that they, too, can succeed.
And as I get closer to another milestone age-wise, I occasionally wonder how long I’ll be physically able to practice Shaolin Kempo Karate. Yet when I think of NOT practicing it, I am sad. So I know that I will continue because I love it. I also know that my friends at St. Matthews Martial Arts will keep encouraging me.
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