A Black-Belt
Mithilesh Sivaprakash
I joined TKD mainly because I wanted to be a black-belt. At first, I thought black-belts are famous, strong, big,& smart and use their power in real-life situations. I also thought they were the kings of TKD. And, of course, I knew whether it was Kung-Fu, TKD, Karate or any martial-arts, black-belt is one of the highest level of achievement.Now I know that a black-belt is also more than that. Younger belts look up to a black-belt as a class of students lookup to their teacher. A black-belt may be a commander yet a soldier. He or she follows the tenets of TKD and has the theories of power. He or she is honest, willing, brave, strong & smart. They are not too strong or not very smart; they are equal in both places.If I were to be a black-belt, I would try to have all of these qualities. I would never quit. I would not care if I get hurt. I would practice my old techniques and make them “picture perfect”. I would dream to be a 7th degree black-belt and work towards making that dream come true. I will learn the secrets to being a good instructor. I would then encourage kids that are not in TKD to join TKD, never quit, give your best effort, test for black-belt and encourage others to do the same.“The mind and body have to work together to make an excellent student.” says Grandmaster Jung. That is an important statement. I think of that every single day, because if that could happen, one can achieve a black-belt.And when I become a black-belt, I will remember the day I joined Jung`s Tae Kwon Do.
