What does black belt mean to me?
Tae kwon do black belt means a lot to me. But these three are most important ones.
1. Black belt is special
2. Responsibility
3. Like reaching the first checkpoint on the way to summit
Black belt is special
When I started tae kwon do 4 years back, I thought I would not make it all the way to black belt. But then as I got my yellow belt, I somehow got myself motivated to get to black belt and beyond. Black belt is special, because it is like my three years of dream come true. I bet it is a special thing to my instructors also as they took me this far and never gave up on me.
Responsibility
Being a black belt also means the responsibility to pass on the tradition. Having leant and understood the value of tae kwon do’s five tenets from my masters, it does not make sense to me not to pass down my experience to next generation. This adds huge responsibility to me since I am still a school going student.
Like reaching the first checkpoint on the way to summit
When I was in white belt, I thought black belt was like reaching the huge mountain top. But as I got closer, I realized that black belt was not reaching the top of the mountain, but it is really a first checkpoint.
Lifelong hike still ahead.