Qualities of a Blackbelt

This week in class, Sifu Brinker asked us what are 3 qualities of a black belt that we have and 3 that we need to improve on.  Initially my list was
Qualities I have: 1) determination 2) perseverance 3) leadership and caring
Areas I need to improve on: 1) fitness 2) kicks 3) attention to detail


The more that I thought about this, the more that I had to really look at my choices.  If I am saying that I am good at perseverance, than my numbers should be bang on and they are not.  If I am great at determination, than my fitness and kicks should not be an issue but they are.  Sifu said that sometimes you think you are good at something, but in reality you need improvement. 


There was a couple of ways I could have processed this information.  I could have let it set me back and started the excuses but I did not.  I started my running program again and have been increasing my numbers each time.  Today I ran (ran/walk) 5.7 km in 47 min and have ran 17K in the last 10 days.  Its constantly improving but there is far to go.  I have been working hard on my Kempo form and have been really starting to feel when I am pulling my shoulder during a punch or transferring my weight back instead of dropping my center and moving forward when transitioning from stances.


I also noticed that my cardio in class was not hitting the range I wanted it to.  I realized that during warm-up, I have been holding back, wanting to make sure I had energy for my class.  I decided that if I need energy later in class, I will deal with it then so I better give it 110% now.  Funny thing, there has not been a class that I needed to slow down in.  There have been hard classes but they always felt good after.


After a lot of self reflection, I would say that my list is still the same but I would change the wording to "Qualities that I have - but still need work" because the more that I work on these qualities, the more they will assist me improving the others. 


See you on the mats!