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Black Belt Degrees  Process 

Black belt Degrees is one of the hardest belts that I will try to earn. It is a long process and there are no shortcuts. Being a black belter to me is being part of a sensei and with it comes a big responsibility. With the Amerikick karate program, it helped improve my health and fitness through our class workouts and experienced training. I had been attending karate classes for 4 years now since 2015 with the help of 3 main Sensei`s. I used to be a frail looking 9 year old kid when I first started.

Physical exercise and push ups helped me gain stamina, strength and endurance. At first I had fun but later on, I wanted to quit karate when I reached the purple belt. I had thought of quitting because it was getting too hard. My mom encouraged me to keep going, and I did. I had also talked to Sensei Mike about quitting and told him how nervous I was and felt that I didn’t fit in. He never gave up on me.

Black Belt Degree Classes 

He had also encouraged me to continue attending the class. He once said, “quitters never win”. So here I am, doing my black belt degree testing. I admit, Sensei Mike was a bit scary at the start because of his loud thundering voice but when I earned higher belts, I started to understand why he did that. He was trying to teach us about discipline and perseverance.

I had gained confidence and focus by learning self defense and sparring techniques. It increased my balance, dexterity and hand-eye coordination through the weapons and kickboxing training. We were taught using weapons responsibly and not for playing.

There were three weapons I had learned to use:  the  Bo Staff, Nunchucks, and Komas. I felt more confident using the Bo Staff as compared to the other weapons. Another lesson I learned from karate class is that you don’t have to fight in order to be considered brave and strong. Karate had taught me about self control and to never hurt anybody purposely unless it is for self defense.

You can just practice and practice and never give up. Sensei Eric taught us tips on how to be snappy, fast kicks and punches, and having good re chamber which amazed me. Sensei Steve made sure the  children learn the proper karate techniques and still have fun. Young and playful, he showed us cool tricks with the weapons. We also do board breaking every 3 months. I was so nervous during my first board breaking experience.

I thought that I was going to get hurt or something. I had learned there could be different techniques on breaking a board. We can use different parts of our body without hurting ourselves using proper techniques. As I did more board breaking, I was ready to do a thick board which is triple the thickness of the thin ones. Although it took me a couple tries to break it, I did it. It was one of my great achievements. I had worked hard to get up here.

There is a stripe week once a month and we earned a black stripe if we showed improvement. Then after acquiring several black stripes and proving we are ready, we  are promoted to the  next belt. I had to do a specific number of push ups as part of the requirements  to fully acquire my other belts. I also developed a good bond and  team work with other kids in the studio.

Black Belt Role Model

I tried to be a role model to the younger kids. I helped other students  with the katas and gave them tips on what they can work on. It takes courage, self discipline and perseverance  in order to get your black belt degree. Nothing is easy if one does not work hard for it.

The benefits of learning martial arts are life changing and possibly life-saving. We are also taught to be well rounded individuals, that we do not excel only in extracurricular activities but also academically as well. I was once awarded as Student of the Month in my middle school and Amerikick also awarded me with a patch for my uniform. We earned a patch for good grades and positive works.  One thing is for sure, the skills and values I learned through Amerikick will stay in me & my entire life.

Amerikick karate program , Black Belt , Black Belt degrees  , Amerikick , amerikick.com/br/  , Physical exercise , push ups , stamina, strength  endurance

Being a black belt means to me that I have gone through very hard challenges. I had to do push ups, sit-ups, burpees, and many more self defense techniques to get to the level of the black belt. Also being a black belt means to me that I have gotten stronger and stronger throughout the years.
Being a black belt means to me that I have
become stronger in using my brain. It means that I have better knowledge and better reflexes. I could have better reflexives
because from the self defense techniques I have to act quick. also from sparing I need to now how to block or else I could get kicked or punched in the face.

Also it means to me that it will help me in the future. It could help me in the future because since I know karate it could give me confidence, because I know how to act quick and if I did get in a fight I would be able to win. Karate has given me the self discipline to work hard for the five years I have been doing karate. Also it has give me the courage to face my test and my tournaments. It has also taught me the ability to be honest to my friends and family and to everybody I know.

It also means that I am very proud of myself. I am proud because I have stuck with karate for many years and I never gave up. Sports just go every season but karate never stops. When I was a white belt I thought I could never get this high. It has been a long road to get to this stage and I never stopped.
My black belt represents the people I have meet on my journey. My other fellow students all share my love of karate and my senseis are the people I look up to. Someday I would like to assist in teaching karate or evening being the leader of the class.

It was fun to meet all the senseis in the dojo and senseis from other dojos. It was also fun to meet the other students and get to know them. It also means that now I have more friends to hang out with and I get to know more people.

Also I have learn to use the bo staff so I can defend myself. That means If I ever get into a situation I could find something shaped like a staff and use that. Also with the weapons, I get to perform with the demo team and that is very fun. Also when I travel to color belt tournaments I always do my katas and that makes it even more fun.
Being a black black also means that I still have a long journey ahead and I will not give up now. I still have more katas to learn like short 1, short 2, long 1, and long 2. Also I still have many more bo staff tricks to learn. I have way more self defense techniques to learn, some that I don’t even know exist.

That what it means to be a black belt to me.

I have been taking karate for five years. Throughout those five years, I have learned a lot. I haven’t only learned how to defend and protect myself if needed, but I have grown so much more as a person. Five years ago, I was a small, ten year old who was coming home everyday crying because of the way people were treating me. I didn’t want to go to school, gymnastics, or anywhere because I thought everything they said was true.

My sister started karate a few years before me, so I had to watch her take classes. I watched her go through little dragons classes all the way up to advanced classes. When school was out, one day I decided to test out a class. I thought it would be good for me after everything that did happen and would’ve happened that year.

After my first week of classes, I realized I liked it so much more than I expected to. I loved the positive environment, the way I was being taught, and the people who were there. Eventually those people would be some of my favorite people for so many reasons. These people not only taught me basic kicks and punches, but how to be okay with myself and not to worry about what other people think.

As soon as I got my purple belt, Sensi Dennis kept pushing me to compete in my first tournament. He wanted me to get more comfortable in that type of setting, so eventually he could put me on both the color belt and black belt team. He saw that I was motivated and showed a lot of potential. That meant a lot to me, so I went out and competed. Since it was my first tournament and I wanted to do my best, I went out and I competed Amerikick 3 even though I

was a purple belt. I got first place in forms and weapons. That first competition showed me that I am able to be the best when I am confident.

Throughout my five years of training, I have taught myself to be confident, have personal control, and to try as hard as I could to focus. As a black belt, I think that you need to have all of these qualities. These qualities will help you train a lot harder and become the best you can be. A black belt needs to be the best they can be because that is what a role model does. In being a black belt and having those qualities will make you have the right mentality for not only karate, but the real world. You need to have these qualities in school, work, and when it comes to being social in society.

A black belt needs to be many things. One major thing that a black belt must obtain is being a role model. A black belt is a role model to all the little dragons, beginners, and even the advanced kids. Everyone will look up to a black belt because of the way they act.

Black belt is very important, it signifies that you did not give up during your training as an amerikick member, when you were a white belt, to your black belt testing. Black belt also signifies that you know Amerikick techniques and katas and that you understood them correctly. Black Belt is very important to me because all of my hard work as being a red belt or a belt lower then that will start to pay off.

Black belt also shows that you are capable of demonstrating to the instructors properly without fooling around, and shows respect. Being a Black belt is a very important role, you have to remember how to do techniques and katas and short forms your sensei tells you to demonstrate, so being a black belt can be kind of stressful at times.

Being a Black belt also can just mean it’s just a step to a longer path. After black belt, there are still things to do, it’s not like after black belt you are done with karate, you can level up from junior black belt to senior black belt or higher than senior black belt. Being a red belt, or lower belt, you have to practice to become a black belt and for the sensei’s to see if you are ready or not to do the black belt training or if you need more time. Black belt is like a key to something greater in my eyes, to train even harder.

As a black belt, you have a high level of respect and recognition by other classmates in your karate class. Black belt also signifies that you are good at your forms, which is another huge skill that black belts must have. Black Belt’s forms should be perfect and on point, they should not look bad, that ruins the purpose, Black Belts also should be very flexible when they are doing forms or just warming up, they should be very flexible. As a black belt, you should be able to defend yourself properly, and use what your sensei’s have taught you if a bully is picking on you or someone is teasing you, or you are out on the street and someone grabs you and drags you with them, you should be able to defend yourself. Black belts also have to have a lot of focus, if they are in a life-threatening situation, they should be able to focus and not fool around and use what they learned in class and put it to use in real life.

Being a black belt is very important and can carry quite a burden, but you have to train a lot to get better, to identify your mistakes and train to make them better and to focus a lot, give respect to your sensei’s and judges, and you have to thank them. Being a black belt has a lot of responsibility and a lot of respect attached to it, and is quite rewarding when you are a black belt. In conclusion, Black belt means you have to have good form, to be respectful to sensei’s and to focus and to practice.

Over the past few months, I have written many essays for college applications. For each one, I was confined to defining my entire personality in 500 words or less. During this process, I had to ask myself what makes me who I am. This is when I realized that all of my answers somehow related back to things I have learned in my 8 years of martial arts. The journey began when I was a white belt, but I have retained so much more in the most recent four years than I did in the first.

Attaining a black belt takes determination, perseverance, and hard work, however the real challenges come after this goal is accomplished. Many people stop taking karate after they become a black belt because that was the only reason why they continued. I chose to continue because I genuinely enjoyed karate and could not imagine giving it up yet. I look forward to each class and learning new things. Initially, black belt class seemed like a new world that I was afraid to enter, but now it has become a home for me. While the curriculum remains generally the same, the class itself is more like an independent study than kids’ class. We get to choose what skills to practice heavily, we get to choreograph our own combos, we get to have input on what to learn that day. I had always loved the freedom to work on whatever trick or combo that I wanted to master next, and I loved that, as a black belt, I was treated as a more mature student.

In the time since I received my senior black belt, I have also been able to adopt a stronger leadership position. I was now one of the higher ranks in black belt class. I was the role model for the new black belts. Six months after I earned my senior black belt, it was time for my younger brother to test for his. It was my task to help him prepare; to teach him the new self-defense techniques and give him tips on how to make his katas stronger. This was my first experience in a sensei role, and it served as a vote of confidence that I can be a strong leader as well as a student.

Wow, since I earned my black belt back in June of 2018, the entire world has been ripped apart and dragged in the mud.  In my previous essay, I discussed the hope that with the belt around my waist, I would be part of a brotherhood/sisterhood similar to when I was a volunteer fireman.

Fortunately that has come true, or at least as much as it could have with COVID disrupting life for the majority of the time I have been a blackbelt. I am reminded every time I strap on my belt, how much I don’t know and have yet to learn. Even with the basics, I now see how small adjustments to stances, hand positions, weight distributions can make the difference between a successful attack and/or defense combination. It feels like the start of martial arts maturity that I did not truly appreciate a few years ago. I can only imagine where I could be if COVID hadn’t stolen many months from this development. I look forward to continuing to work on continued maturity and continuing to develop not just skills, but a full complete knowledge of the art.

The black belt is not the end, but the beginning of a lifelong journey. As I continue to train, I’m constantly humbled by the depth of martial arts. Each day brings new challenges and opportunities to grow. I’m excited to see where this journey takes me.

Some concepts that come to mind when I hear the words ‘black belt’ are courage, honesty, and respect. I want to be a black belt to show younger students how to get to the level I have reached and show them how to defend themselves. I watch the sensei’s teach other children and that is why I practice my katas and my techniques on my brother as much as possible. I want to teach kids just as well as the sensei’s do and have those children learn something new every day. I also do katas on the demo team and I love the opportunity to work on karate individually and with a partner. I am glad I have the opportunity to do sparring, muay thai, and boxing because it makes me stronger and it makes me want to work harder. I also do a weapon in a demo and I have the nicest partner and we are both advancing at nunchucks. I work on my nunchucks routine as much as possible. I also love working with new people because it helps us socialize.

I enjoy doing katas because they can help me learn something new about karate such as a new kick or punch. And by learning katas I can teach others how to do them. I am glad that I am not alone at karate though because I like to have at least one person that I know. That way I can meet people that they know and then I will get to know people better. I personally love to learn new things in karate. When I go into karate classes, I see sensei’s teaching and I ask myself “is this something I want to do?” I think the answer is YES! I am driven to show younger students what I can do so that they know that they can do it too. I want to encourage them to try harder just like other sensi’s do. It has been nice practicing with my brother because I know him the best more than anyone in the studio. I also love when things get challenging because my brain works harder and it makes me stronger. Karate is teaching me to work hard and set goals so I get stronger and sharper at karate. I also love accomplishing my goals because It makes me want to set more.

I pay attention in class so I get every direction. It is important to focus when you are in karate because you can easily get caught off guard and not know how to do something. And if you are a black belt you may not get the direction more than once. I want to be as strong and as patient as sensei Mike because he is an amazing teacher and has been waiting and working hard to earn all of his belts. I’d also like to thank Brad for running the demo team and for being a great role model. Most of all, I want to thank Sensei Sherry and Sensei John for running the karate studio. I want to thank all the sensei’s for teaching me how to be Courageous, Honest, and Respectful!

I should show honesty and respect to everybody and be nice.  A black belt takes lots of responsibility like teaching a class.  It takes writing an essay, practicing thirty push ups non stop, fifty lunges, fifty squats, and techniques and a whole lot more. 

I should do my katas nice, not sloppy. I should not get distracted or talk to anyone else when a sensei is talking.  I must be loud and strong, not low and looking at the floor. I have come so far from learning a front kick to almost getting a black belt. It is such a big step forward.

It’s like being one year old and having a career. For my whole life I have wanted to be a sensei and here is my chance to do that. When I tried to learn to do my sword flip and I thought I would never do it then boom I flicked on like a light switch now I feel I have conquered the sword flip.

I can’t wait to test. It is so exciting because this means a lot. All the work I have done so far has been for this moment. I practice every day. It is a lot of work. I think being a black belt is cool at least in my opinion they are.  It is hard to spar but during the test I’m gonna do the best I can, and with everything else, I think I will be fine hopefuly.

But I think the 30 pushups is a huge challenge. I practice all the time so when I test I am the strongest I can be. Every day I think of the testing. I’m scared to test but I will accept the challenge. I go to the studio every Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Those days I do not one, but two classes. This experience is teaching me how to set short and long term goals.

I like how it makes me feel when I reach and accomplish my goals. I thank my parents for showing us the studio and signing us up for karate. Amarikick is keeping us all healthy and we show our parents our katas and techniques, so we are strong when we do testing. I look up to sensei Mike because he has a lot of patience and he always makes class fun and enjoyable and he always has a smile on his face.

You can tell he loves what he does. I look up to Sensei Brad because he is our main instructor for demo and he inspires me to one day teach class as well as he does. Sensei John because I want to be able to jump as high as he can and he is good at making us get our katas and techniques down properly so they are nice when we do them.

Sensei John and Sherry because they opened up the studio and I would not be here if the studio was not opened. After this I will not be done setting goals yet. After I achieve this goal I’ll set a new one getting my senior black belt. I can’t wait.

THANK YOU ALL FOR HELPING ME ACHIEVE MY GOAL!