When I go up to someone and in conversation

The topic of my Black Belt comes up,

They ask me what martial arts I trained in

And when I tell them Karate, they scoff.

They immediately think of The Karate Kid,

And judge me on how stupid it seems.

But they have no clue.

They have no clue as to what went into my Black Belt.

Blood, sweat, and tears went into that Black Belt-

Almost six grueling years of dedication, and I am proud of myself.

They think that martial arts is a sport,

But they have no clue.

They don’t realize that once you dedicate yourself-

And I mean dedication by sacrificing almost everything-

You become the Black Belt. You become the martial arts.

After almost six grueling years of dedication, you can’t separate yourself from your achievement.

Blood, sweat, and tears went into that Black Belt-

And I have learned many, many lessons

Including how to ignore those ignorant people

That have no clue as to what went into that Black Belt.

They don’t think of martial arts as a lifestyle,

Because they see MMA on their TVs and think that that is truly how it is.

Martial arts as a lifestyle means pushing yourself to the brink in all that you do

So that you may do everything to your best ability.

Lifestyles vary, but the one that I have chosen

Allows me to welcome challenges with the shout that my dojo taught me- the shout of “Bring it on!”

It allows me to treat my body as a temple, and to set my own standards.  

My lifestyle has allowed me to ignore those people that have no clue what they are talking about.