Black Belts Don't Play Nice in the Sandbox

Sifu Dennis made a passing comment to me. “Black Belts don’t play nice in the sandbox.” A small off handed joke. Suddenly the epiphany strikes. How true is this. We are tough (mentally and physically), aggressive, we can turn it on or off, we have single minded determination and follow through, we set goals and expectations high, we strive to improve, we lead by whatever means we have, and we commit 100% to anything we choose to undertake. We “play for keeps”.

There are no funsies as a Black Belt. I’m not saying we don’t have fun, or that we don’t work with our partners, but that when we are executing that punch, we are just as focused as when we are performing that block. There is nothing else in the world besides what we are doing when we are doing it. You can actually see the expressions of the face and the language of the body change. It’s all or nothing, and it’s all about that one moment.

And that’s how we like it.