The Path of Attaining a Black Belt
Currently, I am a blue belt in Judo. My goal is to become a black belt, and this
journal is meant to track, assess, and adjust my training to reach this goal. The
premise is whether an average 3X year old man can become a black belt in Judo.
I was inspired to log the progression of my training due to three reasons. First
of all, my 80+ year old Sensei recommended that we write down what we did in
training for future review. This is something Sensei had done in his younger
years which had helped his own development, and of course back then it was
just pen and paper.
Second, I was going to make this website anyways. Publicly posting my mistakes,
failures, and vulnerability helps me get over the reality that I'm not the best,
and I don't have to be. The battle is purely within myself, and failure is an
inevitable requirement of success. I aim to be a better version of myself,
physically and mentally.
Lastly, this idea was reinforced after watching a random video of Firas Zahabi
talking about goals and schedules. What is my goal, and what is my schedule?
By examining these simple questions, it can help provide the answer to whether
my training schedule is enough to reach my goal. If it can't, what do I need to
change? If it can, am I able to sustain this schedule on top of my other
responsibilities?
I plan to post rough notes of my training, and an overall review of my notes
to reinforce the learning as I continue. I may also occasionally write about
my reflections on what martial arts means to me, and why I believe it is
beyond mere physical combat between people.
