Essays for Black Belt , livre ebook

Andrews UK - Tom Hill

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43 pages

English

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Students have to prepare and present an essay on what being a Black Belt means to them as part of their grade. Here are twenty such essays.

Informations

Publié par	Andrews UK
Date de parution	11 avril 2012
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781781661918
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0074€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Title Page
ESSAYS FOR BLACK BELT

By
Tom Hill

Publisher Information
Essays for Black Belt published in 2012 by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published, and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Copyright © Tom Hill
The right of Tom Hill to be identified as author of this book has been asserted in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyrights Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Acknowledgements
My thanks as always to:
Tony Christian 7th Dan Goju, Who first taught me Goju Karate.
Paul Perry 9th Dan Jin Sei Kai Shotokan Karate (Black belt hall of fame UK) who greatly improved what I had learned.
My thanks also to the students of Goju.co.uk Club – who are my friends and constant educators. Also ‘thank you’ in particular to Alan Keegan 6th Dan who has been my faithful student and assistant for over 34 years.

Introduction
My name is Tom Hill now in my sixties; I am the Chief Instructor of Goju.co.uk.
Over the past 39 years I have trained and taught in the Martial Arts from the age of 21 and have specialised in self defence and fitness. Training for about 8 to 10 hours per week during that time, pretty much non-stop. My club has about 20 to 30 members of all adult ages and a few of my students have been with me for over 30 years.
My main experience is Goju (hard soft) Karate I have also trained in Shotokan Karate, Jujitsu and many other styles and systems and have incorporated anything that I think works into this our system Goju.co.uk - much was already there - it was simply a case of finding it anew.
I have been lucky enough to have trained with many world famous Masters of Martial Arts from the East and more influentially from this Country.
Over the years I have trained Door Security Personnel, Soldiers, Detectives, Policemen, Boxers, Wrestlers, Ju Jitsu Practitioners, Barristers, Prison Warders, Businessmen, all manner of sports people and fitness fanatics, other Karate styles, other Instructors and other Martial Arts practitioners too numerous to mention.
Our club has been operating three times a week for 34 years. To obtain ‘Shodan’ a first degree Black Belt in our club - along with a very rigorous grading and a considerable amount of time training, usually about 5 years of 3 two hour sessions a week, the students have to prepare and present an essay on what being a Black Belt means to them.
The purpose of this is not only to help the student consider their motives for training and think carefully about their goal. It is also to help weed out any students who may have a violent nature or a mental problem previously missed.
Their essays have always been an eye opener to me and my fellow instructors when we have read them and much about a student can only be learned and understood by this interesting exorcise.
Reading them again years later they still have the power to entertain and enlighten. A few of these students are still with the club, others have stopped training.
It would be easy to claim they are simply essays in flattery to gain the grade, yet the students know this would perhaps have the opposite effect, if tried - However, I do not think simple flattery works in this case - decide for yourself.
The date by the name is the date of the Grading the students may have done many years of training prior to this date.
Here are the Essays of the students applying for Shodan (Black belt - first degree).

Ian
What Karate means to me
It’s difficult to remember why exactly I began training in Karate. Looking back it was probably a combination of things. I had not really taken part in any sport or physical activity since leaving school at 15 years of age. By the time I was 17 I was in a bit of a mess, smoking, going down the pub all the time and hanging around with the wrong crowd getting into trouble! About that time the first Bruce Lee movies started to come out Like many other young lads was impressed and thought I’d like to be able to do all that stuff in a few weeks. Little did I know!!
I went along to join a Karate class at a local community centre. The instructor was Sensei Des Head, at the time a 3 rd Dan in Sankukai and a student of Nanbu Sensei. I trained with Des for several months and passed 9th Kyu, but I was not too serious about Karate and sort of drifted out. I did not go back, but something in me kept nagging away, I guess I had been “bitten by the bug!”.
A friend of mine and I went along to Grovehill Community Centre and joined Tom Hill’s club. My friend did not go back, but I did.
The training at Grovehill in those days was a bit like the Wild West, but all as young lads enjoyed it. Several months after joining Tom’s club I had a motorcycle accident and broke my wrist. This stopped me training for a while until I bumped into Tom at a friend’s wedding reception. Of course he gave me a good nagging finishing with his favourite phrase “Get back training!” To which I replied like Arnie “I’ll be back “Tom thought” I’ll believe it when I see it”. Something within me changed when I went back. Gradually I became much more serious about Karate and started for the first time to understand the meaning of dedication.
At Tom’s suggestion I started the junior class at Grovehill in 1984 and found what I believe to be my vocation. I now teach professionally, mostly to children in schools and clubs. The children I teach have often found something in which they can excel as individuals. After much struggling mentally and spiritually and physically the changes in the youngsters self esteem and confidence ranges from surprising to miraculous. People with special needs appear to benefit immensely.
Karate is unique. It constantly challenges and shapes you, making you come face to face with your own weaknesses and insecurities, you only have two choices, to overcome them or give in. Every time you overcome them you become stronger and more positive. This is not only a great personal realization and benefit; it is also a valuable gift to share with others.
Karate is a jewel of many facets, encompassing self defence, fitness, artistic expression, social bonding, improved flexibility, strength, posture, correct breathing, stress relief and peace of mind. From a purely physical point of view Karate is the most efficient system I have ever seen. Many sports and activities, for example football, have a relatively short life span, most players are all but finished by 35 - 40. People I have trained with in Karate just seem to keep improving with age and experience. There are some superb masters still training and enjoying vigorous good health well into their advanced years, good news for us old duffers like me!
Peace of mind can only come with the confidence provided by the ability to resist tyranny in all its forms. Socially the friends you make in the Dojo become your best friends. They usually have similar objectives and beliefs, doing their best to follow the Dojo Kun, set them apart from other people.
In conclusion Karate not only keeps me fit mentally, spiritually and physically , it makes me see things in a very positive light, striving to learn, become, and achieve more. It enriches my life so much that Karate is undoubtedly the best decision I have ever made in my life!

Alan K
What Karate means to me
I am 34 years old “Marketing Manager” with a computer software company who has reached the level of Shodan in Goju Ryu.
I stated training at Grovehill Karate Club in October of 1979. Eighteen months previously I had left school, where I had been involved in many different sporting activities. Unfortunately these activities promptly stopped when I started work and discovered beer. I soon realized that my weight was increasing in proportion to my decreasing general fitness and quickly decided something had to be done!
Many years previously, I had joined a Karate club which I thoroughly enjoyed, but unfortunately the club closed after just a few months. Some close friends of mine were already training at the Grovehill Karate Club and it was a combination of their enthusiasm, together with my limited experience of Karate and the need to get fit, which brought me to Grovehill.
For the last seventeen and a half years I have been training at Grovehill with Sensei Hill. As a result of this training, I have noticed many changes in both my physical appearance, health and psychological outlook, which I believe are for the better.
It has become apparent that although I started Karate as a means to keep fit, this is no longer my main incentive for continuing to train. For me it is far more the “art” or “way” of Karate, which embodies dedication, skill, respect of one’s self and others as well as a constant need for improvement of technique, knowledge and attitude.
When I first started training I was unaware of the difference between styles. I soon learnt that Goju meant “hard-soft” but the understanding behind the term is ongoing. My earliest recollections of training are very hard, challenging sessions which were exhausting both physically and mentally. Over the years both the experience and knowledge have gained I now realize that it is the content of training which must also change in accordance with ability. There have been varying styles which have influenced the training at Grovehill over the years; these have given the club members and myself an excellent open-minded approach to the martial arts and other