Wednesday, May 7, 2014

The Journey Begins

The date is May 7th, 2014.

I am twenty three, to be twenty four next month. Like most twenty-somethings fresh out of college, I've recently struggled with getting my bearings. Job hunting, considering graduate school, working and trying to find some sort of direction have all made this first year of "adulthood" pass by like a bad hangover. I have until now been very hesitant to make any sort of decision regarding what I want to do with my life. Nothing has really struck me as better than anything else, and making a choice would feel like turning my back on any number of opportunities.

I have spent a significant amount of my time lamenting over my options and my indecision. In an effort to take a step forward, I have been trying to evaluate what it is that is important to me and how I can use this information to make sense of my situation. This recently came to a head in several ways, one of which is this blog.

Today, I became inspired during a discussion with a friend of mine. With my advice and support, he recently turned his lifestyle around and has gone from a depressed, 250+ lb unemployed man to one of the greatest success stories of fitness and mental health I have had the joy of knowing. One of the passions he and I share is combat. He practices weapon fighting (his current favorite being the naginata) frequently and has a keen interest in traditional martial arts, whereas I have practiced Tang Soo Do, a traditional Korean martial art, since I was five. It was the knowledge and experience I gained from this history which allowed me to help him find his direction and focus, which caused me to think that perhaps the key to those things for myself lay there as well.

Thus, I began to think about where I stand as a martial artist. I have practiced sparingly over the last several years, I am out of shape, and I have never competed in a tournament. I have, however, achieved the rank of third degree black belt. In Tang Soo Do, my next test would gain the title of 'Master', but there are some politics between myself and that test. While my instructor could test me and give me the degree and title, it wouldn't be "official".

So where does that leave me? Well, it leaves me with ground to cover, that's for sure. But merely using the training as a side activity will make it just that much easier for me to fall into my old habits of slacking off. If it's just a thing to do, I may not do it. What I have always had a knack for, however, is taking things to extremes. The more absurd I make my task or goal, the longer I tend to stick with it, which finally brings me to this blog.

I am going to begin training to become a world class martial artist. I will eat, sleep, and breath this goal. Within what I can do, I am going shoot for being the best martial artist in the world.

And I'm going to put my progress right here.

Thus begins my journey. I am excited and a little scared. This blog makes me accountable to something more than just my own conscience, which is more pressure I've had associated with my training since I entered high school.

Today is May 7th, 2014. It is the day I take the first step.

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