Not everybody who starts karate knows what type of karate they are doing, let alone know what they want to achieve from karate.  

Some children join as they want to be the next ninja turtle or power ranger, or because it is a good after school activity to do. Some adults join for the weekly social aspect or for improving their fitness.

 But then, you have the rare few that know exactly what they want. They are the students that want to become a black belt. It is those students that begin their journey at the bottom of the karate mountain. However, these students are now faced with a difficult decision.

In front of them at the base of the mountain are two signs. The left one says quick path and has an arrow pointing straight up estimated time 1 year.

The sign on the right says long path and points to the right where there are winding stairs going around the mountain and says estimated time 3 – 5 years.

What path would you choose?

In today’s world, people no longer have patients and expect results quickly, no matter what and many believe that by paying for something they should receive something back in return very quickly.

Unfortunately, this is not the way of karate. Just because you pay for something does not necessarily mean you are going to get what you paid for.

There are many karate clubs out there, that teach for business purpose or for voluntary purposes. Some clubs will charge extortionate prices for lessons, suits, gradings and equipment and so on, allowing you to move very quickly up the mountain, as you have paid for that privilege.

So is It is possible that for those that decide to take the route on the left and head straight up the mountain, like a rock climber, will at some point reach the top and get their black belt. It is at this point that the student now believes that they are invincible, they tell everybody that they are a black belt and how good they are, and as there is nothing else to learn and they do not want to teach, they stop training.

At some point in their life just like a mountain climber, they will fall. They will eventually run into a confrontation and end up being put in their place, making them feel embarrassed and re-evaluating what had happened. But it is also possible that they may just get to black safely and never have any issues after?

For the student that decides to take the path on the right and walk around the mountain to the top, is it possible that they have time to absorb what they have been taught and ask questions evaluating on the way round, before reaching their next check point (criteria or grading)

Just because they have decided to take the long path does not necessarily mean that they too at some point will fall. But it is how you evaluate what has happened and learn to adapt to move forward that will eventually carry you to the top.

So, what happens at the top of the mountain?

The student that took the quickest way to the top, believes they are a black belt, and they know everything there is in karate, although truthfully, they are just at the top of the brown belt level and the very bottom of the black belt ladder, but even standing at the top of the mountain they can’t see what is awaiting up ahead.

For the student that took the long way to the top, they appreciate the reward more of earning that black belt, and upon there journey they have had time to reflect and evaluate. They know there is more to learn but they are not sure what that is. That is when they understand the mountain is actually a volcano.

The volcano then erupts forcing you back to the bottom of this mountain. The ash and rocks that are expelled through the air landing at your feet and all over the mountain become the new elements of karate that you never knew existed as they have been hidden lying dormant until now. it is these elements that can now be explored.

As you move up the mountain / volcano again you start to understand these new and advanced techniques and you start to link them with what you have already learnt and adapt them to other aspects of karate.

So, think about what path you want to choose and how long you want to take, remember it will take your whole life to learn karate and even then, you never stop learning.