A four year old stepped confidently onto the mat at the karate studio. The warm spring breeze that was blowing through the open door had relaxed him. He was small and quiet, yet he had a fierce look in his eyes. He walked directly toward his master who was holding a plank of wood. As though he had rehearsed it a thousand times, he bowed to his master, took a step back, and swiftly sliced the solid piece of wood with the edge of his foot. He bowed once again and his master silently nodded back in approval; the child calmly retreated off the mat.

Walking onto the mat for the first time, my nerves took over my body. I trembled as I tried to introduce myself to my teacher, Master Voelker. “My name’s Brian. I want to learn karate”. “Well you’ve come to the right place,” he exclaimed, “come on over and join this class”. The other students towered over me; I was the youngest kid at the karate studio. As we warmed-up and stretched together I wondered how the other kids were able to bend in the ways they could; they were so flexible! As we began to train I was amazed at the ability of my classmates. Some could easily kick higher than their own head while others could strike the punching bag with enough force to completely knock it over. I could hardly punch the bag without hurting my hands, and I was nowhere near flexible enough to kick over my head. I closely examined the other students as they trained, watching and learning. I stayed to myself and tried not to get in the way. Nobody knew who I was and I had no intention of trying to make friends.
“What made you decide to take Tang Soo Do classes?”, Master Voelker asked. “I want to break wood, get a big trophy, and get a black belt”, I answered. I was only a couple of days into training and I already had substantial goals. I worked harder and harder, day after day. After a year of training and competing in local competitions, I was soon on my way to the New England Tang Soo Do Championships. I had never felt so excited before. I was no longer nervous like I had been on my first day of training. The skills I learned within a year were enough to earn me two silver medals at the competition. “Can I go to karate today?”, I began to ask my parents. I was motivated to train more often because I wanted to do better at the next competition.
“Faster Brian, run faster!”. I can hear the shouts from all angles around me. My legs feel as though they are about to stop moving, but I am nowhere near the finish line yet. As my body tells me that it’s time to quit, my mind flashes back to the eight years I spent taking karate classes. I remember the voice of Master Voelker telling me not to give up while I was struggling to finish the set of push-ups or sit-ups at the end of training. I think back to the hours and hours I spent meditating in order to be mentally tough. I grew disciplined and strong over the years of training. I am only a quarter of the way done with my 800m and I am as focused as ever before. I attempt to relax my body while physically pushing myself to the limit. The cheers from my teammates are drowned out by my intense level of concentration. I am finally on the last and most difficult lap. Nobody is near me, yet I continue to force my body to move faster. I cross the finish line in first place and slowly begin to regain my normal state of mind. Although I learned my habits of mental toughness, discipline, and focus from martial arts, I continue to demonstrate these characteristics in the activities that I participate in today.