The Legend of the Perennial White Belt

No, this isn't a script for the latest martial arts blockbuster starring Jet Li. This is the story of my humble martial arts journey, from white belt to black belt and back again. It's a break from the music and art discussion that has dominated this blog so far, and yet another facet of my being.

I earned my first white belt in a Jukido dojo in Gooding, ID when I was 10 years old. I loved everything about the art—the flow, the camaraderie, the discipline. Jukido is similar to Jiu-jitsu with less emphasis on ground techniques and competition and more emphasis on practical self-defense. I earned a brown belt in Jukido sometime in high school. Things were going smoothly in my progression to Shodan. When I entered my Senior year of high school, Idaho’s Magic Valley, where I lived, was undergoing a Kokondo revolution, but not in a way that was good for Kokondo. Many of the instructors, including my sensei, were leaving the Kokondo system to study and teach Sanjiuriu Jujitsu instead. Many of the principles and techniques were the same, so I was able to earn a black belt in that art by the time I graduated high school. I practiced with my black belt for maybe 6 months before I went to college and abandoned it completely. The closest Sanjiuriu dojo was 15 miles away, classes were at night when I needed to study what I was paying good money to learn, I didn’t have a car, and public transportation did not exist. Thus ended my study of Sanjiuriu, and my shiny new black belt was relegated to the bottom of a drawer (it’s still there). Here's a picture from 1994 where I'm trying to remember what move comes next in that kata (Pinan Nidan?). Look at all that hair!

From 1993 through 1998 (while in college & grad school), I studied Judo, earning another white belt with ease. Eventually, that white belt turned brown, too. Judo is “the way of gentleness,” but don’t be fooled—it is an intense workout every session. In the Denver, CO area (where I lived from 1997-1999), Judo is taken very seriously. Many Colorado Judo-ka regularly travel to Colorado Springs to train at the Olympic Training Center. One positive aspect of Judo is that it trains grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, at full intensity. By the time I graduated from Colorado State in 1999, I was in the best shape of my life as I was training 2-4 nights per week in the dojo and hiking, climbing, or skiing on the weekends (in addition, of course, to my academic studies). Judo’s shortcomings lie in the fact that true self-defense techniques against punches, kicks, and weapons are not overtly taught until a student earns his or her black belt (though many would argue that most martial arts students do not start their true martial arts journeys until reaching Shodan). And in the end, Judo is largely about competition in tournaments, within a weight class. As most of us know, our opponents are rarely the same size as we are. One tournament I entered was an exception—we were ranked by our “Judo experience,” regardless of size, and I was beaten by a guy that easily outweighed me by 100 pounds because he was able to get hold of me and pick me up. So size does matter, when everyone is playing by the same rules.

After Fort Collins, I didn't do martial arts for a while. I drove to/from my job (getting a start on my career), climbed, mountain biked, and skied. I got married. I moved, three times--from Fort Collins to Boulder, from Boulder to Longmont, from Longmont to Los Alamos, NM. I had kids. I earned a third white belt in Shojin Ryu Jiu jitsu (which I really only did for a couple months). But recently, my martial arts journey has come full-circle.

A few months ago (after another hiatus...) I found a Kokondo dojo within a few blocks from my house. I took my 6-year-old son a couple times to see if he would be interested in learning. He was not. I didn’t push him, because it really didn’t appeal to him, and after all, I didn’t start my martial arts journey until I was 10. However, while I was visiting the dojo, Sensei Ridlon talked me into restarting my Kokondo studies (it didn't take much convincing). And so, after a 20-year journey, I was back to Kokondo—as a white belt. If you’ve been counting, you’ll recognize this as my fourth white belt. I could not in good conscience show up wearing any other color (even my Jukido Brown Belt from 20 years ago!) as I didn’t remember much of anything, Kokondo-wise, from my teenage years. Also, I spent most of my youth and teens learning Jukido techniques, and this is a Karate class (with a lot of kata). I’m having a blast, though, relearning techniques I’ve forgotten, training with people I’ve never trained with, and learning as much kata as I can stuff into my brain. Hopefully I can continue this Kokondo journey and be wearing a more colorful belt with pride once again.
 

Yet, isn’t starting anew the plight of the lifelong learner? Isn’t life’s journey a series of beginnings and endings? Should we not continue to seek new and important thoughts, ideas, and challenges? Should we not be open to the new opportunities that lie at our doorsteps? If we are not open to new thoughts, we cannot learn new things. We cannot grow. We need to keep the fires of curiosity alive. I’m proud of my four white belts as they reflect my desire to learn and explore new ideas and techniques, a willingness to embrace the opportunities that have appeared before my eyes. I hope you take this tale not as evidence for a lack of dedication to a single specific discipline, but as a notion to “go with the flow”—be open to change. To paraphrase Douglas Adams, although you may not go where you intended, you will end up where you need to be.  Even if, just as in many of our kata forms, it is back where you started.

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Postscript:  A few things have changed since I started this essay. My son recently started Brazilian Jiu jitsu, which he enjoys. Last night's practice looked like it was a blast, as he had a big grin on his face the entire time. As for me, after several months of practice and remedial work, I was reinstated as brown belt in Kokondo. In between berating me for forgetting everything from 20+ years ago, Sensei Ridlon has me teaching students how to fall and throw. It's been a blast, and I'm glad that martial arts are part of my life once again.

Have a great week!