A very nice warm August day. Three black belt candidates. A distinguished panel of masters and instructors. The martial art of kempo jiu jitsu. Mix in 1.5 hours of exhausting cardio, 1+ hours of fighting (stand up, takedowns, grappling, snd submissions). Throw in some sticks and knives. Add kata, defense techniques, and a pile of grappling skills. Shake and mix well. End with a question and answer period of the candidates. What do you get? Another in a long line of Seika Ryu black belt tests that shall be storied in the candidates lives.
Ivan Rodriguez (adult nidan candidate), Shannon Foley (adult shodan candidate), and Mason Holt (youth shodan candidate) showed up, worked out, fought, demonstrated their martial arts, and tested their mental and physical abilities. The bruises, minor injuries, exhaustion, mental fatigue were significantly overshadowed by the inner-character and fire that has been forged over the years. The candidates, after 4.5 hours of grueling and demanding effort, at a black belt only testing, showed their metal… they never quit, even in the face of forced failures, and self-criticism. They stayd the course and each, in their own right, showed the panel what they were made of.
Although the candidates will not know whether they will receive their respective promotions until August 31st, they honored their families, their instructors, their fellow students, and themsleves, by putting forth their best efforts. As the saying goes, “Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failures, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that neither knows vicotory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt.
Here is to you Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Foley, and young Master Holt; you rank amongt those who dare mightily. Bravo!