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From a ‘near Quitter' to ‘nearing my Black Belt'

As I write this blog, I am knocking on the doors of my Martial Arts Black Belt Promotion. Although the date has not been fixed yet but it's likely to happen sometime in July this year. The attainment of Black Belt is a big event in any Martial Artist's life. This is more so because Black Belt symbolizes the years of hard work that has gone into practicing the Art. As I reflect back on my own journey now, it gives me a tingling sensation in my body and a sense of pride. Also, I am left in a feeling of total awe in how the events have played in my life. Let me put that in words for you.

It was my Class X school holidays in India that time, when one day in the neighborhood park, my friend and I saw this group of young boys dressed in all black, practicing their drills. A majority of the group were from Afghanistan including the Teacher. Me and my friend, on our morning walk, just sat on one of the park benches and watched in amazement as the young boys did their drills which included punching, kicking, flying kicks, stretching, practicing their forms etc.

I was growing up those days on watching Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee movies and a desire to
model my On-screen Heroes by becoming a part of this group, began to take root in my heart. Being a shy and reserved kid in those years, I lacked the courage to join this group or even to ask which style of Martial Arts these boys were practicing. Therefore, I just accompanied my friend who asked the only Indian guy in the group regarding the Arts Style and the classes, fees per month etc. We learned that this particular form of Martial Arts was the ‘Ana-towa' style of Kung Fu which originated in Iran and then travelled to Afghanistan and other parts of the world.

After getting the required information, my friend and I decided that we would discuss it with our family and get the required fees by the coming Monday and join the group. My brother was very supportive of me and helped convinced my parents to give me the fees to join the group. By Monday, I had already paid the required fees and joined the group whereas my friend said he needed more time to convince his parents. I felt being left alone as I needed his presence to help make me feel more comfortable. By the next class, my friend totally backed out citing the reason that his parents were concerned for his safety and would not allow him to enter such a dangerous sport. By this stage, my morale hit rock bottom in his absence.

Anyway, I started with the group reminding myself of my On-screen Heroes. My stamina and physical conditioning was very poor at that time and I was carrying big layers of fat around my belly which made doing the basic exercises a big struggle. My whole body would shake when I used to do the stretches and ache afterwards at home. My fellow students made fun of me and once one of them remarked that I was like a big fat woman.

Things were already looking tough for me and these remarks and being reminded in this way did not feel good at all. Wednesday classes were a real challenge for me as the drills were really tough like the ones done by army commandos of jumping over each other and landing on the shoulders in such a way as to get a thrust forward ready to attack the opponent in front. All these factors, made me decide that this was not for me and I will quit once I use the fees paid for the month. This was necessary as my parents were not financially too sound at that time and not finishing the month would get me scolding at home.

By the time the month was coming to an end, I began to see some silver linings which provided the much needed straw to hang on a little longer. That little hope came from the Saturday classes which were dedicated to Sparring where everybody used to sit in a circle and then 2 students pointed out by the teacher would get up and fight with no protection whatsoever. Often times, somebody would get hurt. It was during one of these fights that I realized one of my strengths in my long reach with my kicks. I was quite tall at that time and my kicks had improved with my teacher's help. I realized that with my long legs and kicks, I could keep the young Afghani boys, who had superior upper body strength as compared to mine, away from me and often time frustrate them leading to making silly mistakes. I began to enjoy the Saturday classes from then onwards and would look forward to them. I started gaining respect from my fellow students and began interacting with them more.

The month passed by and I instead of quitting, found myself paying another month's fees just to try for another month. My strategy for getting by was to avoid turning up on Wednesday when the exercises were out of my league but making sure I attended the Monday and the Saturday classes. The funny thing which happens when you persist with something long enough is that you start getting better at it and use that confidence to overcome other challenges. This happened with me as well while getting better in my forms and the Saturday Sparring sessions, I took that confidence to my Wednesday classes. After a few classes of getting hang of the right techniques, I became good at them also. But still, I continued on a month-by-month basis for a few months not fully committing to the Arts.

Another thing happened during this time, which made my commitment more stronger to my Arts. My brother's College friend joined the classes because of his interest and I used to get ample of opportunities to teach him the techniques of the form from time-to-time. Also, a few Indian boys coming to the park often for other sports also joined and I got more involved in assisting my Teacher to teach them the forms. I continued learning this style of Kung Fu for the total period of nearly 2 years when in the Class 12th, I took a break due to my study reasons for a few months. Afterwards, I came to know that the group got dismantled as most of the students and my Teacher moved to Canada. But by this time, the love and respect for Martial Arts was deeply rooted in my heart and I was thankful for the physical benefits, I enjoyed from practicing it.

After coming to Australia in early 2004 to do my Master's degree, I continued to go for long walks and practice my style of Martial Arts in the parks. In early 2005, I made a decision to join either a Gym or a Martial Arts Academy. This was mainly due to 2 reasons: first being that I had witnessed a couple of friends I used to live with not taking care of their health on a daily basis suffered serious low back pain. Also, by this time, I had saved enough money by working long hours in my University holidays to cover my fees for the coming semester and more. I was very conscious of the fact that being away from my family, I need to look after my health well as any bad news about my health would lead them to worrying for me.

After some research into a few Gyms and Martials Arts Academies, I decided to join ‘Six Harmonies Kung Fu Academy' (http://www.sixharmonies.com.au/) run by Shifu Stuart Holdsworth on the St. Kilda Road near the Junction. From the very 1st moment, I entered the Academy, I fell in love with it. The ambiance, the friendliness of everyone and the Competence of the Teacher are a few highlights which attract almost anyone who enters the Academy for the very 1st time and continue to do so the more a student spends time being a part of the Academy over the years.

It has been a wonderful journey all these years being a part of the Six Harmonies Family. In total, I have spent 5 years with breaks in between due to family and work reasons ranging from 2 months to as long as 4 months. Under Shifu's able leadership, I have tried to embody a lot of principles like the Traditional Martial Artists a few of them being humility, respect, self-control, perseverance, laser like focus, managing my state of mind etc. I believe that joining Six Harmonies has been one of the best decisions of my life and a great investment to my Health.

As I approach my Black Belt, I continue to work harder in terms of time and effort and studies, I put everyday in my Art. I plan to post photos on my blog of my Black Belt ceremony. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this video, which is from my September 2008 Gradings while performing the "Black Tiger Form", which I had edited in the way of putting in the background music from ‘Backstreet Boys' just to add a little zest to the mix.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1svw1Eu5ww

Coaching Inquiries: What is one of the activities you were not good at and you nearly quitted? How has that experience turned out to be over the years? What silver linings or strengths you discovered along the way when you persisted with it that has helped you to pull through? Who has been your teacher or mentor to guide you to being your "Best Self"?

About the Author

I am the founder of Jasbinder Gulati & Associates based in Melbourne (Australia). I am a Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Life Coach and a Trained Wellness Coach. I work with individuals who want to loose unwanted fat, gain high energy and reach their peak performance in life and work using primarily strength based approaches. I can be contacted via email at jasbinder@gmail.com or by calling my mobile at (61) 0423710171.

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