Many people are infusing physical exercise and healthy habits as part of their lifestyle. I am not one of those people. Although I try to be careful around my diet, I always placed physical exercise as something you must do, and not something I could truly embrace, enjoy, and make part of my life.
The struggle I was facing over keeping a proper exercise habit, was reflected into my behaviour. Whatever activity I've been engaging into (e.g., running, swimming, going to the gym), would miserably fade after a couple of months, until I was out again.
At the age of 6, my oldest kid, joined Tae Kwon Do classes. But, after a few months, his motivation started to blur. I decided to do something about it. To ignite his interest, I thought it would be a nice approach to get into martial arts. Act as a role model for him and lead by example. Somehow make him feel we are mutually connected over a physical activity, where we could both share our experiences and progress together, treating each other as equals.
Without having a strong physical background and already walking over my 40s, the Tae Kwon Do teacher advised me over starting something more appropriate for my age, such as Kick boxing or Hapkido lessons. But eventually, it was Kung Fu, that I decided to finally embark on.
Building a better version of yourself
Kung Fu is one of the oldest martial arts. There is long history and philosophy, but there is one core principle that I really fell in love with.
It’s not about learning self-defence, kicking ass, or showing off your black belt. It’s about trying to become a better version of yourself. Training by training, day by day. The real enemy is you. It’s YOU the one you have to beat. By stretching your limits, bit by bit.
I cannot avoid relating martial arts with my personal ethics around career progression. And I can see a direct relation between becoming a Kung Fu Master and progressing from a Junior to a Senior position in the career ladder. So, let's see how the Kung Fu belt system could correlate with the professional growth at work.
White belt: A new beginning - Student Yellow belt: Curiosity - Intern Gold belt: Enthusiasm - Trainee Orange belt: Determination - Junior Green belt: Growth - Mid Blue belt: Control - Senior Purple belt: Strength - Staff Brown belt: Mastery - Principal Red belt: Leadership - Director Black belt: Maturity - C-level
You can’t fake it
We live in a world where everything is running faster and faster. And I see young people, entering the job market, constantly seizing opportunities, doing job hopping. Being impatient over making more and more money, or feeling ready to jump into higher impact roles, without having the proper solid ground and maturity to support such endeavours. I have interviewed people boasting leader/senior roles at their early 20s for crying out loud.
A nice written CV, with all the proper buzzwords catching the recruiter's attention, or having the soft skills to sell yourself during an interview, can take you to the fast career lane, whatever that means. But when into martial arts, you simply cannot fake it. Your body is fully exposed to your physical and mental limitations. And you have to fight it really really hard to prove yourself, before ascending to the next belt in the ladder. You have to earn it.
My advice to all the young people getting off school or academia is to take the hard path, the martial arts path. With hard work, persistency and determination, try to grow their skills, become the best on what they do. And when the time is right, they will stand on their feet with confidence and humility, and get it to the next level. This is how respect and trust is earned. And this is how seniority and true mastery is achieved.
So, here I stand before thee, onto a humble new beginning. After one year into martial arts, I am still a kid, staring at my two Shifu (Kung Fu teachers), thirsty for more. And I am gonna fight hard to make them proud.
