This past weekend, I achieved my black belt in Kyuki-Do. I promoted along with 136 other martial artists by my side. Seven years of intense training culminated into four hours of sweat and hard work in a single day. I’ve spent over a third of my life waiting for this moment, and now I have finally reached my goal of being a black belt.

I first started martial arts about seven years ago. My dad was the first person to bring up the idea to me and my brother of joining some sort of self-defense, whether it be wrestling or martial arts. Both of us were eager to learn more about it. When I was younger, I was interested in the ninjas and samurai, so I thought that taking some sort of martial arts would be really exciting. At the time, our family was living in Virginia, and our school didn’t have a wrestling program, so we really only had one option to choose from. Not far from our neighborhood was a Taekwondo academy ran by Master Paul.

When I first joined, I had no idea what I was in for. When I put on my stiff uniform and belt for the first time, I knew I was in for a long ride. I began learning forms, which are a combination of blocks, kicks and punches. At the beginning, it was difficult to remember all of these new techniques being thrown at me, but, before I knew it, I had my next belt rank.

I trained in Taekwondo for around two years before we moved to Wisconsin. I was a little disappointed when I had to move because I needed to restart my training from scratch. I had earned my green belt in Taekwondo, but needed to start as a white belt when I joined Kyuki-Do after I moved here. However, I did not quit martial arts just because I had to restart everything. In fact, Amery happens to have a martial arts academy downtown that is no more than a five-minute drive from where I live. After a while of getting used to my neighborhood, I joined Kyuki-Do in 2012 and got my white belt for the second time.

My goal was now clear. It was to get the black belt. When I walked into the academy doorway I saw people in the classroom who knew a lot more than I did and had really high belt ranks. I watched them do kicks and techniques I wouldn’t think I could do ever do. The funny part is, when I look back, I realize I now know and can do all the stuff they had.

I have learned many things during my Kyuki-Do training, but, what is Kyuki-Do?  To keep it simple, it’s a form of martial arts that incorporates different traditional styles within its teachings. Believe it or not, there are quite a few different forms of martial arts. The ones that Kyuki-Do uses, however, are Judo, Taekwondo, Hapkido, and a little bit of Jujitsu.

Each form of martial art has its’ own meaning. Most commonly, the names refer to the “way/art” of doing something. For example, Judo translates to “the gentle way,” and it is the art of throwing. Taekwondo translates to “the foot/fist way” and is the art of punching and kicking. Finally, Hapkido translates to “the energy way” and is the art of joint locks and pressure holds. These three arts make up the family of Kyuki-Do. Kyuki-Do itself means “spark” or “explosion.” It was first created back in 1967 by Grand Master Ok Hyung Kim, who traveled to the United States from his homeland of Korea.

One time in my training I took a long break from attending classes for summer vacation. When I came back to Kyuki-Do, I had forgotten a lot of stuff and I had to relearn a few things. It was really frustrating because I knew I was just lengthening the time it would take to get my black belt. The next summer, I did not forget to attend classes. I was taking classes three times a week and was rolling through the belt ranks faster than I ever was before. I reached my blue belt in 2014, which is special because it symbolizes the halfway mark to black belt.
In martial arts, belt ranks signify different levels of training and skills mastered, leading up to the last belt-the black belt.  The new student starts off with a white belt and has to earn multiple new belts of different color before they can achieve black belt. To get a new color belt, you must learn and show the required skills for the new rank through promotions. However, not all forms of martial arts have the same colored belts in the same order. Some academies have stripes on the belts and others just have a single solid color. In Kyuki-Do, the belts from lowest to highest are: white belt, white with yellow stripe, yellow, yellow with green stripe, green, green with blue stripe, blue, blue with brown stripe, brown, brown with red stripe, red, red with black stripe, and finally, the black belt.

Most people think that when you get a black belt there is no more to learn and achieve. This is not the case. The black belt in itself symbolizes the long journey the student has gone through and the never-ending growth of the mind, body, and spirit. Essentially, it means that after someone gets the black belt there’s still a lot more to learn/practice, and you can now strive for the next belt degree.

When you get your initial black belt you earn your first degree, or “Dan” in Korean. You are given a few years after you get the black belt to learn everything for the next big promotion where you can earn your 2nd Dan. The higher the degree of belt, the longer it takes to prepare for the next promotion. After you get your 5th Dan, you have earned the title of Master. Not many people continue martial arts to go on to get their master black belt. But it doesn’t stop there. When you become a Master, training is still not done and you can continue to get more and more degrees.

As you progress through the ranks, students have the opportunity to use different martial art weapons such as the bo staff, nunchakus, kali, and bokken. The bo staff is a long wooden stick that varies in height. The best ones for the practitioner are ones that stand at around their same height. Nunchakus are the original name for nunchucks. You can use two at once and there are three different types of material they are made in. I use wooden ones, but the other two are foam and metal. Kali are basically shorter versions of bo staffs. However, they are usually used in pairs and can be held with one hand. Lastly, the bokken is the name for the Japanese wooden training sword. Only black belts practice with a bokken. They are meant for training purposes only and are not sharpened.

After seven long years of training, perfecting my forms, using my weapons, and practicing my self-defense, I finally earned my black belt. I went down to the Kalahari in the Wisconsin Dells on November 4th and promoted on the 5th. At the Kalahari you are placed in a giant room with hundreds of other black stripes that are promoting along with you. You have to present everything you have been taught, but it’s mostly just for show.

Before you can actually attend the black belt promotion at the Kalahari, you have to go to three different “semi-promotions.” These are called black belt tests. The last test is called the black belt final and it’s the hardest promotion out of them all. You have to show everything you have learned in a single class which lasts around three to four hours. If the three tests are successfully completed, you must write an essay on why you want to be a black belt and what lessons you have learned along the way.

Throughout my path to earning a black belt, I have learned many things. The first is that that being in martial arts was not just about punching and kicking, but for self-defense. The main teaching in Kyuki-Do is that the skills you learn in class should only be applied in real-life situations when you absolutely have to. True martial artists practice self-control and learn how to avoid dangerous situations.

The next important thing I learned was that a black belt is just an ordinary belt that goes around your waist. BEING a black belt is when you realize that you have been through ups and downs, pushed past troubles along the way, and overall, you persevered and made it all the way to where you are now. The journey to become a black belt is not an easy one, but it was well worth the trip.