Karate + me, 6 years.

Welcome to my new karate blog. I don't really have any special goals with this blog other than to have somewhere to write about my experiences at karate.

As an introduction, my name is Jill and I've been training Shotokan karate off and on over the last 15 years, having actually physically trained for 6 of those years. I recently attained the rank of "shodan", aka 1st dan, aka 1st level black belt, and I am 32 years old.

My brother initially introduced me to the sport, having attained the rank of shodan prior to my starting training. Douglas ran a club of his own, so when I moved in with him to go to university at 18, joining karate wasn't really a question - as a lifetime athlete who wasn't interested in university sports teams, karate looked like a fun physical activity to get into and I had private instruction at my fingertips.

Karate has turned out to be WAY more than I ever thought it could be. It started out merely as an interesting, engaging physical activity that challenged not only my whole body (muscles and coordination), but my mind and my emotional control as well... and then as the years went on and I flew from under my brother's wing, I discovered an incredible society of people who have made karate their life's blood for 10-40 years. These days, I'm deeply wedged into that part of the society in our local area. I'm one of the core people who train regularly and attend every seminar and elite training class available locally, and I am not afraid to take up seminars and camps in other cities, provided the $$ and time off is available of course.

I've met some of the most amazing people in karate over the years, and some of them I'm very proud to say belong to a "mutual admiration society" when it comes to me, as well. As in, I think they're cool as shit, and they think the same of me. How awesome is that??!

There are, of course, jackasses in karate. And there are slick slimy folks too, and there are assholes. Not everyone is cool - in fact, a very elite percentage are truly cool. This is, after all, a reflection of real life - every kind of group contains a small percentage of truly cool people, if you take the time to find them. But, there are people who are better off avoided as well, even in traditional Shotokan karate, where "The ultimate aim of karate lays not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection in the character of its participants".

At any rate, with all its mix of people and politics and all that fun stuff, karate has been an amazing force in my life, has altered my way of viewing the world forever, has been great for exercise both physically and socially, and it's one of the few places I feel totally and completely safe.

Great to have those kinds of places, they really charge up a lot of things inside.

Jill