From the author: The Stories of the Black Belts Volume II is another chapter in the 1,000s of Black Belts that I have had the honor of working with over the last 3 decades. Like Volume I, we only have room for a select number of their stories, but in this book I have a few special stories… scattered in here among the essays are stories of Black Belt years AFTER they received their Black Belt. Some are still training and some are years past. I asked a select few to tell me what martial arts has meant to them in their careers and lives years later. So some are a different kind of snapshot than before. In the pages are more motivating, funny and valuable stories about students who began a journey in martial arts as late in life as 93 and as young as 3 years old. Our students come in to the dojang (our word for school or studio) to get stronger, gain discipline, build confidence or learn to defend themselves but when you read the stories (especially of the special ones), you’ll see the benefits go way beyond that. Our Black Belt ceremony represents the story my instructor told me about his instructor’s instructor receiving a candle and a bar of soap from his instructor. The candle was to signify that as the instructor gave knowledge (represented by the light) that they were sacrificing themselves (signified by the candle getting used up and shrinking). The bar of soap was a reminder to keep the mind clean and focused. This book, the prior volume and future volumes are ways to continue “re-lighting” the candle and focus the mind on what matters because of what the students achieve from our training. My hope is that this is another step on your journey to success!
