Indiana Martial Arts
Martial Arts Indiana
Martinsville Martial Arts
Martinsville Karate
Martinsville Indiana
Taekwondo Tae kwon do

Black Belt Paper Excerpts - Katie Roe

On a proper, positive outlook:

When it comes down to it, you are responsible for your own happiness - no one else can give it to you…..The “if only” mode of thought is also an easy way to make excuses. For example, I could have written a better paper if only I had a better computer, or I could have run faster if only I had a more expensive pair of shoes. These factors may make an initial difference, but in the long run, your writing ability is not dictated by the type of computer you use and your athletic ability does not depend on your quality of footwear.

Aversion to concepts or goals that we find challenging is what inhibits us from reaching self-contentment. If we decide not to commit to something because it seems too difficult or inconvenient, like following the five rules of the HwaRang, we can never expect to feel fulfilled. We cannot be scared of failure because if you try your best you cannot fail. Self-contentment does not come from physical accomplishments, but from the idea that we have performed to the best of our ability and, therefore, on a personal level succeeded. Finding that line between what you actually cannot do, and what you can do with more work is difficult to pinpoint. Ultimately, only you know what you are capable of doing; You are the one who has to be content with your decision....

....I also believe that loyalty to ones' school, especially at a university level, is an important factor in creating a healthy atmosphere for learning. There are obviously times in which you are unhappy to be at school, and it is easy to blame the school for your unhappiness. However, if you display or voice this unhappiness in an unproductive manner you are doing both yourself and other students a disservice. For better or worse you will be a student at this institution for four years and complaining or wishing you had gone somewhere else does little to improve the situation. As a freshman at DePauw I was very unhappy and was considering transferring to another school. If I did transfer, however, it would not be until the following year so I still had to make the best of my situation for the time being. Therefore, instead of continuing to complain I took action to better my situation. Working under the assumption that the university wanted me to be happy, I looked into different organizations and talked with different professors about the situation, hoping to come up with ideas about what I could do differently to make my experience here more enjoyable. By giving the university the benefit of the doubt and by concentrating on things about the university that I did enjoy I was able to block out the more negative aspects of my experience. All in all, my second semester here was my most enjoyable. By not threatening to leave and instead concentrating I why I should stay and what the university could do for me I found my niche at DePauw and have never doubted my decision to come here since.

On perserverance

To never retreat in battle can be correlated with perseverance. If one is not initially successful in martial arts or in life in general, one can not be deterred. There is a poster hanging in the GMA School in Martinsville that says, "Seven times down, Eight times up," which I believe to be indicative of the martial art spirit. When I was taking Judo I was told that in the beginning I would be thrown by my opponent more than I threw him/her. And for the first few years of training I was thrown over and over by members more experienced than myself. I even ended up breaking my arm, but continued the fight. After so much abuse (especially breaking bones) I considered quitting, but I continued because on my first day of class I told my parents and peers that I intended to earn my black belt.

After several more years I was the one who was throwing my opponent more than being thrown myself. And after a few more years I found myself helping to instruct beginners. Finally, after eight years I received my black belt, one of the three black belts that have come out of my club since its beginning twenty years ago. Much of the pride that I felt when I passed the Kata (the exam to become a black belt) came from the knowledge that I had had so many set-backs but refused to quit. That moment taught me not to be discouraged because when I do succeed in whatever I choose to do the victory will be that much more meaningful.

On respect, courtesy, and friendship

One of the projects that GMA students were asked to do previously this year was to do a "good deed" for someone else everyday for a month. I think this activity was a good reminder of how we sometimes forget to do the little things. It is unfortunate that we have to be given an assignment in order to perform acts of kindness. Personally, I found myself having to consciously remember to do my act of kindness each day, which bothered me. I had always considered myself to be a fairly generous person with my time whenever a friend was in need. However, I seldom went out of my way to help a friend unless I was repaying a favor and almost never went to any trouble to help a stranger.

Lending a hand to a stranger may at first seem awkward or not worthwhile, but it is worthwhile to the person you are helping. What does it say about our society that people find behavior strange when it involves one person helping another. I heard a variety of stories of people getting strange looks when they helped another person. At what point did our society deem it unusual to go out of your way to help a stranger?....

....During my stay in Madagascar I found the people to be much more courteous than people in America. This is not to say that Americans are mean or purposely try to isolate themselves from others, but that we have fallen into an age where we can be entirely self-sufficient and have forgotten that simple courtesies can make a difference in a person's day. For example, as I walked down the streets of Tana, the capital of Madagascar, I noticed that people did not stare at their feet or talk on their cell phones; They walked with their heads up and smiled at you. When I asked anyone for directions it would never suffice to tell me where to go, they would walk me to my destination. I even had one woman who stayed on the bus a couple of extra stops to make that I would get off at the right place....

....I have numerous examples such as these, but the memory that I cherish the most is that members of the club kept in contact with me during my semester abroad in Madagascar.

Both email or phone were not viable ways to communicate and mail delivery in a third would country is unpredictable at best; The letters that do get through take six to eight weeks to arrive. By far, however, I received the most amount of mail (with the exception of parents) from members of Tae Kwon Do. It may seem that I am over emphasizing the importance of mail, but when you are tired, flea-bitten and carrying a variety of diseases a letter telling you that someone from home is thinking about you makes a tremendous difference. Furthermore, when my four months had ended and I came home I was inundated with phone calls and emails from Tae Kwon Do friends who were curious to hear about my experience....

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Last modified: September 10, 2006