Moving Up

It took me long enough, but it finally happened. I got my purple belt.

Suzan and I have been back in martial arts for over two years now. We study with Master Jim Sams, taking his Sajido style over in Stone Mountain. Suzan and I both felt we were stuck for a while. I had my green belt for over a year, and my wife was stuck on orange for about the same period.

It does feel good to get promoted. Part of my stall can be attributed to heavy travel, but most of it revolved around my inability to loosen up in class. Most folks from “old style” karate schools get rigid when they work out, trying to use their muscle. I have had problems with the flowing parts of the style, so staying stiff is a real problem. Plus, as I have learned through negative reinforcement, getting hit when you’re stiff really hurts.

I didn’t mind staying at green belt for a while. I know Master Sams doesn’t promote people unless he’s sure they’re ready, and I’d rather struggle at the low levels than get a false sense of security by being promoted too soon. I know a lot of quality instructors that talk about staying at brown belt for years, and how that was good for their art.

My job puts me in contact with a wide range of computer people, and I can tell which ones have a solid grasp on the fundamentals. The best programmers we have know the PC from the bottom up. Rather than shoot straight to the fancier GUI development tools, they spent early years working at the bottom of the machine. They know assembler … they know C … they live at a shell or prompt. Their fundamentals are strong and proven, and over time they have become masters of their art.

The fundamentals don’t bother me. I just hope this time next year, I’m not musing about still being a purple belt.