Did you ever have a test in school that you didn’t study for? When the teacher said the words “Pop Quiz”, did it make you wish you’d called in sick for the day?
I know what you’re probably thinking when you read this article’s title. “Say WHAT?! Yeah right, nerd! Tests are no gift!”
If that’s you, or you said yes to either of those questions, I want to say that I actually agree with you! There is nothing worse than feeling unprepared. Often times in school, when test time would come, you’d hear an audible groan as all the students reached for their pencils, trying to wake up their tired brains. Each person was hoping that they would remember what they needed in order to pass the test. Many would stare blankly at the piece of paper in front of them, mentally counting down the number of days until summer and planning their escape from this prison.
Even though I can say I’ve felt that way, too, when I look back on life, I remember another type of test for which I was actually excited!
In my younger days I was a martial artist. I wasn’t just a casual karate kid, playing ninja once a week. I was fortunate enough to have found a school which taught excellence in all areas of life. This training became my greatest passion. I was there every chance I could go. My school taught that self defense was easy, but learning to master yourself and live wisely was the real challenge. The real training was in learning how to never have to use the physical skills that we’d been taught by using the mental skills we’d learned every day. In just a year’s time, we’d all be trained on how to kill in the event that we had to, but we’d spend the rest of our lives training how to never have to.
As I grew up in the ranks, I spent my life mastering the skills and techniques we were being taught. My favourite days were when we’d begin by lining up by rank like we always did in the beginning of every class, except on these days, the whole hour would pass by without any one ever moving from that spot – not a single kick thrown or board broken! Instead of the usual routine, we’d spend the full hour learning and discussing the virtues of living wisely and with respect. We’d learn things like how to defuse a hostile situation with words or even just how to spend our time in balance in order to become accomplished, honourable, and loving people. During these days, some of the students (especially the newer ones wearing the white and yellow belts) would fidget around nervously, thinking, “When are we going to kick something?!” But as time went on, for those who stayed with it and advanced in ranks, they would stop fidgeting and start listening. Most of those with the darker coloured belts stood still during the hour, drinking in the wisdom and even contributing their own thoughts and answers to the discussion when they were called on. I loved those days.
Goals & Growth
When I was in the lower ranks, like my peers at the same rank, I had my eyes set on the black belt. Not only did the belt seem impressive, but the people were extremely impressive! They could do things that I’d never seen before. I watched as one black belt would hold his hand perfectly flat and another would hold a board board in front of the him, with only the bottom of the board in his hands. The top half would just be sticking up in the air. The black belt in front of the board would breathe in deeply, pull his hand back, and in a swift motion, he’d fire his hand through the board, finger-tips first, letting out a loud yell called a Ki-yap. The motion was so fluid and so fast that with the tips of three fingers, he’d snap the board right through the middle, and the top of would fly off into the air. His hand jabbed through the middle like the tip of a spear going through cloth. This is one of the most difficult things that we’d do, but the ones who did it, did so in order to master both their fears and their skills. The black belt knew that if he could overcome his fear, his skill would carry him through the board. It wasn’t the board that he was breaking, it was his fear. (Or his hand! Haha)
Looking back on those early days, I can say that one of the most difficult things for the young student to face was actually the time that it would take to advance to the next rank. This was especially hard during the middle ranks about half-way from white to black. By that time, most of us had gotten good at the routine and developed some skill. With each rank, we’d have to learn and memorize many things – forms, attack and defense scenarios, Korean terminology, weapons training, to name only a few. We’d also have to live honourably and with excellence both when we were in and outside of the Dojang (school). With each new rank the eager student achieved, he knew that in three months time, he could take the test to get the next rank. As we became used to this routine, many of us would often learn everything that we needed and have the skill mastered long before the test. We couldn’t wait to get that next colour belt, because we knew that it was one step closer to being one of those legendary black belts. Or to put it more simply, we were looking forward to the test, because we knew the reward that came after it!
There’s so much I could say about all of the incredible lessons we’d learned and feats that we went on to accomplish, together. But today, I just wanted to share this thought:
To the person who is hungry for the next level, the test is a gift.
Time & Tests
Even though it may not feel like it right now, I encourage you to look at your tests this way instead of like the tests you may have dreaded in school. Many of you are going through trials and troubles, but you do know that you have the call of God on your life. Today, I encourage you to take a fresh look at your tests, and when you do, understand that with each test you pass, you get that much closer to your destiny. In fact, even with each that you fail, if you look for the lessons and ask God how you can make it next time, even your failure will bring you closer to your destiny.
Like with those eager students training for their black belt, there are only two things that stand between you and your destiny – time and tests.
In the times between tests, I encourage you to read the Word and study the Scripture. Spend time in Prayer, worship, and listen for the Whispers of Wisdom that God will share with you during your every day life. Doing this will make you ready for when promotion time comes.
For the hungry, the test is a chance to step to a higher level! If you’re hungry to fulfill the destiny God has for you, don’t play ninja once a week. Become a student of life, and learn the Way.
In case you’re wondering, I did get that black belt! From there I went on to do some incredible things and have profound experiences with my peers. The legendary black belts who I once looked up to and admired ended up standing beside me, and because I’d passed the tests, they accepted me as one of their own. We broke five and six boards at a time, traveled around the nation winning trophies and awards, and jumped over ten to twelve people to break a board at the end of the line, all while large crowds of people watched and cheered from the side lines. We set stacks of bricks on fire then jumped as high as we could into the air in front of the stack, coming down with full force and plowing our hands through the flaming bricks, smashing right through them all – all this and landing in the splits position! Many of us even walked across hot coals without getting burned, and so many other things you’d honestly have to see to believe.
Though all of that was exciting, the days that made it all possible were those still moments spent in the Dojang. More important than the all the shouting Ki-yap were those the gently spoken words, which prepared our minds and souls.
The Humbled Warrior
The lessons of that time will never be forgotten to me, and God still uses them every day to teach me what it means to be a Humbled Warrior.
The Humbled Warrior is a warrior by virtue of his rank and skill, but he is humbled because of the lessons and failures on his way to achieving them. So don’t be discouraged about your failures. Without them, you’d have the skill, but you wouldn’t have the Character.
Skill will help you get into your destiny, but only Character can keep you there.
At the end of the journey to becoming a black belt, and even long after receiving my belt, the one thing that the other black belts and I all realized was that the belt was never really the goal. Without the lessons, without the tests, and even without the many failures, injuries, and defeats along the way, we wouldn’t have developed the mindset or the tenacity that the black belt had to have. And without that pesky time in between tests, we wouldn’t have learned the patience or the persistence we needed for the long haul of life. To our surprise, it was because of the time and tests that we learned how to carry our belts with us, even when they weren’t wearing them.
I have to admit, it’s been years since I’ve broken any boards. I even must confess I haven’t jumped over any people or set a single brick on fire in ages. Despite that, I still carry my belt with my every day and everywhere I go. The belt itself sits in box somewhere, and the trophies are all packed up and sitting in my garage, but as much as those things still mean to me, I don’t need to look at them or even to wear the belt anymore. I carry it all with me everywhere I go. When all is said and done, it turns out that the belt we admired and later earned was simply a reflection of the tests and trials that we’d go on to complete.
The solemn truth is, belts get eaten by moths and trophies rust, but the lessons and achievements are with me for the rest of my life.
Looking Back
I remember that day I finally got that belt. I felt so much accomplishment for what I was wearing around my waist, and yet something in me knew that I hadn’t earned it. Not yet. I knew that I would spend the rest of my life to truly earn it. Rather than earning a belt, that day, I realized that I found something greater. I gained a purpose and a life-long commitment.
Now, today, as I write this, looking back on those days after getting my belt, I remember standing at the front of the class and turning to look behind me at the lower ranks. Standing where I once stood, they now looked up at me with that very same look of awe that I had at the start of my journey. You could see the eagerness to learn and to stand where we I was standing. And as we all stood in the front watching them looking at us to learn, we realized that we were looking back in order to learn from them.
We always wanted to remember to never lose that same wonder, hunger, and awe for the way of life that we were all learning, together. In our training, we were taught that this was maintaining an attitude of “Cho Sim”, which means “Beginners Mind”. Every black belt was taught that we had to keep an “empty cup”, which means to always be ready to receive more Wisdom and to never become full of ourselves in pride. We were taught to always be beginners in our own minds, because only an empty cup can be filled.
Closing Thought
With that said, I’ll leave you with this last thought that impacted me so profoundly when I first learned about the origin of the first black belt.
In the early days of martial arts, as they were just being created, the students were instructed to wash their uniforms but never their belts. The reason was that they were never to receive another belt. This means that the first black belt was the person who’d been in enough dirt, enough fights and battles, and enough training and trials that his belt was no longer white. The more the student trained and fought, the blacker his belt became.
This strikes me as a very keen metaphor for our own lives, as we move forward, particularly in the rough times along the way. Feel free to remember this story when you do.
Don’t fret the tests or the dirt along the way. It’s just your belt turning black.