“I will now announce the Student of the Year,” my instructor Mr. Bain announced for the spring belt ceremony. Who would be the Student of the Year? Could it be Celeste also known as “Celeste the Best” because of having the best technique, or could it be Tiffany also known as the “Tiffynator” for designing awesome performances for the karate demonstration (DEMO) team? Tiffany walked to get her Student of the Year belt, but Mr. Bain did not stop there. He started describing the second Student of the Year, the first time ever at Dan F. Long Middle School. With Mr. Bain’s description of the second Student of the Year, I knew who he would be – me. All the times I went to tutorials, all the time I helped out the lower rank belts, all my hard work paid off with this honorable moment.

Going back to the first day of school my 8th grade year, I sat with my friends comparing schedules. I noticed that all my friends would go to karate second period, but I had to go to karate fourth period. They were placed in a third year class, but I was placed in a second year class. I thought a scheduling error occurred since I was a third year student and needed to have class second period with my friends. I saw Mr. Bain in the cafeteria, and he told me that in order for me to be in the classes I signed up for, I would have karate fourth period with second year students. I felt disappointed. Not only would I have to learn the material for my belt before or after school, I would not have any of my friends in the class, and I would have 'C' lunch again for the third time. It seemed that the school year deprived me from having a pleasant year. I did not realize at the time that the thought of the unpleasant year would soon change.

During the second week of school, some karate students joined ASK (after school karate) and/or the DEMO team. I came for ASK unsure if I wanted to be in the DEMO team. I wondered if I could commit my time to go to karate two times in the morning and two times in the afternoon every week. On Tuesday after school, the first ASK workout, I came just for ASK and not for DEMO. After we bowed in, Mr. Bain started talking about the next performance date and asked us to start designing this demonstration. I was completely lost. I thought I joined ASK and not the DEMO team. I realized too late that everybody in ASK was also in the DEMO team. Not wanting to be the only kid to say, “I just want to be in ASK,” I become a part of the DEMO team unwillingly.

Joining DEMO team was actually a wise decision. My techniques improved, and I enjoyed the workouts with my friends. We performed at our pep rally and also at an extravaganza. During this time, I attended karate tutorials on days other than DEMO team practice or ASK in order to learn the material needed for my belt test. Going to karate Mondays through Thursdays in the morning and Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the afternoon for karate, I enjoyed learning more material. During DEMO team practice, Tiffany taught me the bow staff form and how to do stick work. I learnt slowly, but I was determined to learn the material. At the end of the first semester, there would be the belt ceremony. I became a green belt, 3 belts away from black belt. The ceremony rocked, and the DEMO team did well. In that DEMO, we had the “Box of Mysteries.” It had the answers to life. Our DEMO divided up into two and each team fought in order to get the box first. Both the teams lost, and the only white belt Alvin opened the box since he was not in a team. After getting our belts, people took pictures. The best picture was with all my friends and Tiffany was held up by two people. This was the first time I enjoyed a belt ceremony because I performed for the DEMO team and not just for my class which lasted for a short period of time. I felt glad I did not say that I did not want to be a part of the DEMO team when I first went to the ASK workout.

Second semester came. Learning more material for my next belt in the mornings, I taught the new form I learned to a K-3 student who joined my K-2 class because of schedule issues. I got better with my stick work and performed the bow form at the same speed with other DEMO team members. Again, we performed at a pep rally and at an extravaganza. With our last performance at the spring belt ceremony coming up, DEMO team hit the gas pedal to make this our best performance ever.

For this event, Mr. Bain decided the demonstration would show a possible origin of karate. Finally allowed to use sticks in the performance, I needed to argue with Tony saying that he could not do his stick work right, and Tony would say the same to me. Our amazing acting at this scene tricked Mr. Bain into thinking the arguing was real. Listening to Tony and I argue, he started yelling at us. I was scared looking at Mr. Bain’s furious face. Mr. Bain got embarrassed to find out that arguing was part of the performance. Also, we practiced our newest form so that we could show it at the ceremony. At the end of performance, there would be a fight scene. My opponent was Tony, and we fought with sticks, but I would have to lose since he was a black belt. He ended up acting like a caveman and went crazy on me.

The day of the belt ceremony came. Being nervous, I felt worried I would make a mistake and make the DEMO team look bad. One of the lower belt students did not shut up when I asked them to which only made the situation worse. I wanted to get the performance over with. First, the actual karate classes would perform and then the DEMO team would perform. I performed for my class. I just had to do a few simple sparring techniques and it would be over. After fourth period performed, I sat next to the rest of the DEMO team members. It was almost time to show our parents what we learned over the year. Mr. Bain finally asked if we were ready. We yelled, “YES SIR!”

We performed the DEMO perfectly. One of Tiffany’s sticks broke, perfect timing because we wanted it to break on the day of the ceremony to make the fight scene look real. I did my part right. I argued and fought with Tony. I did my pose correctly. This was the best DEMO I would ever have. Now, it was time for belts to be awarded. Since I was in a second year class, I had to move to the third year class so that I would get my red belt. After shaking hands with Mr. Bain, I got my red belt and went back to sit. It was time for the student of the year to be announced. Tiffany and I were announced as Students of the Year. At the end of the ceremony, the DEMO team cleaned up and got pictures taken and the day was over.

Instead of getting one step closer to black belt, getting my red belt marked the start of my karate journey. It took me three years to become red belt, and it’s been three years since becoming a red belt and I have not tested for my next belt. After becoming a red belt, the real journey for black belt had begun. I have learned about myself during karate after becoming a red belt. Based on what I learned and my dedication, I practiced and improved my kicks, my stamina, and much more during these years. Frustrated for having a low level of karate, I wanted to quit, but I continued. I would not let any obstacle stop me from getting my black belt. Now, I go to karate three times a week after school. Two are for DEMO team practice and the other workout is for high school students in which we practice and learn the material for our next belt. My dedication paid off because now, I can test for my next belt in the summer and with black belt one step away. This next belt would be my first belt that I truly earned. Up until red belt, almost everybody passed the test and got promoted to the next belt. So even if I was horrible at karate, I would still get my belt every semester. This is not the case anymore. In order to get my next belt, I have to show that I have the proper technique and that I have the heart to go on even if I am exhausted and fatigued. This delay for my next belt occurred because I did not practice at home nor did I fix the things Mr. Bain asked me to. The week I started practicing, Mr. Bain saw a huge improvement and gaining a black belt seemed to be plausible.
Finally, after three years of staying at the same rank and learning about myself, I feel ready to test for my next belt. I understand that karate is not something I could just look at and become perfect. Perfection requires perfect practice. I probably would have not gotten this far if I had not received the Student of the Year belt. Even though I stopped wearing the Student of the Year belt after realizing my low level of karate, that belt gave hope that I would one day become a black belt. I did not quit during these three years of high school believing in becoming a black belt. I hope the dream comes true soon.