Why do you do this?

Recently I have had this question posed to me.  It was after an especially difficult class where we worked to utter exhaustion.  I was asked after class by someone who watched the class but was not in Kung Fu.  She asked me with a puzzled look on her face “why do you put yourself through that?  Don’t you feel like giving up during the class?”  With out giving this question any thought my response was “It’s kung fu and it’s hard work but it’s worth it in the end”.  She continued to look at me with an even more puzzled look as I had obviously not answered her question in her mind.  In my mind I felt I gave her a completely honest and thorough kung fu student answer.

I must admit that during these classes there are at times where giving up has entered my mind but almost as soon as it gets in there I push it out.  Sure Kung Fu is difficult but many of my mentors have told me that “if it’s not difficult then it’s not worth doing”.  This has really stuck with me and that’s what I was thinking during this class.  If getting a black belt was easy was it worth it?  I know the answer to this question as I have seen the progression and journey of our newest black belts.  I know from seeing what they went through and talking with them that is was incredibly difficult but the end result was more than worth it to them.

I think it is extremely difficult for people that are not in Kung Fu or the martial arts to fully understand why we put out selves through the difficult training.  It’s hard for them to understand why we sweat and bleed for year after year to get something as abstract to them as a “black belt”.  All I can do (and will do) is continue to sweat day after day knowing that all of this effort that I am putting in now will pay off when I tie on the black belt around my waist for the very first time.

Ian Repay

Student of Silent River Kung Fu

Stony Plain, Alberta