Being a Brown Belt, especially at first is a phenomenal feeling! There's just something so cool about being classified as an "advanced rank." When I first earned my 3rd Brown boy did I feel cool. That was all I felt really, I was so impressed with the rank. Now that I've had some time to settle into it the wow factor isn't as prominent. I've matured quite a bit on my martial arts path this past year.
This last year has been by far my best and my favorite so far in my personal Journey. To an outsider it would probably appear as my worst since I've been a 3rd Brown for nearly a year and a half. But there's so very much more than meets the eye.
I'm not pursuing rank, I'm pursuing knowledge. When I earned my 3rd Brown I didn't even know what principles were exactly, or how to apply them. I hadn't had much exposure to them at all. A week after my promotion to 3rd I was in Edmond, Oklahoma at a seminar camp with Mr. Brian Duffy and Mr. Rich Hale. That weekend is when principles really started to make an appearance in my training.
Principles fascinate me, I've always been a very bookish person and I LOVE being able to read new things about Kenpo.
When Gene and I opened our own school in September of 2011 we knew we wanted the curriculum to be based on principles. In my personal training he started me with Delayed Sword, and over the past 12 months he has been reteaching me the entire system with an emphasis on principles. It's truly been my best year in Kenpo. I'm learning things I never knew before about techniques I've been practicing for years.
I feel much more deserving of my 3rd Brown Belt than I did last year. I'm really starting to see and understand what Kenpo is all about and I'm so excited.
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