It's All In The Mentality

There are tons of stereotypes surrounding both karate and martial arts in general. If you practice martial arts, you might’ve heard some of the following questions; “So can you chop a block of wood in half?” “Are you, like, a black belt?” “Who in this room could you beat up? I don’t think you could beat me up.” Or the classic, “Woah, remind me not to get on your bad side.” or “You don’t look like you do karate.”

While these stereotypes are all lighthearted and lighten the mood, karate is actually a lot more in depth than just beating people up. Shotokan, specifically, is a defensive martial art. We learn self defense and focus more on the “hit and run” tactic. However, this doesn’t mean we can’t last in a fight.

Remember those stereotypes I mentioned earlier? Well, from the time I was seven years old, I’ve been hit with at least one of those questions and comments when people found out I trained. I’ve always been short and skinny, and when I was younger I appeared to be very fragile. That being said, even to this day, people are in disbelief when I tell them I’m a black belt, training for my second degree. I’ve always heard “Karate? That’s not very lady-like. Why not try dancing?” Or my personal favorite, “Oh yeah? Try to beat me up.” These comments usually follow with an underlying sexist comment. Yeah, martial arts isn’t exactly female-dominated, but the other women that I see do karate are always the scariest.

Karate changed me at such an early age that I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t around people that didn’t train or formerly trained. Before I started, my older brother and father had trained too, which only made me want to start even more. I always watched them in disbelief with wide eyes, longing to be out on the dojo floor. Eventually, my older brother decided that karate wasn’t for him. It was a shame, because he was good, but my dad continued to train and is now waiting to test for his Yondan rank, or fourth degree black belt. He is my biggest role model and the reason why I never stopped doing karate and didn’t listen to everyone who insinuated that I was too weak to make it very far.

Karate has changed me from a shy little girl to a role model and a strong-minded woman who gets to teach other girls how to find their flame. Because of the mentalities I’ve learned in karate, I now have the courage and discipline I need to conquer anything in life, which I absolutely intend to do.