Amy Scott is a Nurse and black belt

at our Springwood centre.

Here aim talks about what a black belt means to her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My opinion on a Black Belt has vastly changed from when I first started training at
Springwood. The first instructor I ever met had a level of technique, knowledge and
confidence that I never thought I could achieve, everything she did seemed to be effortless.
Despite how foolish I thought I looked trying to follow her instructions, she was always
patient and always had advice to help me. After meeting her I never thought that there
would be anyone else who could possibly match her as an instructor but again I was wrong.
Yet another person, with what seemed to be an unattainable number of stripes on their
Black Belt, unbelievably had more knowledge, skill, an unbelievable amount of patience and
an amazing way of making things sound and look effortless. At the time I had very little
knowledge of what all the different belts meant or what was required of a person to attain
them, to even be close to a Black Belt was a goal set far in the future. Even though I have
only been training for roughly two years, the change in my own techniques and knowledge
of my art has greatly improved. Since starting Taekwondo I have done a lot of research
about the different belts and their rankings. All the different websites about Taekwondo say
different things but have similar meanings. Coloured belts are junior belts, Bo Dan is a
provisional or candidate for a Black belt and Dan Belts are full Black Belts. The translation of
‘Dan’ is Degree. To me that means a Dan Belt has a higher level of knowledge and
techniques and with each Dan a higher level of knowledge and technique is required to
obtain it. Reflecting on when I first started Taekwondo, I saw obtaining a Black Belt as the
final goal of Martial Arts, but as I’ve grown and progressed along as a coloured belt and
facing a new step of my life, I’ve realised that when I become a Black Belt it’s not going to be
the last step I make in Taekwondo, it will be the first step in an even longer journey to what
I once thought would be unattainable. Learning the skills, techniques and knowledge
required of me to earn a Dan Belt has become a way of life, to be able to show a greater
knowledge and understanding of Taekwondo and to help others grow and learn too. As a
Black Belt one must show the five tenets of Taekwondo; Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance,
Self-Control and an Indomitable Spirit. To be able to lead others by their actions with
confidence and pride. But to me personally I feel that for me to earn a Black Belt and to
possess what it takes to be a great Black Belt, is to follow in the footsteps of the instructors
that gave me the image and goal of what a Black Belt should be, and possess the skills,
techniques and knowledge that I now have to learn and develop.