As I had gotten older I had adopted a particular approach to my training. I always did what I was told, never was lazy, and focused on one key principle: getting my head down and working tirelessly. I realized that the best thing you can do in Karate, and in life, is to work, work, work. This unwavering commitment to my practice eventually led to success and personal growth.
Into this journey, I was 10 years old when I started Karate in 2013. At the time, I was settling into year 5 after returning from a six-month holiday in Mauritius. One day, my mum informed me that she had enrolled me in a Karate class. Leading up to that first class, I was apprehensive, being a very young child who found many things intimidating. I recall shouting, screaming, and even crying, pleading with my mum not to make me go. Prior to Karate, my only significant hobby was being creative in art and design. However, I was also taking swimming and ice-skating lessons, activities I didn't particularly enjoy but had to do because of my mum's insistence.
Although I didn't like swimming or ice skating, I did manage to learn how to swim. As for ice skating, I could only go really fast and had no grasp of techniques or how to stop — correctly, that is. On my first day of Karate, I attentively listened to Sensei, trying to mimic the movements of my fellow classmates. While I can't recall the specific techniques we practiced, I believe it involved a lot of kicking and punching. By the end of the class, I received positive feedback and praise from one of the black belts, and I realized it wasn't as scary as I had initially thought.
My biggest fear before attending that first class was the idea that everyone else would be skilled while I would be the awkward, clueless newcomer, fearing judgment or ridicule. What I failed to grasp at the time was that everyone starts somewhere, and we all begin as beginners. I never saw myself, let alone imagined a life with Karate, back when I was 10 years old. Now, at 20, Karate is everything to me.
