Curt Milner
November 11, 2009
English IV
Becoming Me

     It wasn’t hot nor was it cold within the yellow and blue walls of the gym at the Sandalwood High School in Jacksonville, Florida. I was going over my fighting strategy with Master Anne. She is my karate instructor but she is much more than an instructor, she is my friend and she is like a Mother to me. I am not saying that I don’t have a Mom, because I do, she was up in the stands with her camera catching every minute of everything. This was my first sparring match and even though I wanted to make the drive from Tallahassee to Jacksonville on my own dear Mom insisted that she drive me so she would not miss the action. I think that she was worried that I was going to get hurt when she heard the word fighting. Anyway, she has supported me through everything that I have tried. Down on the floor Master Anne was drilling me with different combinations of kicks and punches. Before I knew it I was in the ring. The fight was the first for me and my opponent. We were well matched opponents and the match was point for point. The seconds ticked by so fast that before I knew it the fight was over and I was on my way home with a second place trophy. Coming in second was not bad it shows that I still have work to do, but that I still have some fight in me at least that is how Master Anne put it.
     I was not always this good or had the amount of confidence that I had that day. It all started a while back when I first started karate. I was in the fourth grade and had just started a new school with all new friends. I was shy and weak and I was picked on often. My Mother signed me up for karate after school against my will. In hindsight it was one of the best things that I have ever done proving the point that Moms know best. Master Anne and the staff and students quickly became like family always showing support and offering encouragement. I began learning a wide variety of self-defense moves as well as many different sparring techniques. Every class was a learning experience and every time it was someone different that taught me new things.
     The first and most basic rules of karate were taught to me by Master Anne’s daughter Sensei Lisa. I learned that to get respect you have to give it. As you learn and progress in karate you earn belts as a symbol that shows where you are in the journey towards a black belt which is the highest belt. Lisa told me that I was to bow to anyone with a higher belt than me out of respect for their rank. I learned that there are many different types of karate and that the type I was learning was called UPKUDO and that each part of the word had a meaning. Up – to upwardly increase and improve. K- karate is the art of fighting using all parts of the body in self defense - open hand with no weapon. U- unique being the only one, Do- to do over. They also taught me their motto which is “Love Always Wins”. By the time I became a yellow belt I had learned two different katas. Katas are a combination of self-defense moves used to fight off more than one attacker. These two katas are called TEGO one and phase three. I am now a green belt and am working on a new kata called shotokan which involves a bamboo pole called a bow staff. I am also training for my second competition.
     Everything that karate taught me has changed me from a frightened, weak boy into a confident young man. The things that I learned through my experience at UPKUDO can be used in all areas of life not just in the competition arena. I learned to continue trying new things even though at first the task seems too hard to accomplish. Repetition is the key to learning something that seems impossible at first. I learned that each individual has a purpose and a reason for being here and that everyone deserves respect. When you show respect to others it teaches you to respect yourself and it also makes others show you respect. Karate made me stronger physically, emotionally, and mentally. The greatest thing of all that I learned was to love others. All of these attributes that I have acquired will stay with me throughout my life. I know that I will be the best college student I can be because of the great things that karate taught me.