A Black Belt is a White Belt Who Never Quit

Nov 3, 2010 by Peggy Nolan

I’m forty-seven years old. Three years and nine months ago I walked into Tim Barchard’s Professional Martial Arts Academy in Derry, NH for my first Muay Thai Kickboxing class. I was still a newlywed and new to the stepmom game. I thought martial arts would be something Richard, Junior and I could do together. The boys opted for Karate while I opted for something that involved a lot of kicking and punching. Martial Arts turned out to be more my thing than my husband’s. He opted to cheer me on from the sidelines and support my quest for black belt bliss.

(Most of you who follow me on Facebook or just know me, know that I also teach yoga. Let me just tell you that yoga and Muay Thai Kickboxing bring my inner sacred warrior goddess peace, calm, and equanimity.)

This past Saturday I tested for my first degree black belt. It was the most physically demanding challenge I’ve been through since I gave birth to my children in 1984 and 1987 respectively. It started with a three mile run in a near freezing temperature. Those of us testing had 33 minutes to complete three miles. I finished in thirty minutes – a personal best time for me. I thought the run was going to be the hardest part of the test.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

The rest of the test went something like this: more pushups than I could count, situps, downups, leg raises, more pushups, basic combinations, squats, more pushups, lunges, more situps, are you tired yet? After our “wake-up” call, the karate testers went one way and the kickboxers went another way.

Punch, kick, sprawl, hold a pushup position, shoulder taps, getups, more pushups, burpees, rapid fire punching (until I thought my shoulders would fall off). And then we had to practice our pride form as a team for the graduation ceremony…as well as kickboxing basic moves and pad work.

I don’t remember Basic Training being as physically hard as this six hour test was.

I passed my test. I’ve already been to two classes this week and I have a two hour practice on Thursday. Our gradation ceremony is Friday at 6PM. My knees hurt. My shoulders hurt. Walking up and down stairs cause calf and quad complaints. I’m tired. But every drop of sweat, every ache, every sore muscle is worth this.

• I am a breast cancer survivor
• I am a wife, a mom, a stepmom, and a gramma
• I am a yoga teacher
• I am forty-seven years old and I can run a faster mile than I could when I was twenty-four. I’m stronger and healthier than the day before I was diagnosed with breast cancer
• I reversed bone loss from chemotherapy and I have the blood pressure of an active, healthy teenager
• I AM A FIRST DEGREE BLACK BELT IN MUAY THAI KICKBOXING

What are you putting off to become a better you?

Why are you putting it off?

What are you afraid of?

PS: Please don’t ask me to kick anyone’s ass for you until next week. I’m really tired…