Following in Footsteps

One of the most special accomplishments in my life has been earning by black belt in martial arts. I started taking lessons at about age 3 and I finished my black belt test when I was 12 years old.
Of course there are many people who earn their black belts if they are involved in the art, but to me it was so special because I earned it from my father. It is something we shared a love for all the years that I was taking lessons. It also helped blossom the relationship we have today because of the time we spent together.
I shared this experience with my father throughout the months it took to test for this degree. He spent a lot of time watching me practice my techniques and quizzing me on technical terms and techniques needed for each rank before he thought I was ready to test for my black belt.
When the day of my promotion came a lot of my family came to watch at the martial arts school. There were a few things I had already been tested on that my father had me do again to show my family. One of these things was sparring with him for a certain amount of time. This was a pretty defining moment for me because I had never done this before. Yes, I had sparred with other people in my classes but getting to spar the instructor was something new, exciting and significant.
During the months of testing for my black belt I would feel nervous a lot of the time. I didn’t want to let my dad down or for him to feel unimpressed with me. I wanted to show him that I deserved this ranking. However on the day of my promotion I was filled with overwhelming emotions. I was very happy but also was almost crying because I saw how happy my father was to see me getting this rank and following in his footsteps. I think that is one of the reasons this accomplishment was so special to me. I knew how happy it made my father to see that we both loved martial arts and that I was furthering my practice.
The event changed my life because it made me realize my role in the martial arts school now being a black belt. The students and parents would probably look at me a little differently. Other than my father, I would be among the highest rank which gave me a bigger role in the martial arts school and in the classes. I became a leader that day and had standards to live up to. Although at first this seemed like a lot of pressure, I was proud of myself for accomplishing this that I told myself I knew I could do everything it entailed.
Roughly nine years later, I am still teaching martial arts when I visit back home as a now second degree black belt. The same feeling rush over me sometimes when I am standing in front of a class assistant teaching as I got the day I was promoted to a black belt. I feel proud of the time and effort it took for me to be standing where I am today, beside my father after succeeding in earning my black belt.