#1) Be consistent. That means training two to three classes a week. Your house does not count, coming in and assistant instructing does not count. You should be on the mat training twice a week if your intention is to get a black belt. If not….you can still get an enormous benefit of training once a week, or twice a week every other week, etc…..you just aren’t going to earn a black belt until you get serious about your attendance. Just like you can get very knowledgeable about medicine and surgery at the library and attending some classes at college…..but until you commit to medical school and graduate….you will not be a doctor. 

#2) Train Hard, Train Smart. You can come in and give a halfhearted effort, you can come in and train like every fight is personal…..neither will earn you a black belt. The lukewarm person will not gain the real skills to pass, and definitely not survive the test, the overzealous person will end up hurting themselves or getting too injured to train frequently enough to test, or have the finesse required to become a black belt. 

#3) Know the Curriculum.  We have had many world champions and amazing athletes at the Academy, all of them that received black belts know the curriculum and are able to teach it. You don’t have to love all of it, and in fact most gravitate to one of the big four: Fighting, Forms, Self Defense, or Pad Work…but you have to know it all and be able to demonstrate it. 

#4) Be a Good Ambassador. In some fields your talent can make up for your personality, in martial arts it cannot. You have to be a good role model….not a perfect person, but a person in pursuit of perfection. 

#5) Be in Shape. You do not have to be an Olympian, D1 athlete or on the cover of Muscle and Fitness….but you should be in good cardiovascular shape, be strong, and have healthy habits. That means making sacrifices outside of the Dojo for your health and fitness and should reflect a life long goal of longevity and good overall health. 

#6) Be Motivated. You should come to class ready to learn and your passion for training and improving should be evident. Everyone has tough days and we are here to support your through those….but not every day. You are responsible for being passionate about growth, getting better, and being the best version of you! 

#7) Be Positive. Very similar to number 6, and maybe even more important. “Where attention goes, energy flows.” especially when we are talking about having a positive or negative mindset. What to find the good in your life…start looking for it, what to find the bad…..start looking for it. Find the good in martial arts, and training hard! 

#8) Be ok with walking alone. Walking with friends is always more fun, it just is. Training with friends is too. Understand however some of your training partners are going to break your heart. Everyone does not make it to black belt, and even some of the ones that do will quit. They are really quitting on themselves….but it feels like they are quitting on you and the Academy. That’s difficult to deal with, but it’s a part of high level success at anything. Sometimes we have to be ok with walking alone. 

#9) Bring Someone with you. The antidote for #8! Invite people to train, encourage them to stay, invest in their success and watch your success skyrocket. 

#10) Have a White Belt Attitude, with a Black belt Brain. White belts are so excited and grateful to train, they give it 100 percent and desperately want to improve…..their only hindrance is the lack of repetition and knowledge. As people increase in rank that fire can diminish. The saddest thing I see is a Green/Brown belt that has gone lukewarm, cynical, or thinks they know everything. Have a white belt mentality, upgraded with the reps and knowledge of a black belt. It truly is the best of both worlds.