Get On Track For Black Belt

• Clearly decide what it is you are absolutely committed to achieving.
• Be willing to take massive action.
• Notice what’s working and what’s not.
• Continue to change your approach until you achieve what you want, using whatever life gives you along the way.

You can of course use this strategy to achieve any goal in life. But in this instance we shall discuss it to help you achieve your Black belt.

Anthony Robbins uses very distinct and powerful words here. He doesn’t suggest to simply ‘Decide what you want’. He asks us to ‘clearly decide’. The word decide was taken from the latin word ‘de-caedere’ which means to cut off. In other words, when we truly decide something, we cut off all other options; we have made up our mind and there is no turning back.

He also asks what we are ‘absolutely committed to’. When you make a clear decision about something that you are absolutely committed to your chances of success are increased tenfold. This is because:

• You don’t allow yourself to entertain thoughts of quitting or taking the easy road.
• You push through the tough times with a greater level of determination.
• Your plan of action presents itself with little thought or effort.
• You don’t spend wasted time thinking about what you may or may not do because the decision has been made.
• On those nights where you’re tired and unsure about whether you want to go to training, you will more likely exercise self-discipline and get yourself to class. (And afterwards be happier for it.)
• A weight is lifted off our shoulders. The hardest part of any challenge is making the decision to go for it. Once a decision has been made the rest is easy.

You have come this far in your training. Only one more grading and you will reach something you have likely dreamed about for many years. Perhaps you even dreamed of being a Black belt years before you ever started karate!

Decide today – clearly decide – that you are absolutely committed to achieving your Black belt.

Realize that ‘decisions decide destinies’. It’s not what’s happening to you now or what has happened in your past that determines who you become. It is your decision about what to focus on, what things mean to you, and what you’re going to do about them that will determine your ultimate destiny.

More than anything else, your decisions decide your future. It’s how you play the cards that you’ve been dealt that matters most. Decisions decide destinies! The decision to further pursue your education, the decision on who you marry, the decision to start your own business, or the decision to just sit around and make excuses; your life is a result of the decisions that you’ve made and your future will be the result of the decisions you are yet to make.

Anthony Robbins has written numerous best selling books that can be found in most book stores. You can also visit www.tonyrobbins.com and look over the many products he has available.

This doesn’t mean you have to train 5 hours a day. But it does mean you are productive when you have the opportunity. Massive action does not only involve quantity time, it involves quality.

A few examples of massive action are:

• Asking your instructor all questions you have about any of your techniques and kata.
• Speaking with your instructor about a good goal for your Black belt grading. By establishing an action plan, you can work towards it and your instructor can hold you accountable to it.
• When you are training, be willing to put in massive effort.
• Get to class early and socialise while warming up rather than standing around.  Stay back after class and practice. (where possible)
• Video tape yourself at home and watch it back to find bad habits.
• Train at home when you can.
• Find a training partner and get together and train.
• Read up on the GKR website regularly to be sure you are doing everything you can.
• Watch the videos of kata and emulate these as best you can.
• Visualise yourself performing exactly as you wish. The body can learn via visualisation almost as effective as it can via practise.

Another excellent example of taking massive action is to give yourself Black Belt Test Gradings. In other words, find somewhere to train and go through your own grading. Go through the kihon, some tough combinations, all the kata and some shadow sparring. Make it similar in conditions (eg a couple of drink breaks, no fidgeting) and time frame as an actual Black belt grading. While you are doing the test grading, put yourself in your instructor’s shoes and assess your technique and effort.

Doing this from time to time will give you affective feedback about your fitness, technique, spirit etc. This is one way to help you notice what is working and what is not.

You can also regularly assess whether your training program is working (or not) but regularly asking yourself questions such as:

• Am I doing all I can to ensure I continue to progress and reach my Black belt? This can include dojo training, home training, meeting up with a friend to train etc. It can include karate training (to improve technique) or extra curricular training to help you with fitness, strength, speed etc.
• Am I focusing so much on my two new kata that bad habits are starting to creep into my previous kata?
• Am I working so much on advanced techniques in kumite that the simple and effective techniques and principles are starting to slip.
• What area of my training would be holding me back from grading right now? Your instructor can help you with this also.

The answers to these questions will also help you establish what is working for you and what areas you need to adjust.

Once you have your answers from the previous point it’s important to alter your approach in order to alter your results. This may sound straight forward but it’s commonly ignored by people. They know their current plan of action is not working but they don’t do anything about changing it. You may have heard the definition of frustration is “to do the same thing over and over yet expect a different result”. You can’t keep banging your head against the wall. You have to get smart and continuously alter your action until the results start coming.

The last part of his strategy is also important. ‘Use whatever life gives you along the way’. Many people get their goal derailed because of outside circumstances.

Examples of this are:

• The boss asks someone to stay back at work. Train on a different night to make up for the missed class.
• The car breaks down and will be out of commission for two weeks. Ask someone for a lift, catch a bus, or train at home for the same time frame as a class.
• You injure your hand at work and cannot spar. Go to the side of class during kumite and practice kata or work on your kicks.

Next time you find yourself making an excuse, ask yourself, ‘Is this really stopping me or could I alter my action plan to still achieve my goal’. In almost all circumstances you can. Once you no longer accept excuses from yourself you will be vulnerable should you fall short of your goal. The key is not to let your self-image get tied up in results. Rather, get your self-image tied up with your efforts and your attitude. This will help you use what life throws your way to your advantage.