My English Assignment

When I was nine years old, I joined a martial art training program in Stony Plain, called Silent River Kung Fu. As long as I can remember, I have always wanted to join in in martial arts. My mom didn’t ever let me because I used to be a bit violent. One day she told me I could join martial arts under the conditions that I can find a place for that nearby to where I live. I was cleaning up the shoe rack when I saw an ad in the paper (used for drippy shoes) for Silent River Kung Fu. I joined a few weeks later.
Since then, kung fu has been a great passion of mine. Up until I got my second degree brown belt and was preparing to get my blackbelt next, I did very well and learned very quickly. However, the new belt required me to be in the adult class, which was the only class for second degree brown belts, I found it really difficult to keep up. I went from having the endurance of a preteen to having to have the endurance of an adult. It took nearly a year before I could completely keep up with the class. Since getting the second degree brown belt, I would often shut down and give up when I became really frustrated with myself. This happened easily due to the fact that I have OCD, which causes me to be a perfectionist and also to the fact that I have Asperger’s Syndrome, which causes me to have troubles with new things and easily become stressed and frustrated. Being a perfectionist has made things really hard. I always had to be perfect, or I wouln’t do it. But deep down I knew that no matter how well I did, I would never feel I was even close to being perfect.

After 2 years of being a second degree brown belt, I was told that I was allowed to test for blackbelt. I didn’t think I was good enough so I had never signed up to test in time to have a fair amount of training. My teacher was wondering why I hadn’t signed up, because he thought I was ready. So I decided to start training for the test. I had little time to do so. About 2 weeks before the test, and many weeks of stress and depression due to the stress, I decided I wasn’t ready to test for my blackbelt. The next year I got a fair amount of training in time, tested, and passed. This 4-5 month period was a huge awakening and also a huge psychological growth spurt for me.
While I was training, I was having trouble breaking boards (a requirement to pass the grading). I got really down on myself about that. My teacher started to notice this and tested out one of my boards. He couldn’t even break it. A family friend leaned it on a step and stopped on it, he couldn’t break it either. We even tested a hammer on it, it still didn’t break. My teacher told me that they must be too green. So he had us “bake” them in an oven to dry them out. After this I had no problem breaking them. I learned a lesson: don’t blame yourself all of the time.
During the black belt grading I was struggling. The test was long and hard, and I was getting really exhausted. It was the constant encouragement from my teachers that kept me going. That day, I discovered that, like some of my family members, I have exercise enduced asthma. I had three asthma attacks that day. I have never had any before that day, or since. This is to describe how tough that test was. When I finished, I felt I was a million miles from perfect. I thought I was going to fail for sure. But when I was told I had passed, it opened my eyes. I wasn’t perfect, but I was good enough. This eye opener also helped me to realize that I had done my best. Now I don’t shut down anymore. I try as hard as I can. I am very good at kung fu. I’m not the best, I’m my best; and I’m getting better every day.

Kung fu has also greatly affected my personality, values, confidence and self esteem, and personal goals. I would not be where I am today without kung fu. I often say that I will never quit kung fu until I am dead or crippled, I also always say that I would probably die without kung fu. Kung fu is my life. Kung fu has made my life. It has made me an extremely compassionate person. I don’t kill bugs or harm animals, and I don’t allow anyone I know to do it either. I care about the environment and want to help fix it. I love helping people. I believe strongly that, anyone who can, should donate to charity on a regular basis. These values are all because of my lifetime spent in kung fu and my strong passion for kung fu. Kung fu has greatly widened my comfort zone, which, started out quite small because of me having Asperger’s Syndrome.

Kung fu has been the largest part of my life. It has made me. It is my life. I truly believe that I could die without it. Kung fu and my teachers have been there for me through all the many periods of depression I went through, and when I felt no one else was. I may not be alive today if it wasn’t for me training in kung fu.