Sometimes I wonder where I would be in life if I never started karate. I just know that I wouldn’t be the person I am today. When I began karate I was bullied in school. I tried to forget everything that happened in those years. I was successful. I had forgotten everything but my karate training. Karate has had a huge impact on my life. Over these years I have learned so much that has helped me over the years. I could never have come this far without the help of the black belts in the dojo and the support of my family.
I really don’t remember why I started karate. I knew my brother had started in the little lions, but I never thought that I would be starting. When I was 7 I was bit by a dog. I think one reason why I started was to protect myself in case if anything happened again. During that time I was bullied in school. I started to hate school. I then started to try and forget everything that happened. I was able to forget it. I never wanted to think about it ever again. But there was one thing I couldn’t forget, I didn’t want to forget it. I wanted to bring it with me. It was my karate training. Without it I don’t think I would have gotten this far. As I kept going to karate I saw that I became stronger mentally and physically. By sixth grade I realized that those people were nothing compared to me. But I still was bullied. Not as bad as in elementary School but I still hated the people. Now I just walk by them if they try to say something about my nose or who I am. I never wanted to be myself, but as I went through karate I gained more confidence and was not afraid to be who I am.
Karate hasn’t just taught me to punch and kick, it has taught me to become a good leader. I would always have a fear of being in front of a lot of people. When I started assisting I wasn’t too sure about it because I was afraid I would make a mistake. Finally I went and assisted and that had helped me overcome my fear. Once I started assisting I realized how fun it was. It was teaching me how to help lead a whole group of people without being afraid. Now if I make a mistake I just laugh at myself and continue on. I really don’t think I would be a good leader today if I still had that fear of being in front of a lot of people. Karate has given me courage to stand up and lead a class.
Karate is something that I look forward to every week. I always try to make it every class because, no matter what we do I learn something new. I learn how become stronger, faster, and most important how to defend myself. Every night I can practice different techniques during sparing and IDSS class. I always try to work hard every class because if you are lazy you don’t learn anything. There is so much more for me to learn and taking it seriously will help me if I’m ever stuck in a bad situation. Whenever I have a choice I think of how it will impact my karate training and my family.
Over these years I have learned so much. How to become a good leader, more confident, and how to protect myself. Karate has had such a positive impact in my life. It shows if you work hard for something you can achieve your goal. I work hard in school, in karate and anything I do. I once was afraid to be who I really was because I didn’t want anybody to judge me. Now I don’t care what other people think I just care about what I think. I just ignore them and walk away. I don’t think that I could have become this confident without karate. Going to karate was probably the best decision I have ever made. I know I wouldn’t have got this far without the support of my family and most important the help of the black belts. Karate has been like a roller coaster. I started out as a white belt not knowing what to do, then ended as a brown belt learning so much that would help me in the dojo and in life. Now I’m stepping off that roller coaster and going onto a new one that will last for many years. I know I wouldn’t be who I am today without karate.
Respectfully,
Julian Thiele-Pissini
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