Tomorrow is the 2nd anniversary of my Shodan (1st degree black belt) test! It was the culmination of a long and fraught journey, so long that I’m dividing it into two posts, beginning today. Everyone’ black belt journey is difficult, mine was almost traumatic.

My entire history in the martial arts is a series of starts and stops. I’d train for a while, then life would blow up in some way, forcing me to quit. A few years later, I’d find an opportunity to train again—only to have to start over because I had moved, or my teacher had moved, or something else had changed. I’ve collected nine white belts, three blue, two green, and one brown, all from different styles.

The last time I was forced to quit, I thought my martial arts journey was over. I believed that running the restaurant I owned with my husband was my life now, and I’d never have the time to train again. That thought sent me into a deep depression.

Then by chance I got the opportunity to train again, the classes almost miraculously fit into my very busy schedule.

Then the pandemic hit and shut everything down. Still, my Sensei and I trained via video and also occasionally in-person when the local Covid levels were down to a safe enough level. Eventually we trained in-person regularly again.

But the pandemic had taken its toll on my restaurant, and we had to close it. A month after we closed the doors, all that stress aggravated an old injury in my neck and caused some disks to rupture. This was just months my Shodan test.

My Sensei gave me the choice of taking the test on time but he would modify the test to keep me safe, or delay the test until I was healed enough to take a traditional test.

I chose to delay. After decades of starting and stopping, this time it was my choice to delay because I wanted a proper test.

Preparing for the test while healing my injury was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done, and one of my greatest joys. My medical team all agreed that my best rehab was training for my test, I trained for about three hours every day, and I loved every minute of it.

Tomorrow I will share what the day of the test was like.