Here it Comes

My Black Belt Test Begins on 12/01/2013 

So I will be starting my Black Belt test on December 1st. I'm getting started with the preparation work now because... Well because I'm really excited and because I want to be ready. So here I'm just going to lay out the requirements. I have to start with that because I'm still getting a handle on what this means to me intellectually; I'm still processing what it means to me to be at this point in my martial arts training.

So... Over the next 12 months (starting on December 1st), I will...



Requirements:

• No quitting (that's not gonna happen!)
• 50,000 push-ups and crunches 
• 1,000 repetitions of kata (I will focus on Kusanku)
• 1,000 rounds of sparring
• 1,000 mile journey (I've decided to bump this up to 2400 miles)
• 1,000 acts of kindness
• 15 minutes of daily meditation
• 6 books completed
• 1 personal goal (1/2 Iron Triathlon - June 8th)
• Weekly journal entries
• 12 video blogs
• Empathy training
• Seek out a Master (Kyoshi Marilyn Fierro)
• Community service project
• Memorize the Black Belt Pledge
• Essay on What a Black Belt Means to Me

And I'm adding a few more for myself:

• The additional 1,400 miles
• Conquer 3 personal fears (ride a horse, scuba dive, _____)
• Break 1:46:00 for 1/2 marathon 

I have a spreadsheet that I'll use to track my progress and I'll be looking into how to share that here. I have a couple of awesome running buddies that will keep my weekend mileage up. We will be running a 1/2 marathon every month and two of us are doing CIM here in a few weeks. I also have a few cycling friends who promise to help keep me motivated and drag me out for some long rides. 

Basically, what I'm saying is, I'm planning. I'm ready to get this thing going. So... let's go!