Stripes on a belt are so much more than just a piece of tape….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"article":"This week we had our quarterly belt tests and promoted close to 100 students.\u00a0 Many of them received new belts, and 3 adult students received their blue belts.\u00a0 Every promotion is an accomplishment to be celebrated, whether it is a new belt that is received, or that little piece of tape around the belt.\u00a0 It has been 4 years since I received my last promotion to black belt, and I will tell you that next little piece of tape for me has significant meaning as well.\r\n\r\nIt really annoys me when I see these random posts on line from people both inside and outside the Jiu-Jitsu community ragging on that little piece of tape.\u00a0 Those that don\u2019t appreciate the significance do not understand the sacrifice that went into earning that little piece of tape, and most will NEVER understand it because they will never step on the mats and dedicate themselves to something as difficult as Jiu-Jitsu.\u00a0 The haters look at the piece of tape and see\u2026\u2026a piece of tape.\u00a0 Those that earned that piece of tape see months of struggle, trials and challenges that are simply marked with a reminder around their waist of what they worked for over the past 3-6 months.\r\n\r\nFor the kids, that little piece of tape represents overcoming shyness, overcoming fear, building confidence, learning discipline, and working hard every single day they are in the gym.\u00a0 For the adult parents that are in the gym, that little piece of tape represents the sacrifices they have to make to be at the gym, the sacrifices that their family has to make when they are not at home because parents have goals and dreams to, the injuries that they have had to work past, the work schedule challenges that could easily keep them away, the tiredness they feel after a long day at work when they could have stayed on the couch that day and the humility of often times being smashed by a teenager that can\u2019t even drive yet.\u00a0 For the single adults, it represents overcoming the fear of now knowing what you are walking into when you come in the gym the first time, it often represents a continued desire to maintain an athletic and possibly competitive lifestyle, it represents a development and knowledge that you are increasing your ability to defend yourself and those around you.\r\n\r\nDuring the Junior Champs test, one of our newer students kept looking over at his dad, jumping up and down, flexing his biceps, and smiling ear to ear after he got his first stripe.\u00a0 I hope that\u2019s how EVERYONE feels inside when that piece of tape is put around your belt.\u00a0 I know I felt that way.\u00a0 This world is constantly trying to drag us down.\u00a0 We couldn\u2019t even celebrate for 2 days after the US men\u2019s hockey team won the gold medal because of the political nonsense that seems to engulf everything.\u00a0 So, enjoy those pieces of tape and what they represent.\u00a0 They are battle scars and markers that let you know you are a better individual than you were 3 months prior.\u00a0 For those that don\u2019t get it, just look at them and tell them\u2026\u2026..you just don\u2019t get it.","featured_image":"","featured_image_id":"","featured_article":""},"categories":[],"class_list":["post-340","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n