Eight years ago, on this day, I tested for my 4th degree black belt in ITF Tae Kwon-Do—the rank of master in our martial arts system.
The title “master” can mean many different things to many different people and there were plenty of schools of thought and opinions that were passed along my way that helped me uncover my own.
To me, this step is similar to the step that’s taken when a young person graduates from school and enters “the real world;” when the child moves out of their parents’ house and learns to provide for themselves; when the sheltered homebody is sent off on a worldly adventure to learn how to make it on their own.
What I see in that title is a symbolic shift in responsibility from being a student within the school to being a student of the arts. From being a dependent on the teachers’ knowledge to being an independent seeker of knowledge. From being a disciplined practitioner to being a self-disciplined ambassador and leader.
Look at it as an ending… and you’ll quickly lose the habits and skillsets that got you there in the first place.
As it is with any skillset that’s “mastered” in life.
Mastery doesn’t represent an end to learning.
It doesn’t represent an end to training.
And it definitely doesn’t represent an end to what can be uncovered within the art(s).
Mastery, as is the case with every stage along our journey, should be looked at as yet another beginning. One that should be taken with an increased sense of responsibility, a heightened sense of pride, and a stronger than ever devotion to realizing one’s potential.
Onward.