Minor, Ami - Team is Everything

Over the past four months, I have been in the midst of my 3rd degree Black Belt test. This is something that I have looked forward to ever since attaining my first degree black belt in May of 2014. My first degree test is a test I will never ever forget, 100 days of grueling workouts, pain, sweat, sleepless nights, homework, sparring rounds. That test was one of the hardest things I have ever done, there were times when I wanted to give up and walk right out the door and never come back. However, being part of such an amazingly supportive made all the difference. Though we were all at different points in our life, we all had the same goals, pushing ourselves past out limits, mentally breaking down walls ,and supporting each other along the way. During those 100 days, I learned so much about myself and just how strong I really am. It wasn't a walk in the park that's for sure, but having a great team by your side makes all the difference. You were never alone, you always had team members right by your side, not only pushing you to your limits but themselves as well. I distinctly remember one Saturday morning training, we had all walked into the studio at 7am and would be there for the next few hours. This particular Saturday, Master McWilliams had something extra special up his sleeve. That extra special thing being, The Deck of Death (Dun, Dun, Dunnn) Not the name itself is terrifying, but just wait to hear what it includes. The Deck of Death is a workout in which a full deck of 52 cards is used to determine which exercise and number of reps for each exercise is done. This was by far one of the hardest and most fun things throughout this test. What made it even more memorable was not the sweat dripping down my face, or were they tears, or my body screaming at me to stop, but to be part of such a team in which the number of reps didn't matter. If you finished all the reps and another teammate was still going, you wouldn't dare stand around to catch your breath, you would hope right back into the groove and keep going until everyone was done. That all in itself, was a major inspiration for me to keep and push myself past what I thought I was capable of. To have such amazing people by your side through one of the hardest experience makes all the difference.
I can't wait to watch our 2019 Kaizen team do the same.

 - Ami Minor
3rd Degree Black Belt Candidate 2019  

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