After a challenging three-hour test, senior Kevin Hutchinson earned his black belt at Rising Sun Martial Arts on Thursday.
“I’ve been practicing karate since February of 2016. I was 10 at the time,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson went through a series of steps and tests before reaching his current level of karate skill.
“Before black belt, there are six prior belts. To me, it was a constant progression of getting better each day,” Hutchinson said. “Black belt is the big milestone. When you earn your black belt, it’s like you’re packing for a trip that lasts you a lifetime. You learned the basics and you’re ready to keep going further.”
Hutchinson has practiced diligently up to this point without losing sight of his goals.
“I try to practice every day. I go to class at Rising Sun four nights a week. In my free time, I also practice 20 minutes a day,” Hutchinson said.
Over the years, Hutchinson learned to love martial arts and the peaceful feeling it gives him.
“I want to get better at it and be a better person for it. I practice karate for both being physically better and mentally better. Being mentally stronger goes into every aspect of my life,” Hutchinson said. “Karate is therapeutic. It helps to relieve stress. It’s helpful when your mind is spinning to be able to focus on one move at a time.”
The black belt test is a combination of all of the prior martial arts tests for each succeeding rank.
“With the test I took yesterday, it was just as much a mental battle as it was a physical one. It was a three-hour test and the mental aspect was the most difficult,” Hutchinson said.
Becoming a black belt and going through all of the trials it required made an impact on Hutchinson.
“There were times when I wanted to give up. I would say to anybody, if you’re doing something difficult or something that takes a long time to achieve, don’t give up. If I had given up I would have never experienced the joy of getting the black belt,” Hutchinson said.
Even though he has reached a major milestone, there is still more progression for Hutchinson to make in martial arts.
“There are different degrees of black belt that are higher. I only have a solid black belt,” Hutchinson said. “It feels awesome. It’s very rewarding, and it’s not like the end point. This makes me want to just keep training and keep going. Today I’ll practice like I do every day.”
