Prof. Jessica Penner | OL05 | Fall 2020

Rampersaud, Meet My Belt

I don’t bluster about my belt, and it not an ordinary belt. It is my black belt in Shotokan karate that I worked years to accomplish. If I took 6 months or a year off because of unexpected events in my life, I always find myself back to training to accomplish my goal of becoming a black belt.

Training martial arts was something that I always wanted to do when I was in high school, but I didn’t have the money to join a school. When I finally got a part time job on the weekend, my next step was to joining a martial art school. Martial art was more than just learning to fight, but it is a culture and building a family bond with other students.

Now that I received my black belt from all the hard work, all the blood and sweat I shed, I do feel it was one of my biggest accomplishment. During my duration of training I see so much students quit, and I told myself I don’t want to be a quitter in life no matter how tuff things got. To this day, I still train on a weekly basis because it’s a skill you have to maintain.

6 Comments

  1. Luzmery

    Hi Rampersaud, congratulations on getting your Black Belt. You have showed that when you want to get something you make all the efforts that have to be made until you get it. I’m happy you get to do something you really like and are passionate about. Do you see yourself as a Martial teacher in the future?

  2. Angelica Salazar

    Congratulations on receiving your black belt. I enjoyed reading about the meaning of martial arts to you, and your feelings towards the art. After reading this its clear you are very passionate towards Shotokan karate, would you ever consider Jiu Jitsu?

  3. Sarvinoz Erkinova

    Hello Rampersaud ,
    Great dedication and motivation for what you love. You seem like a very determined person on persuing your goals in life. I remember my little brother used to go to Judo from the age of 6 until 10 but then he switched to wrestling. He used to have different colors of belts and I wasn’t sure what they meant. Do colors of belts tell you about your rank and is black the highest rank you can earn?

  4. Kael Krummenauer

    Congratulations on such an achievement, its not everyone that can say they are a black belt. This shows great determination to not quit when the fruits of your labor won’t be immediate which is why many people end up giving up on long term goals. Why did you choose to practice Shotokan karate out of all the available martial arts?

  5. Amna Ahmed

    Being a black belt in Shotokan karate is a great skill to have. I really like that despite being around so many classmates that have quit, you continued to persevere. It shows strong dedication and ambition. What was the hardest obstacle that you had to go through in order to get your black belt?

  6. Bryan.carabajo

    First off, I want to congratulate you on receiving your black belt and secondly, I admire your dedication in order to receive the black belt. As you said, you saw people quit and give up because it was too hard but you, on the other hand, kept going because you knew exactly what you wanted to achieve. I hold much respect for people that stand up for and go for what they really want. I have never done any martial arts training, but I have continued bettering myself as a plumber. I am a plumber for NYC and when I first started I did not really understand much about pipes, of reading footprints or construction plans, and as much crap as the other workers talked about me I never gave up and tried my best to better myself. Forward a couple of months later, I know how to read construction plans, I know how to braze copper, solder copper and before I used to work alongside someone as their helper but now I have my own tools, over 2k in tools and I now work alone and I help others. There is allot I still need to learn but I love working in copper and so far that’s what I’m really good at and. next comes no-hub and gas lines. I had to surpass obstacles to get where I am today, but what was the hardest and most difficult obstacle you faced? and how did you overcome it?

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