Two Classic Come Back Lines For Black Belts

As a black belt, as a second degree female black belt, there are alway questions, especially from people not involved in Martial Arts.  How you answer these questions when you are twenty and how you answer them when you are 50 are worlds apart. At twenty the answer to everything is generally, "come here and I'll kick your ass. Then you'll know the anwer."

At fifty I generally respond with a shrug, that's my way of saying, "well come on and we'll see."
But there are two questions my kids and I face all the time, so it was good to come up with some generic and friendly answers. I very rarely tell people what my rank is or how long I've been working out. But people find out. So this is what I say.

#1 Men find out I have a black belt and I swear, all the jerky ones say something like,
"So you're a second degree. That means you could take me right?"
Imagine me, standing there in a pretty flowered dress.  I just smile at the doof who is 6'4 and 250 pounds."Well, maybe you'd end up beating me, but I promise, you would know you'd been in a fight." And I keep on smiling. What's he gonna say?

#2 The kids and I walk into the gas station/connivance store after class. We don't wear our belts but we are wearing our white uniform pants and black tee-shirts.  A guy with a 12 pack of PBR will generally say something to the cashier like, "Ohh, we got us a bunch of black belts in here. They must be pretty tough."
At that point I smile again, cause that's always my answer, and I say, "That's right, so if a bunch of pirates break into the place, we got your back, no need to fear." 

That line always makes folks laugh, takes the spot light off the jerk and we all walk away happy. We are cool, confident and strong.

If you try to confront these guys like this,.... you lose. No matter what you say, you look like a tool, unless you can get them to laugh and then they just wonder about how bad "A" you really are. You don't have to prove anything, you just have to walk away. What you know and how good you are is your business so never take their bait unless you're really really ready.

Is It All About The Fighting?

At some point in my limited 12 year Martial Arts career things changed.  I realized this morning having, excellent technique and a brilliant form is more important to me than sparring.  I'd rather everyone in my family have a crowd stopping pattern  than win  point sparing. This is new for me. For years it's been about the fighting and sparring. I was the one on the sidelines yelling, "go for the ribs,Honey".

Suddenly, the "Art" part of Martial Arts takes priority. I think it's because anyone can have a killer cross and score points with a sneaky back fist. But very few ever have a form that stops traffic during a tournament. An amazing form is very much like a magnificent dance. It is art and it is awe inspiring. A great form requires, technique, power, grace, stamina and finesse.

It's strange and wonderful  how being part of the martial arts world allows your mind to expand and change. Maybe that's the maturing process. What ever it is...I like it.