Elizabeth, a lively 9 year old girl and her mom walked into our school a few years ago. Her mom told us stories of her child being horribly bullied at school, and the damage that it was doing to her. Not only was it hurting her self esteem, but just being able to get through each day was becoming incredibly difficult. Elizabeth's mom had heard that Karate could help her child with bullying, and she was willing to try it… if it would only help, it would be so worth it, she told me.
The world out there can be brutal sometimes, it could be other kids, the economy, your boss, the weather, a virus that shuts down our economy… so many things that can bring us down, and beat us further while we are there. As if it wasn't bad enough, for the most part, we have no control over any of it.
However as Mr. Jim Rohn used to say, "it is not the blowing of the wind, but the setting of the sails that will determine our direction in life". We all have a choice, we can let life beat us down and blame the world for our misfortunes. Or, like Elizabeth did, and continues doing, taking ownership of ourselves and charting our own destination.
Despite the nasty world out there, this young lady understood that the one thing she could change was herself, and thus, change her life entirely. You may wonder what she did. Did the bullies magically go away? Did she beat them to a pulp with her Karate moves? No, none of that. This young lady became confident in herself. She understood that her self worth did not rest on the mouths of the other kids. But even better, she became an advocate and a protector of other youths like her former self, and I could not be any more proud of her.
This month we opened the doors to what is now Our Second Karate School (this one in Westminster), and it is because of students like Elizabeth, that I look at the future with hope, and the expectation of even greater things to come. Today, Elizabeth continues to train diligently and confidently; setting her own goals, her own sails, despite the turbulent winds that may blow around her each day, and her mom knows it's been all worth it many times over.
Sensei Willy Strohmeier founded Colorado Karate Club in 2005 and has taught traditional Shotokan karate to children and adults in Brighton and Westminster, Colorado, ever since, and writes a monthly column for The Brighton Buzz. More about CKC