Maintaining a black belt perspective

It is often said, in the martial arts world, that a black belt is nothing more than a white belt who never gave up. This is the black belt way of thinking. Persistence. Confidence. Meditation. Visualization. Focus. Effort. Sweat. Intensity. Creativity. Power.
These are the traits that I continue to work on inmylife outside of the dojo. Even though I am not currently a formal martial arts student, I am a martial artist. I have a black belt, and I hope to, when the time is right, continue on my path of black belt excellence, however far it will take me. When I tell people I meet that I am a black belt, I want them to look at me and say, "Of course you are! I knew there was something amazing about you!" not "You are? I never knew that?!?!"
You do not need to be a martial artist to have this kind of strength. You just need to find a way to develop it through positive thinking and meditation. We can accomplish anything we want to, whether it is breaking a stack of boards with our bare hands or conquering Mount Everest or just being happy with who we are and where we are at, as long as we tell ourselves we have that kind of power. You don't need a black belt around your waist to think like a black belt.

Is there a Red Bull for Confidence?

I have a karate tournament coming up on Saturday and I am starting to really freak out mentally. It is the first time I will be competing in one for karate. I am really nervous that I will completely blank when the judges call my name and completely forget what I should say and do. . . and that I will just totally suck at sparring. My mom and Kelly will be going up there with me and will be there to support me, but I am not sure if they will be that impressed. I need to figure out how to boost my confidence really fast!

Olympics glory and upsets

I love the Olympics! Tonight I was watching some swimming events and they were amazing. I felt so bad for Katie Hoff. She was set to win the gold, a full body length ahead of the next swimmer with less than one lap to go and somehow, the British girl caught up and touched the wall just before her and in less than an instant (.07 of a second) she went from gold to silver. Don't get me wrong, that is still amazing, but I could tell by the look on her face that she was devastated.
The next race was the men's relay and Michael Phelps was the first leg of the race. The French team had been quoted bragging, "We will smash the Americans. That's what we came here to do." So they were ahead for most of the race, but on the last leg, our guy (crap I can't remember his name) pulled ahead with amazing power and beat the French by .08 of a second. Everyone was in a tizzy. Michael Phelps couldn't believe what he had seen and he was screaming from the bottom of his belly. You could see the muscles straining from his belly button all the way to his neck and the veins in his neck and forehead looked like they would burst! I was so excited. We saw the medal ceremony and he was smiling the whole time they played the national anthem. 2 more gold medals and he will be the greatest Olympic athlete of all time! You can do it Michael!
Hey, let's not forget the Redeem Team smashing China last night in basketball. That was pretty awesome too. Unfortunately, I did not see that-only some highlights of the game.
What's up with no baseball or softball anymore? Who decided that Mr. IOC Chairman?
Go USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!