Written by Lydia Nielsen
I recently had the privilege of earning my black belt in Karate. It was a difficult task to say the least. I began training at just 6 years old alongside my mom and siblings when we were missionaries in Puebla, Mexico. When I first began, I never imagined where it would lead me today! After we moved back to Minnesota and my mom opened her own karate school, I became more focused and more involved. My mom started me over as a white belt, but I worked hard and quickly moved back up the ranks. I earned my black belt in mixed martial arts in 2023 and now my black belt in karate in September of this year.
As the years have gone on and our school has grown, I have also had the privilege of becoming the lead teacher for some of our kids’ classes. This sport has become a huge passion of mine, and I love that I am able to influence student’s lives through the skills and values we teach. Not only am I able to teach them, but they constantly challenge me to learn and adapt as well. People who know me well know that I am a true introvert and can be very quiet. However, in class, I have learned to be confident, outgoing, and have learned how to teach students of different learning styles and ages (even those much older than me). I have found such confidence and passion in this sport that now when asked a question about martial arts, I can get talking for hours.
This is one of the things I have come to love most about martial arts: the community and camaraderie we build. Even though it is an individual sport, we still train alongside others and push each other to continue to work hard and be the best that we can. Martial arts goes beyond just keeping in shape and learning how to fight and defend yourself; it truly becomes a lifestyle, a lifestyle that is about respect, camaraderie, kindness, and love. It truly creates bonds between people that you can’t find anywhere else. The amount of love and respect that floats between students can be felt in class, during belt tests, and even when attending tournaments and competing against others we have never met. The values of respect taught in karate affects not only how we train and fight, but it changes how we view others and essentially who we are outside the studio as a friend, son, daughter, parent, student, and so on.
Not only has martial arts had an effect on my physical life and health, but it has changed my spiritual life as well. In karate, I’m always reminded of the verses in Ephesians 6:10-20. These verses talk about putting on the full spiritual armor of God so that we can fight against the devil’s schemes. One thing that is often prevalent in our lives as Christians is spiritual warfare. Our fight is not just against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces that we often can’t see. These verses remind me to protect myself with truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God, which is our Sword. As I have learned different tools to fight physically, I have also learned many different tools to fight spiritually.
As I have taken this big step in my journey in martial arts, I am reminded of this community and all the people who have influenced me along the way. Even though I have had to learn to discipline and push myself to earn each belt, I am also aware that I am reliant on others to grow! I think of my instructors in Mexico, other ABKA instructors, every person I have trained alongside, the students I teach, and MOST importantly my mom who is my main instructor. I would not have been able to accomplish what I have- a black belt in both karate and martial arts-or grown in all the ways I have, if it wasn’t for these people who have been and continue to train and teach me.
