Earning a BlackBelt is a Priceless experience!
I often get requests for how much should I pay for training and what is good value for my money?
A fair question but not easily answered, without putting it into context first.
I travel a lot with intent on keeping current with the global martial arts community and to confer with my peers from around the world.
At one of these international conferences, which was attended by thousands of black belts. They posed that exact question in a very unique and enlightening way.
I was impressed with the organizers foresight to take the opportunity and survey so many of the worlds top martial artist with a combined experience of tens of thousands of years of martial arts training. Mind boggling when you think of the collected resources pooled together for that week long conference.
One of the most enlightening questions was as follows:
“If you had the choice of receiving a million dollars cash in exchange for all your collected experience while earning your balck belt including the countless hours of grueling training, the injuries and set backs, the obstacles faced and overcome through perseverance and patience. The losses suffered in competition and victories pain stakingly realized through trial and error, if possible would you exchange all those hard earned memories for a million dollars?”
Before I reveal the answer I must first share with you that martial artists of different disciplines and styles rarely if ever agree upon anything. That’s why when at the end of the conference when the results from the survey was released I was awe struck with the outcome.
It was 100% completely unanimous that no one there at the conference would even consider trading the culminated knowlege and experience gained through earning a black belt, not even for a miillion dollars !
Even though the survey question was intentionally designed to focus on the trials and turbulatuons of training for black belt. Everyone who trains in martial arts like BJJ or karate understands there is two sides to every coin. Yes earning your black belt is very challenging as it should be, however during that process you can’t help but to grow as human being, make friends that share common interests an ideals, build your health both mentally and physically. This is why so many choose to train towards the black belt and beyond.
This is an extremely powerful testament to the value and benifits of training in the martial arts. Costs may very slightly from school to school but the value achieved through your training should and will be priceless!
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