Today, I am a Black Belt

Phil Elmore

Phil Elmore

Joined
Feb 28, 2002
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Several years ago I wrote a humorous review of an Ashida Kim booklet that I entitled, originally, "Today, I am a Black Belt." The joke is that the booklet came wrapped in a "black belt equivalency certificate," a worthless piece of paper alleging a rank completely unearned. I framed that certificate becuase I found it amusing, and it hung on the wall of my office for quite some time.

Today I've got a real certificate to frame. Today, I can say in all sincerity that I am a black belt.

I've been training in Liu Seong Gung Fu since 2004, after spending three years prior to that in Wing Chun Gung Fu. Today, I earned my black belt in the Liu Seong system. It was kind of anticlimactic; I wasn't expecting it, because my instructor has been testing me for several weeks now without telling me he was doing so (under the guise of "a comprehensive review").

Whew. Seven years in this leg of the journey alone, give or take. Guess that's a good beginning.
 
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But Phil,

Whatever are the tools er ah, I mean trolls, um, oh.. I mean the guys at Bullshido going to do now that you actually have certification in a legit Martial Art?

Will they find a new victim to trounce? Will they give up their Trollish ways???

Who Cares?!! LOL!

Congrats on the Dan ranking. Sticking with a system for 7 years is an accomplishment in and of itself in this age of instant gratification.
 
No, it's not about the system, it's about his accomplishment. It should be in
Whine & Cheese so his "friends" could congratulate him properly, though. :p

So is this black belt anything like a Bar Mitzva?
 
It's two different programs -- Wing Chun for three years, but I grew dissatisfied with the environment there and switched to Liu Seong full time in 2004, after training in both systems for a time. So I've been doing Liu Seong for something like four and a half to five years by itself. Seven years total for my time with Kung Fu in general.

I got my start in Chidokwan Karate back in the early 1990s, but never stuck with anything long enough to get a rank of any significance.
 
Congratulations on your accomplishment. Hope you will continue with your training, keep your mind open and gain even more skill.
 
Make sure you buy some black shoes to match! Congratulations on your accomplishments, but please don't dance.:D
 
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