Walsh Hayes

The Journey

I had flown to Nashville to test for my long-awaited San Dan (third degree Black Belt - This is similar to becoming the official Teacher) a week ago. Before the test I had been training consistently sinc...

Its usually said in Martial-arts that the meaning doesnt lie in how good you are or what gear you have, rather the meaning lies in the journey. Before I get into What Black Belt Means To Me, I would like to discuss my journey of these past few weeks.

The Journey

A week ago I'd flown to Nashville to test for my long-awaited San Dan (3rd degree Black Belt - This is a lot like getting the state Teacher). Prior to the test I'd been teaching consistently since April of this year at my local gym and a friends school.

It'd been about 5 years since Ive last practiced my discipline, Wado-Ryu Karate-Do, so my remembrance of the system was very vague. After watching numerous tapes of myself as a new martial artist, I'd re-learned my under belt curriculum, but I was struggling to recall my black belt curriculum. Ones under gear information is important because it is considered as the foundation of ones training, If you know anything about martial-arts. On the other hand, a lot of people think that your teaching really begins once you realize your first black belt. I couldnt agree more. When I was promoted to Sho Dan (1st Degree Black Belt) my meaning about Wado-Ryu and the fighting styles had grown dramatically and I started to really learn. To compare more, please consider looking at: website.

In either case, I needed to learn precisely what might have possibly been thrown at me as it had been ten years since my last official test.

In July, I went to Nashville to train with my beloved and highly recognized teacher Sensei Wayne Tyler. Unconditional love for his students and the art and I consider him like a father figure in my own martial arts career because of his vast knowledge of Wado-Ryu. Imagine being a scientist and your teacher was Albert Einstein that is what it is like to be underneath the wing of Sensei Tyler (or Mr. Tyler, as I call him). I used to be in Nashville education with Sensei 2 3 hours daily for 5 days. I caught up on my curriculum and took the extra information which was passed down by him and applied it to my education back Denver.

Again, because I didnt know what to anticipate, I conditioned myself to-be r