Receiving my yellow belt was a dream come true to me. I remember when I was a white belt, I thought that attaining yellow belt was so far out of reach. But there I was standing proud with a yellow belt tied around my waist. I was ecstatic that I could call myself a practitioner of martial arts. There was a new challenge ahead of me. The challenge of learning a new line drill and kata was set before me. I took to the challenge eager and ready to go. However, little did I know, a bigger challenge relating to martial arts and life had already been set into motion. That challenge is being patient.

When one practices martial arts and advances through the ranks, the practitioner must complete a something called "time in rank." "Time in rank" refers to the time one is promoted to a certain belt level (in my case being promoted to yellow belt) until he or she is promoted to the next level (my case orange belt). At my school, the minimum time in rank for a student had to be in was 3 months. After 3 months, the possibility of being promoted to the next belt rank would be considered by the Sensei, and the Black Belt members of the school. Meeting the minimum "time in rank" status does not automatically qualify one to be promoted. Other items must be taken into consideration as well. Such considerations would be, does the student have their stripes (1 for line drill and 2 for kata) on their belts, how well can the student execute the sequence of moves in the line drill or kata, are the moves being performed sloppy or crisp in nature, or is the student physically, mentally, and spiritually ready to take on the requirements of the next rank. When I was a yellow belt, I did not know this.

As time progressed, I had earned my two strips per the requirements of the curriculum. Additionally, I had met the 3-month minimum waiting period. In my mind, I was ready to be promoted to Orange belt. But I did not get promoted or even considered for promotion for quite some time. This confused me greatly. As mentioned above, I had acquired my two orange stripes, met the 3-month waiting period, what else could I do to even be considered for promotion? Unbeknownst to me, I still had much to learn. Throughout my time as a yellow belt, I had to learn to make my moves look sharper, my stances firm and strong, performing my kata with a methodical approach instead of rushing through it. But most importantly, the lesson I learned in my time as a yellow belt was patience.

It took me just over a year to be promoted from yellow belt to orange belt. That is a long time for a 9-year-old kid to wait. However, waiting this long taught me the lesson of patience. If one is patient long enough it will come. It may be tomorrow it may not be, but it will eventually happen. Furthermore, my time spent as a yellow belt taught me that it does not matter if I think I am ready, if my Sensei did not believe I was ready to be promoted, then I was not ready to advance. I have taken this lesson and apply it to my personal life.