“WHITE, THE COLOR OF A SEEDLING BENEATH THE COVER OF EARTH, SIGNIFIES A BEGINNER TO THE MARTIAL ARTS. WHITE ALSO SYMBOLIZES THE INNOCENCE OF A NEW STUDENT WHO EMBARKS ON HIS JOURNEY WITH NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE.”
~GWEN BRUNO, LIVESTRONG.COM
When I first joined karate a few weeks before my thirtieth birthday, I was afraid of many things—trying something new, trying it without knowing anybody, looking like an idiot, sweating, not being able to physically do what I was expected to do—but what I was not afraid of was yelling. Until I realized I couldn’t do it.
In my karate school, it was called “breathing,” but whatever they termed it, I couldn’t do it. I could not yell on command. Every punch, every kick was supposed to be accompanied by a “tee-ya!” or an “ay-yah!” that would make the move more powerful. And I couldn’t do it. So much of my life had been spent shutting up, being quiet, blending in, going along to get along, that I was physically unable to shout.
It was months before I let that first “tee-ya!” fly and realized that the world was not going to fall apart around me simply because I opened my mouth.