“BLUE IS A SYMBOL OF THE SKY, WHICH THE YOUNG PLANT TRIES TO REACH. THE BLUE-BELT STUDENT FOCUSES HIS ENERGY ON ACHIEVING THE NEXT LEVEL.”
~GWEN BRUNO, LIVESTRONG.COM
Blue belt is where we started learning to spar—to be fast, accurate, and defensive. I was a good fighter, quick and energetic. I gained a reputation as the one to beat in the point matches. The katas were more complicated and the self-defense moves more creative, and the better I did, the better I felt.
Sparring was the first sport at which I excelled, and it gave me a feeling that, at first, I was not comfortable with. I’d always avoided the spotlight because illumination could reveal all manner of flaws and imperfections; and I’d spent the better part of my life attempting to hide mine. The head gear combined with the sweat ensured no cover-up would stick to my skin or pencil marks to my eyebrows, and, for the first time in my life, I didn’t care. At least, not as much. My love of sparring was stronger than my need to conceal my compulsions.
It was a small step for the young plant but a step nevertheless.