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When I first started martial arts classes, I did so out of desire. It was my desire to be able to takedown any would-be attacker with extreme malice. Little did I know that my Isshin-ryu karate instructor would be a Baptist preacher who didn’t take kindly to my reason for entering his dojo – the Japanese word for place of practice. His desire was that his students learn self-discipline and character.
While most martial arts schools teach a lot of Eastern philosophy in their training, my instructor had his students memorize Bible verses and meaningful quotes from men with great honor. Memorization was mandatory and tested. The physical training was also intense. Sensei (Japanese for instructor) and Pastor Stan Harris would require workouts that were so tough, getting beat up by thugs would seem like a picnic.
After six years of extreme training I received a black belt from the Isshin-ryu Karate School. To this day, I am the only student to ever reach black belt under the guidance of Sensei Stan Harris. But I am definitely not the only student who entered his dojo determined to takedown others, only to realize I first had to takedown myself.
Desire’s road doesn’t always take us where we think it should, but desire itself can give fuel to our effort and inspire us to take the first step in some direction. In my case, a desire to do something for negative reasons led me to a man who turned my desire in to a passion to do something positive with my life. My would-be attackers are now critics of my latest novel, and my response is not to take them down, but to write better. That is my where my desire has led me.
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