*On April 14-16, 2023, 5 FILKENJUTSU Students tested for their Black Belts! While they were preparing for their test, the candidates were asked to write a thesis paper. This is Kat Hall’s paper.

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” -African Proverb

I started training martial arts over five years ago, as a 53 year old woman whose fitness level was not great. Martial arts might seem like an unusual choice at that age. Someone recently asked me why I started training, and what has kept me training.

There are innumerable reasons why martial arts training is a great endeavor at any age; some are overt, such as “learning self-defense and how to survive an attack.” Others may be surprising, like “increased strength, flexibility, stamina, focus, self-confidence, and mental stimulation, as well as reduced stress” (Corrigan, David). In his blog post on September 20, 2017, SiJo Bruce Corrigan describes some steps in his “Corrigan Master Plan” to defeat his greatest enemy- the aging process- the last step of which is to “make martial arts fit in your life, and use your training to enhance everything else you do” (Corrigan, Bruce). Naturally, I find all of these potential advantages of training compelling, particularly the latter, but none were the reason that I finally got on the mat.

Bruce Lee wrote, “I learn martial arts because I find it is like a mirror in which to reflect myself. I personally believe that all types of knowledge- I don’t care what it is- ultimately means self-knowledge” (Little 122). He found martial arts to be an activity that provided a means to physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual self-knowledge, and a means to get in touch with “the warrior within,” or the true self. (Little 122).

Lee’s Jeet Kune Do student, Dan Inosanto, said, “The goal of the martial arts is not for the destruction of an opponent, but rather for self-growth and self-perfection” (“Dan Inosanto”). These two venerated martial artists believed that martial arts training has the power to help one achieve self-actualization, which is reason enough to train! However, I was not familiar with the writings of Bruce Lee or Dan Inosanto before I started training; that knowledge came later.

Although there are myriad personal benefits to training martial arts, the emphasis on self-improvement and self-actualization does not mean that martial arts is a solo endeavor. In fact, it is quite the opposite, and it is this aspect of training that ultimately brought me into the martial arts.

My husband and daughter, Gary and Gracie, had been training at Progressive Martial Arts Academy for several years prior to my start date, sharing challenging experiences as father-daughter, and growing closer as part of a caring community. I had been tempted to begin training for a while, but was afraid I would not measure up. I’d been a strong, fit person in my earlier years as a military officer, and was ashamed by my poor physical fitness. However, as I listened from the sidelines to stories of camaraderie, and saw their mutual support and pride, I felt that I wanted to be a part of it.

Kat with her husband, son, and daughter after she received her Black Belt on April 16, 2023.

I was fortunate to attend the public demonstration on the third and final day of the black belt test in December 2017, when Sempai Brittany Corrigan and Sempai Kristie Fox earned their black belts. As had been the case at the demonstrations for Gracie’s and Gary’s black belt tests, I was feeling inspired by the ceremony and the clear display of camaraderie from the new black belts, who had survived this trial together.

In casual conversation with SiGung Meg Corrigan, I mentioned that I was considering braving it and trying an introductory lesson at SiJo Bruce’s martial arts club in Knoxville so that I could start training “under the radar,” as I was still embarrassed about my lack of fitness. SiGung Meg did not know me very well, and could very easily have offered encouragement and then moved on. Instead, she immediately stated that she would love to train with me, and the next week I had my introductory lesson with my new SiFu, Bruce Corrigan, and gained a new training partner, Meg Corrigan. I also gained two good friends.

Bruce Lee wrote that “...Martial Arts is ultimately an athletic expression of the dynamic human body. More important yet is the person who is there expressing his own soul…And it is not a question of winning or losing, but it is a question of being what is at that moment and being wholeheartedly involved with that particular moment and doing one’s best” (Lee 224). When I step onto the mat with my teacher, I am not there for just my own improvement in skill.

Kat, Sifu David. and some of the leadership team at PMA Summer Camp.

I try to bring my best to each moment to honor my teacher for the time and knowledge that he shares with me, and my teacher brings his best to that moment and honors his student by passing along his skill and wisdom. As teacher and student of the martial arts, we are both, as Bruce Lee described above, “expressing our souls.” Further, every martial arts student has a teacher, who also has a teacher, and so on. “This endless circle of student and master gives both the teacher and the taught the feeling of being part of a continuum of learning” (Hyams 40).

Almost 5 ½ years after that first lesson, martial arts has profoundly changed my life. I was inspired to change careers when an opportunity arose to work at PMA, so I have the privilege of working in a positive environment for an encouraging boss, SiFu David Corrigan, a dedicated and caring instructor to his students, and the inheritor of the martial arts system founded by his father, SiJo Bruce.

I get to know the students at PMA in my role as student director, and watch them thrive, while continuing my own training with SiJo Bruce. I’ve experienced many of the benefits of martial arts discussed by SiFu David and SiJo Bruce, such as better fitness and strength, learning self-defense, being mentally and physically challenged, and fighting the aging process the best I can. (I’m still a work in progress as far as Bruce Lee’s emphasis on self-actualization!) I have been selected as a black belt candidate and have grown so much through my training and friendship with my fellow candidates.

Kat dressed up as Frosty the Snowman during Spirit Week at PMA.

The answer to the question of why I started training ultimately comes down to being inspired by other martial artists– my husband and daughter who trained together and created a special bond through that experience, the strong women who tested that day in December of 2017, SiJo Bruce, who lit the fire at my first lesson with the pop of a boxing glove on a pad, and my friend, Meg, who held out her hand, invited me to start my journey, and walked the path with me to show me the way.

Kat and her family, training partners, and friends helping to set up PMA’s new location in February of 2023.

And why am I still training? Fitness, self-defense, balance, focus, mental challenge, fighting the aging process? Yes, of course all of those benefits are great reasons to keep training. But what really gets me back on the mat multiple times a week, even when I’m tired or sore? The same reason that I started- Martial artists are warriors, but they are also friends, a support system, a source of motivation and inspiration on good days and bad. I want to be a part of this martial arts family and I want to be one of them, so I get on the mat and follow the path of those who came before me and help to guide the way for those who come after me. Even Bruce Lee acknowledges: “Life is a constant process of relating. Man is living in a relationship, and in relationships we grow” (Little 61).

Kat and the fellow FILKENJUTSU students she tested for Black Belt with.

There is power in sharing a journey of lifelong learning with my SiFu, my husband and my daughter, my training partners and friends, and the other teachers and students of the Filkenjutsu-Kai family. We help one another continue to grow, we offer a hand to our colleagues when they struggle, and we would unequivocally wield those same hands in their defense should ever the need arise.

Kat receiving her Black Belt on April 16, 2023.

“The practice of a martial art should be a practice of love - for the preservation of life, for the preservation of body, and for the preservation of family and friends.” -Dan Inosanto

Black Belt Poem

by Jack Tuberville

The white belt learns to kick and punch

And take another down.

He trains in use of stick and knife

And grapples on the ground.

The Black Belt still has much to learn,

But nothing left to prove.

All fear he’s long since put aside;

He walks in different shoes,

He lives to serve both kith and kin,

And keep this pledge held true:

-In time of trouble

If you call

I will stand by you.