What color is your belt?

Even if you have never attended a single martial-arts class, you probably already know that the training involves moving from a belt of one color to a belt of another color to . . . well, you get the idea.  The color of the belt changes as you move up the ranks, culminating in a black belt if you stick with the program long enough and become proficient in a host of required techniques along the way. 
   But there's a common misconception about the meaning of black belt, and in today's post I would like to help set the record straight.  Ask most people, including yellow belts and green belts, what black belt means, and they'll probably say something that incorporates the word expert -- as in "a black belt is an invincible martial-arts expert." 
   Well, there are two flaws in that statement.  First, a black belt is not invincible, not by a long shot.  A black belt may or may not be able to handle a 220-pound mugger.  I never wanted to find out even when I was 25; 40 years later I'm even less inclined to test the theory.  Second, a black belt may or may not be an expert.  It's generally safe to assume that a 9th-degree grand master in, say, taekwondo, is an expert.  But what the black belt truly signifies is a "serious beginner."  You've become proficient in a great many basic techniques, and now you are ready to become a fully committed student of your martial art.  How long will you be a student?  Forever.  If you're a serious enough student, you never stop learning and never stop striving to strengthen the mind/body connection that represents genuine mastery of a martial art.
   So when you look at it this way, a white belt, a green belt, and a black belt are all in the same business.  They are attempting to become all that they are capable of becoming, regardless of the color of the belt.  The black belt has been working at this longer, but he or she probably understands that the path has no end.  The more you know, the more you recognize what you don't know.
   Now here's the best news.  No matter where you are in your training -- white belt or black belt -- it's not too late to reach for your full potential.  If you haven't taken a martial-arts class, go for it.  Find a senior-friendly school that will help you on your way.  And if you've been out of training for some time, let today be the day that you rededicate yourself to the path that never ends.
   Do you have a success story about being a senior in the martial arts?  If so, please share it here.