Preparation For Black Belt

During my early years of practicing Kuk Sool I never really placed that much emphasis on achieving my black belt, I just focused on the training and took each grade as it came.

It wasn't until about five years down the line that I became conscious that I was actually starting to get somewhere. The training was becoming more and more intense and because of this several of my classmates had already decided to call it a day. In fact out of forty members that had initially started alongside me, there were only now three of us left on course for black belt.

At this stage our Instructor informed all three of us that in order to reach this prestigious level, we would have to complete a special black belt candidate training programme, which he’d specifically designed. This meant carrying out three-months of intensive training, combined with our normal weekly practice. These ‘special’ sessions would take place on Sunday mornings from 6am – 12noon and would incorporate all aspects of martial art practice.

It was toward the end of February 1985 that our first session was scheduled. All of the additional training would take place at our Instructor's home, approximately thirty-miles from where I lived. I remember waking up early on that very first morning and feeling rather anxious not knowing what to expect. I’d arranged to call-in and pick up one of my training partners along the way, while our other classmate would make his own way there.

Upon arrival at our Instructor's house, the two of us got out of the car and casually strolled toward the side entrance of his property. It was still dark and there was a noticeable chill in the air. As we approached the back door ready to knock, I turned and whispered jokingly to my pal, "I bet he's tucked up in bed with his teddy bear." No sooner had I mentioned those words, we suddenly heard a loud noise directly behind us, the next thing... I felt something strike me really hard several times on my back. My friend also witnessed a similar painful sensation. We quickly turned and saw our Instructor standing there poised like a deadly Ninja Assassin.

He was actually waiting for us up on his garage roof and upon entering his garden he made his move - leaping down to the ground and battering us with two bamboo swords. After administering the beating he stood there motionless, looked at us straight in the eye and shouted - "you're both dead." The two of us just looked at each other in complete shock, not knowing what to say or do next.

Although painful, the blows didn’t damage us in anyway. Upon reflection it was probably one of the best lessons that we would encounter in all of our martial art training. Once we'd recovered from our surprise attack our Instructor then quizzed us about the whereabouts of our third training partner. We explained that we honestly didn't know where he was. He then told us to go and find him and not to come back without him.

We drove twenty miles to the place where our friend lived. We could see upon approaching his house that the curtains were still closed and there was no sign of any movement. We knocked on his front door…there was no answer. Out of desperation we then progressed in throwing small stones at his bedroom window, however still nothing. We ran down to the nearest telephone box and dialed our friend’s telephone number.... there was still no reply.

The next step was to telephone our Instructor and explain to him that there was no sign of our classmate. After speaking and telling him about the situation, his immediate response was " it’s all three of you or none of you." He then went on to say that in light of the current situation our first training session had been cancelled. In addition to this, he told us that the three of us were also banned from training at our martial art club for one week.

I have to admit at the time I felt totally aggrieved concerning the punishment that we'd received. I just couldn’t understand why our Instructor had penalised us all? I guessed that he just wanted the three of us to act like a team. At a later date we discovered that our absent training partner had missed the session because he’d had an argument with his wife, she'd obviously put her foot down for him not to attend. We didn’t hold this against him and understood that it was challenging times for all of us.

The following week we all stayed away from our club like had been requested. Our Instructor sent us a further message saying that he would allow us ‘one last chance’ to make the following Sunday morning. This time if any of us failed to turn up that would definitely be it; we'd all have to wait a minimum of one year to re-apply for black belt. 

The following Sunday all three of us arrived at our Instructor’s house, thankfully on time. We immediately checked the garage roof and other obvious hiding places, but on this occasion our mentor was nowhere to be seen. As we entered the garage we discovered a small note stuck on the side of the wall. The message informed us that our first task was to thoroughly clean out his dusty old garage until it was absolutely spotless. The note also mentioned that this garage was to be our training room or Dojang; a sacred place that we should come to respect over the next few months.

We brushed, cleaned and scrubbed every inch of the garage almost non-stop for approximately two hours. Our Instructor eventually emerged from his house and casually strolled down the garden to inspect the garage (Dojang). I remember feeling really pleased with our efforts and thought because of all this hard work it would now be time to begin our martial art training. I was wrong - our Instructor had other ideas. He informed us that we had completed our task for that particular morning and sent us home without any practice at all.

Our Instructor was now pushing us harder and harder than ever before. We always knew that he would challenge us mentally and physically in a variety of different ways. He literally changed from being this mild-mannered gentleman into a Sergeant-Major type of figure, barking out orders in your face. We realised that he was now throwing everything at us, including the kitchen sink and was just waiting to see if any of us would crack under the pressure.

During one particular evening our Sabumnim (Instructor) informed us that he’d arranged a special treat. I was always wary of any special occurrences, as I knew that they’d be a twist involved somewhere. On this particular occasion he had arranged for us to have a whole night of sparring against a couple of senior grade practitioners from another local Club. Basically he’d invited these guys to come along and kick-our-butts.

Sparring at that time was definitely not for the feint hearted. Performed at an advanced level it was literally a full contact affair with kicking, punching, throwing and takedowns and without the use of any sparring protection. Despite being pitched against top-notch exponents, the three of us were certainly not fazed by the contest. If we lacked skill and expertise against these guy’s we certainly made up for it with enthusiasm and self-belief.

At the time all three of us were at peak physical condition. It was that night I discovered that I was more than capable in defending myself in any given situation. My two fellow classmates and I more than held our own against these two vastly more experienced practitioners. Despite their intentions to teach us a lesson, we literally turned the tables and sent these two senior grades home with their bodies and ego’s battered and bruised.

Meanwhile back at the Dojang - Our Sunday morning sessions continued and consisted of the following regime: 6am - 7am cleaning the Dojang / 7am - 8am running + assault course / 8am - 8.30am meditation practice / 8.30am - 9am breakfast & nutrition lecture / 9.30am - 10am weight & fitness training / 10am -12noon martial art training.

All of our Sunday morning sessions would begin with a three-mile run over an assault course. It really felt like we were being trained to become Royal Marines. At the time we didn’t care about anything; not even the British weather could deter us. We ran in the snow, wind and rain and never missed a morning’s running during those three months.

Toward the end of our of black belt candidate training programme, we recognised that we had literally given everything that we had to give; including blood, sweat and tears. Our Instructor had pushed our minds and bodies to the absolute limit and somehow we had all managed to survive and come through this ordeal in one piece.

On the last Sunday morning of training, our Instructor stood there in his formal stance and   subsequently announced that all three of us had all graduated from his “boot camp” and were now ready for our final exam. We were of course elated at the result and realised that together we were now heading toward our final test for black belt.