Perseverance

by Alejandro Perez, 3rd Class Brown Belt

I believe in perseverance.

To me, perseverance is the will of one to try and try again, even upon failure to reach success. I have experienced perseverance in my own life time and time again. For instance, I have had perseverance in school where I have studied for tests, thinking that I had succeeded until it comes back with a bad grade. I study hard and hard for the next one to come knowing that this time I knew I was going to reach what I wanted. Both determination and dedication also play a key role in keeping perseverance.

I do judo, a martial art that requires both determination and dedication for the art to be successful. Judo is not only a sport that teaches you self-defense; it also teaches you very important life lessons. A judoka, one who practices judo, can spend hours and hours of hard work but no matter what, there will always be someone who is better than you.  

As a matter of fact, one of judo’s sayings is “fall down 7 times, get up 8”.

I have gone to tournaments time and time again, but very little 1st place medals have been brought back. Tournaments are not for someone to go to win or to lose, they are there to teach a lesson, which is to never give up. A judoka has the will to try and try again not only to win, but to apply it to everywhere else they go whether it be a job, another sport, academics, etc.

I have been in judo for 6 years now, many wins, many losses, but time and time again I have been in crucial spots where my perseverance from judo has kept me going and there’s nothing stopping me now.

(Link to Kyuzo Mifune's writings on judo)

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