Someone once asked, why is it called ‘The Pit of Despair’?
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It’s because we don’t want you to be under any illusions. This is where you will grade… and this is where we will try to break you.
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l don’t mean physically – you will all be ready for that right? I mean who would turn up for their grading unprepared? – No, I mean mentally.
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You have willingly put yourself on a martial path and from the start, you have been told that that path is a tough one. You are willingly putting yourself up to see if all that training has paid off and you are ready to move up to a higher grade.
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And to do that, you will be tested. And you will be tested in the ‘Pit of Despair’. The lowest point in the camp – metaphorically and physically. If it rains, you will be wading through mud. If the sun beats down, you will find no shade. And, either way, you must focus on the task in hand and continue.
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We know that, more or less, you know the material, and yes, that will be tested, but mostly what will be tested will be your spirit; your drive; your will to push on – especially when others start to fall away.
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In the beginning when you first join the dojo, we are looking for ways for you to pass your grade. But as you approach your first dan grade, your black-belt, we are actively looking for ways to fail you.
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We will try to break you; get you to falter; get you to pack it in; get you to quit.
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And all of that will happen in The Pit of Despair.
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So…
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Don’t break – find the strength. Those that are testing you went through these same tests, the same process, and they believe you can too.
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Don’t give up – suck it up and push on. You have so much more than you know.
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Don’t quit – one more step, one more push-up, one more lap, one more carry, one more round.
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All things come to an end.
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Don’t quit.
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Earning a black-belt is an incredibly meaningful and profound experience, and many who’ve practiced karate for decades still remember their black-belt test as a pivotal moment in their training. By contrast, simply having a black-belt, like so many do today, is fairly meaningless.
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Achieving a black-belt isn’t the end of a student’s training, and students who quit their training after earning a black-belt probably shouldn’t have received that grade in the first place.
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It’s a major milestone, but only a milestone, on a much larger and longer journey. Done well, karate is designed to be a lifelong practice where (regardless of grade, reward, or external acknowledgement) students push themselves to develop their mental, physical, and emotional/spiritual strength – one step further every day. The training becomes the incentive to continue training.
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Many students don’t progress far enough into their training to develop this deeper understanding and appreciation for the martial arts – but those who do, discover that the real rewards of karate training are far greater, than whatever superficial feelings of success they experience when receiving a new belt.
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The test begins when you walk through the door of the dojo for the very first time. Everything is a test. The challenge has begun.
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Not everyone is a true martial artist. Are you? 
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Inspired by, and with thanks to Shihan Gavin Mulholland – Daigaku Karate Kai – from the ‘The Pit of Despair’.
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