My Dear Omega Family:
WOW, another year has gone by, and I find myself at my computer reflecting on this past year and trying to figure out how to slow time down – because it literally feels like yesterday that I was writing this letter for the 2023 Christmas Party. This strange phenomenon of time speeding up when you get older is real and I find myself trying to grasp onto and hold close to my heart all the precious moments that make up our lives together. But the inevitable is happening – my hair is getting a little grayer (not quite at Kwan. Bob level – but getting there), my eye site is getting a little worse each day, and I find that my roundhouse kick is not quite as high as it used to be. You know what – I am OK with this. I mean believe me – I was not always OK with this, but I have learned a very valuable lesson that I want to center this letter around.
The lesson is this… “The journey of life (and martial arts) is worth it – so embrace it ALL and never quit!”
The journey through martial arts is often a small mirror of the journey through life. In fact, to be completely transparent, I purposefully do my best to orchestrate the Omega journey to have this kind of similarity. In the Omega program, from white belt to black belt (and beyond), I want all of you to experience the highest of highs. However, I also know that the most growth does NOT happen when we are on the top of the mountain. The growth happens when we are challenged, when we experience hardships and failure – when we are climbing and struggling with all our might to get to the top. Because of this… I also want you all (including me) to also go through hard things. I want you to struggle and see what you do when faced with those struggles. I want you, and me, to grow!
I have often asked little kids in my office or when teaching them, “Do you want to know the secret to getting a 7th DAN Black Belt?” They look at me with anticipation and they answer with a resounding, “YES SIR!” I usually let them down with my short and very simple answer. I know they want me to say something to the effect of, “It is said that a 7th DAN Black Belt can survive for months on nothing but the dew of a single ginko leaf and the energy of the universe (thanks Kung FU Panda)”. But the simple yet profound response I give them comes from 41 years of martial art experience, and almost 48 years of life experience. I tell them the secret is this………….. “I NEVER QUIT!” There is always a visual let down and a glossing over of the eyes when hearing such a simple answer.
But this is the secret sauce – that there is no secret sauce. It is simply you – embracing all that this journey of martial arts, and life, has to offer – and never quitting. Now, I know that not all students that start Omega Martial Arts will get to Black Belt – history has shown us that only 4% of those that start Omega actually get all the way to Black Belt. However, the most important question is – WILL YOU?
The reason this is the subject of my Christmas letter this year is the older I get and the more experienced martial artist I become – I find that the most amazing lessons happen when you are in the middle of journey. The Black Belt, the top of the mountain, etc. are not where we learn the lessons – it is not where we get all the bumps and bruises, for those sacred scars are only found in the journey.
So, my hope, my wish, and my invitation for you this upcoming year is this: Recommit yourself to this journey of martial arts (or life for that matter), embrace all that it has to offer you, be OK with not being perfect, be OK with the bumps, the scars, the bruises (yes, even the gray hair, bad eye site, and lower roundhouse) for they are evidences of a life well lived – and, NEVER, EVER, QUIT!
I love you all with my whole heart and wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Shihan Richard
