The Road Less Traveled

White. Yellow. Orange. Green. Blue. Brown. Red. Black. How excitedly a little boy gazes up at these taekwondo belts hanging on the wall hoping someday day it will be the black belt wrapped around his waist. Who doesn’t want to be the best? Who doesn’t want to make it to the top? The excitement that captivates his little mind has him all wired up to start training. Falling on day one seems exciting because the enticement of the black belt makes it so easy to get up. With each passing day, it gets a little harder and harder to get back up. The moment he realizes the white belt wraps around his waist. The dream of the black belt seems to be slipping out of his hand.

 The journey ahead is long and treacherous. At least 5 years they tell him. That’s a lot of falls the boy tells himself.  Reality is slowly sinking in. Decisions have to be made. To forge on or throw in the towel and go home are questions that are twirling in his little head. Those are the very same questions the Ra family knows all so well.

Studying martial arts for many years, opening a martial art studio seems to be a natural path for John and his family. The excitement of owning his studio and being his own boss is all so intoxicating. To be able to work on his time and schedule seem so exciting and invigorating. To go after his dream, John quits his stable 9-5 job with all the perks and benefits that come with it. Everyone is excited and on board.

John starts teaching for free at the University of Rochester then it leads to a shared studio in downtown Rochester. Space and time are limited. Questions are on the rise. How to move forward? What did we get ourselves into? Is this worth it? There’s too much uncertainty. So they turn to God and pray. We have to forge on they tell themselves. There is a joy that John and his family get from sharing their passion and love with the community. There is a great desire to change the community around them through God and martial art.

Onward they go. For 2 long years, they search for a studio that can house the growing number of students and let them work on their own time. Down the stairs they go, literally. A space has opened up. They jump on that train faster than John’s roundhouse kick. This is the opportunity they have long awaited for. It must be uphill from here they tell themselves. Oh boy, are they in for an adventure.

Students’ attendance comes and goes. Hours are spent making flyers and posting them, rain or shine. The kids complain about going to the studio because they just want to go out and play. Family time is scarce. Money is tight at times.  Hurdle after hurdle like fall after fall. Sometimes it gets harder and harder to get up. In the same way the little boy works his way through the belt ranks, John and his family is working their way up.

Where will this journey lead them? Only God knows but one thing is for sure, if they have to choose their paths again knowing what they know today, they will still make the same choices and sacrifices. Earning a black belt for the little boy is not just reaching a destination but it’s about the journey that encompasses the desire to do something greater than oneself. The Ra family has stepped out in faith to go after a dream that is bigger than them. All this, so they can inspire a community to take chances even if the journey may seem difficult because the joy awaiting them on the other side far surpasses their current challenges. 

Agape Martial Arts

34 Elton St

Rochester, NY 14607

www.agapemartialarts.com