Kempo Essay: Marta

Journey from white coat to white belt

Academia is forgiving – most of the time. . .   Frequent relocations are an unspoken part of the biological sciences. Not this time though. . .  After over 11 years in the research laboratory, uncounted hours behind the bench and the recent relocation I ended up on “the bench” – at home. It was fun at first but soon I realized that I needed a goal, something to stride towards – a project that could result in something great. No, this time it would not be another scientific article. . .  so what else could it be? Science was almost everything that I knew in my adult life.

Deep down I knew that with the New Year’s arrival it was time for action! I couldn’t spend my life in D.C. just “running” a house. I needed a challenge, something outside of my comfort zone, to challenge my mind and body, something that I would never try while working in the lab. One evening, my husband casually said “join a gym, sign up for a class”. . .   Easy to say but for me an hour at the gym was a worst punishment.  Yoga, zumba, pillates – not on the top of my list either. It had to be something else out there that fit my personality.  Browsing for some classes near where I live I came upon a martial arts class. Something clicked; I remember seeing signs for a karate place. And there it was – Potomac Kempo. I knew that my fitness level was close to none, I could barely do a push-up.  I never tried martial arts before but reading some of the inspirational stories on the website I decided to try. I attended my first solo class and it was like a love from the first sight. That same week I went to a group class and there was no doubt in my mind that THIS was IT – my challenge.  I knew this will not be an easy road – I didn’t want “easy” anyway. I knew I need to work hard, push my body to the limits and discover muscles I didn’t know I had. I needed to challenge my mind. The night after group class I went to bed smiling to myself – something that didn’t happen for a long while. I was going to every class from that point on and I wanted to
learn more, master each Kempo, each Kata. I was/still am almost angry with myself that I cannot be flawless in what I learn, cannot remember all tips and tricks from every class. My short term goal was to find something to fill the void of research. Joining Potomac Kempo changed it completely. Now I can do more than one push-up and run few miles without running out of breath. Although my ultimate goal is to be as good in each Kempo as good I was in the bio lab with my experiments.

Within this first month since I’ve joined dojo, my life has change for better. I rediscovered “me” again, the happy, confident, ready to conquer the world me. Funny how little and how much at the same time one place can be for a person. Kempo opened new chapter in my life – and I wouldn’t change it for any research lab.

Now I can only hope that my stay in D.C. is long enough so I can stride to be a better person, better mom, better wife and better member of Potomac Kempo.