Belief

Have you ever had the most incredible feeling inside you when you knew that somebody truly believed in you, and was behind you in your corner 150%?

For me, I never actually felt that until I was 23, maybe 24.  Let me give you some background -- I practiced martial arts, primarily judo, off and on from the time I was 13 until I was 36 -- making it to mid-level brown belt somewhere in the middle.  The time of my peek years was when I started it up again in Japan (with the Kansai Gaidai Judo Club) when I was 21, til I was 28 and moved to San Francisco.

When I moved to the Washington, D.C. area for the first time at 23, I had been practicing regularly for 2 years -- first in Japan, then with a small club in Newton, MA after I had graduated and had come home to live with my parents for a while.  I then joined the Washington Judo Club, led by judo legend Jimmy Takemori.  For anyone who ever tells me I never served in the military - let me tell you something.  Those five years I spent in Jimmy's club more than made up for it.

Jimmy is a drill sergeant.  No other way to describe him.  He would yell at you, berate you, push you, push you, push you - until you felt like you really had nothing else to give.  Even smack you around some.  And boy did I give him reason to do plenty of that to me.  Growing up, I was never a coordinated athlete, and by the time I was in my early 20's, that situation never really improved.  I used to go into competitions, and really get my ass whooped.  I did not win a single match my first six months as a competitive judoka. 

But Jimmy kept after me.  He knew I had the heart.  And he didn't let up.  Finally at a competition, I won my first match against somebody with a pin.  I injured my knee in the process, and got up after winning, hobbling to the start line.  I looked over at Jimmy who was watching at one of the side tables -- big grinning smile on his face ear to ear -- and he gave me the thumbs up sign.  I was beaming right back at him, pointed to him, and gave him a big thumbs up sign.

After that, I still never was a great competitor, but I won my share of matches -- and am forever grateful to Jimmy Takemori -- the first person in my life who I can say truly believed in me.