Graduation article
By Mads Villadsen, 20 years old, 1st dan, Yakami Shinsei-ryu Taijutsu & Karate-do (the multi-track martial arts system), 1st dan Sr., Bujutsu Kodosokukai Jikitai Karate-do (Originally old. Original Okinawa Karate-do), 2nd dan, Bujutsu Kodosokukai sports karate-do (Gensei-ryu legacy from 1965 and comparable degree to Shotokan, Goju-ryu, Taekwondo, Judo, Jujutsu, Kendo, etc.), board member Jokokan Ballerup Karate School.
Imagine that you have had a dream for 15 years. A dream of karate. Of a black belt. That sometimes it is all you think about. That you have had to fight again and again – with your bare hands, with a staff, with a sword and in hard fights.
But most of all, you have been fighting against yourself.
I remember training sessions. Where I stood in the dojo, sweating, and the thought of giving up seemed tempting. Where doubt whispered that I wasn't good enough. That's where the toughest battles were fought.
I have fought against my anxiety, my fear, my inferiority complex, my self-pity and my ego. Against all the parts of myself that made it hard to believe that I could. I have doubted myself more times than I can count: whether I was good enough, whether I could, and whether it was even the right thing to do. Along the way, I have experienced both my greatest victories and my worst defeats.
I grew up with this identity. Karate became not just a sport, but a part of my everyday life, my discipline and my community. It has helped shape me as a person in a way I never imagined. It has given me the tools to find out what I am good at and what makes me truly happy.
I have gone from being an annoying little boy of 6 to standing as a young man – a new person – at 20 years old.
So you know what it's been like to be me on this journey.
At the start of the season, you usually sign up for a graduation the following summer. Most people from green belt and up know this. That way, your performance can be evaluated throughout the season. But that wasn't the case for me.
At the 2025 summer competition I received a 1st Dan Ho degree. This means that I was so close to skipping two degrees that I was allowed to go up to the X-mas competition instead. This allowed me to erase my 1st Dan Ho and try to graduate directly to 1st Dan black belt.
It was by no means something I had been prepared for. When I stood on the podium in front of everyone at the summer meet and said I was going for it, it really dawned on me what it meant. I now only had a few months to get ready to fulfill the biggest dream of my life.
Fortunately, I was physically quite well prepared after my graduation and my gold Ayame. Therefore, the journey in the months leading up to the final exams and the X-mas competition was much more of a mental journey than a physical one. The physical had to be routine – not to sound arrogant, but because it was necessary.
I came straight from a normal day at high school, and suddenly that chapter was over. Like many others, I spent the summer vacation relaxing and having a lot of good experiences, which gave it all a bit of distance. But then came the new everyday life.
I got a full-time job at a kindergarten, which I really enjoyed. Something I learned and will be forever grateful for is that karate prepared me to teach. Through it, I discovered how much I enjoy working with people – and especially with children.
At the same time, I had to train my technique, my form and my mindset for the X-mas event. The pressure was growing. Everyone had heard that I wanted to go for a black belt. Inside the dojo, everyone knew what it meant, and outside, people knew that it was something special. At the same time, my brother had gotten a black belt in judo that same year.
The support was genuine, but the expectations were heavy to bear. I didn't want to disappoint anyone – least of all myself. It made me extremely aware of my training, my mistakes and my level.
Now it wasn't in a year. It wasn't even in six months. It was now. This was where it would all culminate. Everything I had learned – both inside the dojo and outside – would have to be used.
Then came the X-mas convention.
The hall was buzzing with voices. The air was heavy with sweat and tension. Already from the morning I could feel that I was not quite at my peak or mentally present. I was only a week into my military service with the Royal Life Guards, and all the focus I had built up towards the convention had disappeared. Now I had to find it again in a single day.
At the actual convention, where I was primarily supposed to teach, I could feel that it wasn't quite the same. I had difficulty focusing fully on the task at hand, and my mind wandered.
Finally came the stamina test – the one that most people know about. But only those who have tried it themselves truly understand it. After the first round with arms, you are so out of breath that you gasp for breath. After the second round with legs, everything hurts. And then comes the last round. There it is pure survival. You are half unconscious, and your body wants to give up.
I was supposed to complete it with Magnus, and we had each been given a pillow holder. I didn't notice when he was taken away – suddenly I was left alone. In my head there was only one thought: I'm not giving up now. Not after all this.
What I could clearly feel, however, were the cheers from friends, family and training buddies. They supported and cheered me on all the way to the end. It gave me energy when I needed it most, and I am deeply grateful for that.
When it's your turn, I promise I'll be ready and cheering for you.
Traditionally, when you graduate to black belt, your chief instructor takes off your brown belt and ties the black one around your waist. It's a moment I've been looking forward to for many years. In that moment, I could feel that what I had done was unique.
The journey has taught me that limits are often in your head, and that you can do more than you think – if you stay put when it's most difficult.
I was – and am – immensely proud of what I have achieved and of the person I have become.
BUT THIS IS NOT THE END.
THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING.
