Many times, we hear about people who, once they reach Black Belt level, they stop training. Either they lose interest or they feel that they've learned all their is to know.
So, for those that are BB and above, what has kept you going?
For those that aren't quite there yet, this is a 2 part question. 1) Will you keep going after BB? 2) If you do continue, what will those factors be?
As a beginner, we see black belt level students and think 'wow! That's really impressive.' As a black belt student, we we realize that we are, in many ways, not that much further along in the art than the white belt. We realize just how much further there is to go in the art and that a period of two to five years has given us the physical skills to be a first dan and has certaily given us some maturity. But we also see that our seniors in the art have a depth that makes their execution of the art go beyond merely physical execution.
On our way to first dan, it is mostly about learning physical skills and developing power, speed, and agility. By first dan, we start to realize that these things, while valuable, are also superficial and external.
Watching our seniors explain things that we are still just beginning to internalize to beginning students and realizing as we watch them that they move with a precision that we are still just playing at and watching the 'old man or woman' take apart younger, faster, and stronger dan grade opponents (or being one of those opponents) and looking like he or she is hardly moving or expending any effort in the process opens us up to new possibilities and we then strive to surpass mere proficiency in the art.
Often, people expect that after black belt, they will get to learn 'all that cool secret stuff' that will make them transform into deadly ninja warriors or super samurai. When we get there and find that, aside from maybe some new forms and a few new tachniques, its just more punching, kicking, and grappling, we have a choice to make. No ki-balls, vulcan nerve pinches, or any of the other things that movies and television have conditioned us to expect await us and the floodgates of perfect technique have not opened. Our choice? Work hard and keep training all the tedious basics that we first learned as underbelts and keep training them to perfection... and then train some more.... or take the belt and end your journey, knowing that you can begin again if you so choose.
Most do not stay on after black belt. For many, earning the black belt was a way of confronting insecurities and fears. With those insecurities and fears confronted, the student can now face things in his or her life that they were unable to before. They may not continue to actively train, but if earning (not buying) that black belt has helped them to improve their lives, then his or her instructors have done a wonderful thing for that person: achieving the goal of black belt has enabled them to go on and pursue goals that they lacked the confidence to before.
Those of us who make the choice to continue usually have established new goals in our training or simply know that there is more to learn.
For some, the black belt is the milestone that allows them to begin new journies in their lives, and their time in training is looked back on with fondness and is treasured. For others, the black belt is the milestone that tells us that we have found the journey that we wish to take.
Daniel
and with BB you still only learned some of it.
I'm the lowest rank, and very often the other girls - all higher than me in rank, brown and black belts - baby me in a good way. They say things like 'she's our little sook' and 'we takes good care of her' 
