A Day in the Life of a Martial Arts Master
They call me Master P. I know there is a rapper with the same name, but when you work and train in a “non-martial art” profession, some monikers just stick. My name is Laurie Peterson; I’m a 6th-degree master in taekwondo, an attorney, and a mom.
If you do martial arts for a living, the world of martial arts is your forefront and everyday life. As an attorney and martial artist, I compartmentalize my world, allowing only the best aspects of myself to bleed over into my other worlds.
I started my journey to mastership in the early 1980s as a college student in my twenties. I received my mastership thirty-four years later as an attorney in her 50s. Taekwondo has allowed me to travel, be competitive, and healthy throughout these years. My only regret is not taking good care of my knees, and my subsequent ACL reconstructions and seven knee surgeries have shaped me into the person I am: Smarter about working out.
My day usually begins with a workout. Waking up at 5:45 a.m. is the norm for me. I train at Orangetheory Fitness almost every day. This workout is something that my body at fifty-nine can endure daily without pain or injury. I live less than a mile from a studio, and I can pop in for an hour class, get home, shower, and start my day with the endorphin pump from the workout. We train with free weights, on the rower, and on the treadmill. Being able to focus on my fitness journey without teaching or mentoring in a class allows me to push harder and focus on my physical well-being. I leave every workout looking forward to the next. At one point our stats were posted on the monitors with our nicknames – that is how I became Master P at OTF.
I pause at this point of my day to say that I support the businesses I use in every way possible. I buy the t-shirts, sign up for the extra class, and I try to be the consumer that I would want as a business owner. As a customer, I never want my studio to close due to a lack of students. In an effort to keep what I love going, I post on social media (2 or 3 types) daily in support of the business. This keeps me accountable to my followers that as a martial arts master, I train daily and hopefully inspires my followers to train, whether it be martial arts or other activity.
At 8:00 a.m., I’m off to the office where I am in-house counsel for a medium-sized development corporation. As I work as a corporate attorney, my day is sprinkled with legal issues in the martial arts world. The martial arts world of business varies from customs issues, contracts (lots of contracts), human resources and corporate organization issues. Luckily, I am available to work in both worlds. Occasionally, I bow at the threshold of the door when I am in a non-martial arts setting, but the demeanor of calm needed as a martial artist and as an attorney pair well together. Allowing opposing counsel or a sparring partner to get frustrated while I am calm is a testament to martial arts training. Remnants of my dual life as a master and an attorney pepper my office. My 4th, 5th, 6th degree, and Master Instructor certificates are on the wall, as well as my Juris Doctor degree and my attorney license. I keep a sword in my office that leans on my door jam to remind myself that my training never ends and maybe I should pick it up on the way out.
Since this is “a day in the life” during a work week, my lunch is already prepared. Stepping back to Sunday, after working out, I shop and then meal prep for the week. It’s amazing how age affects weight, and I refused to allow myself to gain weight lest I cannot train due to my knees. So, with a mixture of the things I love, Trader Joe’s dumplings, rotisserie chicken, rice, fruit, and vegetables, I prep for my week. Healthy satisfying food to fuel my days.
After lunch, my workday continues until early afternoon, when I plan my evening and the next day. On some days, I train in the evening; on others, I don’t, but I always meditate and stretch at the end of the day. I have children in college and an aging Dad, so I check on those I love and mentally prepare for the day, week, month, and year to come. During stretches, I remember to be fluid in life and know that you cannot plan for everything.
Connecting my mind and body at the end of the day is important. Knowing that with age comes mobility issues for a lot of people keeps me on track. As a master, I try to inspire students, friends, and even strangers daily. Being a master is being a role model in every aspect of life. I fall short more times than I stand tall, but I have perseverance, and I get up and move on every time. Learning from failure is an opportunity. My life is about giving what I can to the world, not only as a taekwondo master but as an attorney, mom, and fitness junkie.
