I found this picture, and it really stood out to me because I, too, take martial arts classes. I recognized the silhouette's form; it is doing a kick called mawashi-geri, or roundhouse kick. Karate is a stunning example for me of attitude and perseverance. When I see someone who is at a level above me, I first take the time to think, Wow! That's amazing. Then, instead of thinking that I'll never be that good and becoming discouraged, I think, Someday, that's going to be me. (click below to read more)
I have put in a lot of time to martial arts training; I do perhaps three hours a week when school is in session, and closer to five hours a week when it isn't in session. I have been doing Karate for about 2 1/2 years now, and at the rate of three hours per week for 58 total school weeks and five hours a week for 26 total vacation weeks, that's 58 x 3 + 26 x 5, which equals 174 + 130, which equals 304 total hours of Karate. So, assuming that the information in the picture above is accurate, I'm 3.04% of the way to proficiency. Assuming that I continue at a constant rate, I will be officially proficient in about 82 years from now. (That sure puts things into perspective.) I suppose it's a good thing I enjoy Karate!