Black Belt Blog - Mas Adam

10 Years in Portland

I moved from Chicago to Portland on August 25, 2016. I had just turned 17 that July, and was preparing to start my freshman year at PNCA after graduating high school early. I was a child, struggling to figure out who I was, moving across the country. For the first time in my life, I was on my own. Sink or swim. 

Through my first year, I did a lot of sinking. My grades started to drop. I was missing classes. My mental health was declining. Following that first year, I had to take a semester off back in Chicago to sort myself out. I came back out to Portland, and while I made it through the next semester, something still felt off. I didn’t feel happy. I didn’t feel motivated. I wasn’t taking care of myself.

I remember sitting in my apartment, thinking to myself, “what am I missing? Before life got so complicated, what made me happy when I was a kid?”

The answer was karate. I trained in an after-school program with ITKA in Chicago. I loved it; but like many kids, my interests shifted to other places and I stopped training. I remembered what it felt like to earn a new belt; what it felt like to work towards the black belt on the horizon.

That night, I googled “Portland martial arts” and clicked on the first link: onewithheart.com. I read about Pukulan and I was enthralled. I signed up for an intro, and my life changed. 

Of course, it wasn’t an immediate change. But over the following months and years, something was shifting. I was taking care of myself. I was setting goals, and working to achieve them. For the first time in years, I liked who I was, and I felt like my future was worth working for. I became more confident, I started learning how to teach. I was making friends, and I could feel myself improving. 

I graduated from college in 2022. If I hadn’t started training Pukulan, I’m sure I would’ve given up and dropped out long before then. I started working for One With Heart immediately; teaching classes, working the after-school program and summer camps, and using my design degree. Pukulan became the focal point of my life, and I loved it.

Last summer, I had the privilege of testing for my first degree black belt. It’s hard to put words to what that accomplishment means to me. It was the completion of a goal that I had set long ago, training karate in the St. Andrew’s gymnasium after school. It was proof that I could do anything I set my mind to, regardless of how long it takes. It gave me a sense of purpose, pride, and confidence. 

As many of you know, at the end of this month I’m moving back to Chicago with my amazing fiance Eliah. It’s time for the two of us to start our next chapter together.

I’m beyond excited. Along with that excitement comes fear, apprehension, and sadness. I love this school, and everything it has given me. I have so much gratitude for One With Heart, its staff, and everyone who has been a part of my journey with Pukulan. I am a Pukulan practitioner, and will be for the rest of my life. Just because I won’t be in Portland doesn’t mean this journey is over. I will be teaching an online Pukulan class for other students who have moved away from Portland, and working towards earning my second degree black belt. I’m planning on visiting Portland as often as I’m physically and financially able to support the school during tests and seminars.

Who knows, maybe someday students will come out to visit One With Heart Chicago! 

At the end of this chapter of my life, I’ve thought a lot about what I’ve gained through my training. Pukulan has a certain magic to it, but it didn’t magically turn my life around. It gave me the opportunity to do that myself. It gave me the space to learn and grow. Above all else, it gave me a community. It gave a shy, awkward kid from Chicago a place where he felt at home. It gave me a place where I learned how to make friends, how to lead a room, how to take charge of my life. This community will always be a part of who I am.

To everybody at One With Heart, I bid farewell, but not goodbye. You haven’t seen the last of me! 

Gotong Royong,

Mas Adam Boin