First Belt, Check!

The first couple weeks got easier, and I noticed I could kick a lot higher than before.  Much of my first few months is a blur, but I caught on quickly, and around August it was time for me to test for my next belt!  

I should mention that my husband was the primary TKD parent during our oldest daughter's first try at this sport.  From time to time our youngest daughter and I would come to a class and watch, but it generally turned in to a social time for me.  Our gym is open four days a week, and we would be there all four days, but not on a very consistent schedule.  Once little sister turned 3, and since she still stayed home with me, it made more sense for me to take them to class.  As I mentioned before, one thing led to another, and I was out there too. 

When it's tip testing time, each eligible student must pass 7 "tests."  They include kicking (Bal Cha Ki), Hand Techniques (Son Dong Jak - Kwon Bub), Poomse (Korean Form), Breaking (Kyuk Pa), Self-Defense (Ho Sin Sul), Mental (Jung Shin Tong Il), and lastly, Sparring (Kyoroogi).  For every one mastered, we get a piece of black electrical tape wrapped around the tip of our belt, hence our term "tip test".  For a white belt promoting to yellow, the tests are quite simple.  Mental involves the proper way to enter off and on the mat (you bow, BTW), and making sure you answer your master with "yes sir" or "yes ma'am".  

Sparring scared the crap out of me.  Most of the kids in our dojang have been studying TKD since they were quite small, and although the same height as me (I'm only 5' 3"), they were far more advanced at kicking.  Once the kiddos turn 12, head shots are allowed.  That involves kicking your opponent in the head.  With your foot.  I could barely lift my leg out to belt height!  Lucky for me, Master told my opponent to go easy on me - and NO head shots.  Whew.  Despite being completely terrified, I managed to hold my own. The minute long round felt like an hour and I was completely worn out at the end of the class.  But, I was able to earn my sparring tip and promote to yellow!  

 

Bring On the Pain!

Let me start this post off by saying, I am the furthest thing from an athlete.  My background is Fine Art.. music to be specific.  I played elementary school basketball when I was in grade 5, but that and PE were the most physical I've ever been.  I sang all my life and began piano lessons when I was 6.  I have a music studio that I teach piano from, as well as belong to a state wide music teacher organization.  Sports are not my thing.  At. All.  

My first day of TKD when alright.. I couldn't let it show just how badly out of shape I was, so I sucked it up when it was time to run laps.  Thank God our dojang isn't that big... the three laps we had to do were torture enough.  At least my youngest kept a slower pace that I could handle.  Still... nothing like being lapped by the 8 - 10 year old kids and being dead last.  Story of my life. 

My first class focused primarily on learning the basic kicks for a white belt.  Those included front snap kick and round house.   I felt like I was doing pretty decently.. boy did I work up a sweat!!  The unfortunate thing about our dojang is that there is no air conditioning at all.  The summers here in Central California get VERY hot.. like 105 for 5 months straight.  When it cools down at night, our lows are around 90, so it doesn't make a whole lot of difference.  Our club is downright unbearable in the summer.  And I should mention that summer here begins in May.  Right about the time I started.

The next day when I woke up to get my girls ready for school is when I *really* felt it.  Me jumping in to TKD is what I imagine if feels like to run a half marathon with no training.  Every muscle in my legs ached and I was terribly stiff.  I knew it was a minor setback, so I had to get back out there and try again.    

In The Beginning...

My journey in to tae kwon do began almost two years ago when my husband and I were looking for some kind of martial art to put our oldest daughter in.  She was 4 at the time, and an extremely active child.  Not to say that she's still NOT active, but she's mellowed a bit.  

We had tried soccer with our oldest, but it was the dumbest 8 lessons we ever participated in.  These kids didn't learn a single thing, and all they did was run around the soccer pitch, which I suppose is what happens in MOST preschool soccer clubs.  Nonetheless, it didn't fit the bill of what were were looking for.   My husband had studied Judo as a boy, and had gotten as far as his green belt, but sadly the dojo he belonged to closed quite unexpectedly one day.  This has been quite a common story we have heard time and time again, but I'll save that for another post.  Naturally when we were looking for a place for our daughter, we went with what he knew.  The Judo dojo near our home only accepted children who were 6 years old, so that idea flew out the window fairly quick.  Not to bash on Judo, but my husband was a tad concerned with any sort of future with it.  Martial arts aren't as mainstream as many may like to think, plus you've got a million different subsets within the one discipline.  It can be very hard to keep track of everything, as well as making sure you're taking the "right" version of that sport.   

I don't recall how we found our dojang, as it's on a road we don't travel often at all.  But, they had a sign that said they accept kids ages 3 and up!  Perfect!  Just what we were looking for.  We were in contact with them, and they offer one lesson for free, so we said, OK!  Our oldest had no idea what she was in for, nor did we.  My husband is half Japanese, and in his naivete, he thought tae kwon do was a Japanese martial art >.<  He was promptly educated when we arrived and saw the Korean flag hanging next to Old Glory.  After watching a class and talking to the master and his wife, we signed up our oldest and she started class the next day.  

Watching our oldest day in and day out was her little sister.  As soon as she turned 3, she too signed up for "kae kwon do".  She couldn't wait to get out there with her big sister.  Our oldest had already been going for almost a year, so she was a number of belts higher than her sister, of course.  That was just fine by us.  At least we knew what the littlest had in store for her.


So where do I come in?  Well when our youngest began, she would go out on the mat all alone with her big sister and their classmates.  Our classes always begin the same way:  Master calls time, and everyone goes to the mat with their cards, the kids line up from black belt to white, and then we kneel down to say our student creed.  Once we have recited the creed we run 3 laps around the mat.  This is the point where our oldest would find either a parent who was in class (usually a dad), or an older kid to hold her sister's hand while they ran laps.  We were still fairly new to the dojang and barely knew anyone, so this was a little embarrassing to me.  I had always wanted to take a martial arts class as a teenager, but didn't have the money or the knowledge of the different kinds of martial art to know what to take.  After watching our oldest for a year, I figured I could do it too!  So with some coaxing from my husband, and more apologizing (to the dads) than this Canadian has done in her WHOLE life, I joined TKD.