June 12th was the big day that Clark tested for his black belt in TaeKwonDo. Clark has been working towards this for the last 3 and 1/2 years. It was quite an involved test and he was so well prepared and did so well that I was moved to tears more than once during the testing. I tried to cry discreetly so as not to embarrass myself or my son, but I know where he started and where he is now and how much effort it has taken on both of our parts. I was so proud of him. Oh, and I'm pregnant so I really never have to justify my crying. For the next few pictures I'll go through several parts of the testing day that took 4 1/2 hours! There were 8 other kids testing for their black belts at the same time ranging in age from 8 to16.
The testing started at 9:00 AM as the youngest/smallest boy leads the others in reciting "Good Things Korean". That's not really what it's called, but that's what I'm calling it. If you have really good eyes you can see what they are reciting on the sign just behind Clark's head.
This is about where my first tears came because this is how he's started each class several times a week for several years.
After a few beginning things came the push-ups. For Clark's age group he had to do 50. I wrote on a previous post how hard he's been working on this. It was hard for him, but he got some sort of amazing burst of strength and he flew through them. In fact, he got done so quickly I thought he had stopped because he couldn't do anymore and would resume after a short rest. But no, he had finished them. I teared up at this point too.
Next were the sit-ups. Clark needed to do 70. This was not a problem.
The next part was kicking techniques. There were 8 different kicks he did 8 times each with each leg. I call this endurance kicking.
Next came a section called One-Step Sparring. Here two students work together-one on defense and one on offense. The student on the offense has two techniques for 8 different belt colors they needed to have learned and be able to perform.
Each student had to write verbatim a rather lengthy history of TaeKwonDo. With each belt color test they have to memorize answers to questions. It has really helped Clark learn to memorize long passages quickly.
This was a rather exciting part--if you're into watching your child be aggressive in an safe, approved setting--which I am. This is sparring. For a couple of minutes the kids face off against each other and go at it. To be perfectly honest, Abe and I were cracking up watching how much the teachers were enjoying watching it too.
Then the grand finale--- the breaking of the boards. Each student had four boards to break (a front kick, a front punch, an elbow strike, and a back kick). Clark got three on the first try but the back kick took a few tries. This picture is of the front kick and as you can see, Abe was protecting his eyes from flying wood chips.
While this part was fun and relatively easy for Clark, the same cannot be said for everyone. The breaking of the boards is a source of much stress for younger students. Although the boards are pine and not the toughest wood in the world, there were some tears and pain involved for some. I was glad Abe was there to hold the boards, because it looks scary and painful to me.
After the testing was all finished Master Kim took his new black belts out to eat at a very authentic Korean restaurant. Abe and I went along as well. It was pretty tasty. Clark is chowing down on the crunchy seaweed here. According to him, "Interesting texture, good taste". Abe concurs with this assessment.
TaeKwonDo has been such a positive experience for Clark. He had decided he wanted to be done after he got his black belt. But after the test and since he thinks he may want to continue on to higher levels and degrees of black belt. I think that would be great, but we all agree we are taking a little break this summer and we'll decide after the baby comes. It was a really wonderful day for Abe and I to get to spend with Clark and many thanks for my dad and Bev for watching our other kiddos to make it possible.
Addition to Post by Abe: Black Belt testing only happens twice each year - in June and December. There were actually two other very involved sections of the testing - one is where Clark performs several of 16 different memorized Kicking combinations, and the biggest section of all is when the students must be ready to perform 3 or 4 of the 16 different and very long (3 minute-ish) full TaeKwonDo Forms (kicking and punching routine) that correspond to each belt. Clark's excellent memorization skills once again were on display as he had no problem with his Forms......and the judges knew it immediately, in that after watching Clark for several seconds began intently watching other students from then on who were struggling a bit.
This is about where my first tears came because this is how he's started each class several times a week for several years.
After a few beginning things came the push-ups. For Clark's age group he had to do 50. I wrote on a previous post how hard he's been working on this. It was hard for him, but he got some sort of amazing burst of strength and he flew through them. In fact, he got done so quickly I thought he had stopped because he couldn't do anymore and would resume after a short rest. But no, he had finished them. I teared up at this point too.
Next were the sit-ups. Clark needed to do 70. This was not a problem.
The next part was kicking techniques. There were 8 different kicks he did 8 times each with each leg. I call this endurance kicking.
Next came a section called One-Step Sparring. Here two students work together-one on defense and one on offense. The student on the offense has two techniques for 8 different belt colors they needed to have learned and be able to perform.
Each student had to write verbatim a rather lengthy history of TaeKwonDo. With each belt color test they have to memorize answers to questions. It has really helped Clark learn to memorize long passages quickly.
This was a rather exciting part--if you're into watching your child be aggressive in an safe, approved setting--which I am. This is sparring. For a couple of minutes the kids face off against each other and go at it. To be perfectly honest, Abe and I were cracking up watching how much the teachers were enjoying watching it too.
Then the grand finale--- the breaking of the boards. Each student had four boards to break (a front kick, a front punch, an elbow strike, and a back kick). Clark got three on the first try but the back kick took a few tries. This picture is of the front kick and as you can see, Abe was protecting his eyes from flying wood chips.
While this part was fun and relatively easy for Clark, the same cannot be said for everyone. The breaking of the boards is a source of much stress for younger students. Although the boards are pine and not the toughest wood in the world, there were some tears and pain involved for some. I was glad Abe was there to hold the boards, because it looks scary and painful to me.
After the testing was all finished Master Kim took his new black belts out to eat at a very authentic Korean restaurant. Abe and I went along as well. It was pretty tasty. Clark is chowing down on the crunchy seaweed here. According to him, "Interesting texture, good taste". Abe concurs with this assessment.TaeKwonDo has been such a positive experience for Clark. He had decided he wanted to be done after he got his black belt. But after the test and since he thinks he may want to continue on to higher levels and degrees of black belt. I think that would be great, but we all agree we are taking a little break this summer and we'll decide after the baby comes. It was a really wonderful day for Abe and I to get to spend with Clark and many thanks for my dad and Bev for watching our other kiddos to make it possible.
Addition to Post by Abe: Black Belt testing only happens twice each year - in June and December. There were actually two other very involved sections of the testing - one is where Clark performs several of 16 different memorized Kicking combinations, and the biggest section of all is when the students must be ready to perform 3 or 4 of the 16 different and very long (3 minute-ish) full TaeKwonDo Forms (kicking and punching routine) that correspond to each belt. Clark's excellent memorization skills once again were on display as he had no problem with his Forms......and the judges knew it immediately, in that after watching Clark for several seconds began intently watching other students from then on who were struggling a bit.
2 comments:
really cool Betsy. I loved reading about this. Way to go Clark! What a kid. I relate well with your emotions. This mama has choked back tears recently too.
One of my favorite quotes:
“Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”
Hooray! Congratulations, Clark. What an accomplishment--and it does feel good to finish something.
A black belt. Wow. Not many people can say that!
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