My daughter Carlow expressed an interest in the martial arts when she entered Middle School. That interest did not become insistent until Carlow entered High School. At 5 foot tall, Carlow was by far the shortest girl in her friend group. When I went to sign her up for the class at Kirkwood Community Center, her younger brother, Lawrence, asked to join the class. As I signed them up, I thought “What the heck,” I might as well join the class instead of just sitting and waiting for them. That began my personal journey “love/hate” relationship with Taekwondo.
We began class getting fitted for uniforms and learning the basics. Being a person who remembered Jane Fonda’s aerobics, I knew that coordination was not my strong suit. Moving my hands and feet together frequently caused embarrassing moments. Lawrence and Carlow picked up so much while I struggled to remember the very basic moves. When it came time to learn our first form (Poomse), I was certain I would fail. Master Pat and Mr. Don reminded me that learning new things kept my mind agile. Just keep practicing was a common phrase. Testing came around and I surprised myself by passing the test. Now I was a White Belt with a Yellow Tip.
Every time Carlow, Lawrence and I approached a test, Carlow had all of the forms memorized. My children knew most of the walking drills and self-defenses. I continued to struggle, walking into each test with the key items flying out of my brain. I struggled through my Green Belt test combining various forms into some creative dance no one recognized. After our family achieved our Green Belts, we all were amazed that we had the same rank as Brooke did when we joined our first class. Taekwondo now became my Thursday evening adventure. All of the rest of life’s stresses took a break during the 2 hours of class every week.
After achieving our Green Belts with a Blue Tip, Carlow, Lawrence and I started teaching the Kid’s Class on Thursday evenings. Teaching helped us perfect our own techniques. Taekwondo allowed us to break away from everything else and have 3 hours of uninterrupted time together. I enjoyed working out with my children and competing in tournaments with them. We talked about Taekwondo. We practiced together. We also learned that our dog was conflict adverse and would attack us whenever we practiced. I joked that I could strangle my high school daughter because technically it was self-defense practice.
My husband joined us in class this year as my birthday present. His joining my sport brought such joy. As an avid cyclist and weight lifter, Taekwondo was a whole different animal. Teaching him and finally knowing more than he does about a sport has been really rewarding. Our family (minus one daughter) practices Taekwondo together. The one missing daughter may join us some day just to defend herself after we learn a new technique.
Carlow, Lawrence and I continued to teach both the Wednesday and Thursday Kid’s Class. We learned the value of teaching Taekwondo to others. Bottom line, we gained confidence, health and had fun. We continued to test and now look forward to our Black Belt test in 2018 or 2019. Master Pat always says that the definition of a Black Belt is a White Belt who never gave up. I may be the best example of that phrase. I never thought I would work toward a Black Belt or be in the martial arts. So far, I have demonstrated perseverance.
Heading off to college, Carlow let me know that she wanted to get her Black Belt with Willow Martial Arts. She wanted to stay involved with Taekwondo in college. I am excited to say that she will begin studying in her college town this January.