Feb 212013
Time for me to brag on my awesome wife again! Last summer, I finally nagged her enough to get back into Taekwondo, a sport in which she excelled in high school, and has missed dearly since. A good friend of mine is a third-dan black belt, and his parents run a local Taekwondo school. He very kindly offered to privately tutor Katie for a few months to get her back up to speed, and she started formally with the school in October. In no time at all, she tested and was awarded with her first promotion, her yellow belt.
This past Thursday, she tested with a large group of students for her next promotion, orange belt! It worked out that I could attend, and I am so, so glad I did. Have I mentioned that my wife is completely awesome?
The test was extensive. First there was a long quiz, consisting of Korean terminology, definitions and general knowledge about the art of TKD.
Then each student had to demonstrate a number of forms, which are carefully memorized and practiced sequences of moves. The longest one Katie had to do was 52 steps! Watching her do forms is as mesmerizing as it is impressive.
Then she had to demonstrate a number of self defense techniques, which served to further reinforce my belief that I should never, ever cross my wife. She will kick me. In many painful ways.
This was followed by board breaking, which was so cool that I managed to get exactly zero good pictures of it. But here she is about to fire off a spinning back kick, which is her second favorite to roundhouse kicks. Honestly, her back kick is so fast, I’m way more scared of it. Seriously, don’t blink or you’ll be missing a kidney.
That was the end of the test. The instructor gave them feedback, told them that they passed, and what they could expect in future promotion tests.
Then on Tuesday, they had the promotion ceremony. This is a very nervous Katie, lined up and waiting for instruction before they began.
The lead instructor had everyone sit around a semicircle of candles and addressed them.
Then they killed the lights, cued some music, and the ceremony began. They promoted each student individually, in a short ritual that was equally simple and moving.
Finally it was Katie’s turn. The whole process was somber and quiet, but inside I was jumping and clapping and cheering! After each level was promoted (white to yellow, yellow to orange, etc), the students would demonstrate a form to the assembled parents and spouses, which was really impressive. More internal clapping and cheering, but the light was far too low to get any pictures. Most impressive was my friend Jac’s form, which he demonstrated on receiving his third dan.
The whole experience was utterly impressive. I can’t wait to watch her test for her next belt, and (quietly) cheer her on as she progresses!