At World Champion Taekwondo, black belts take a level test every 6 months between their dan gradings. A dan grading is when a black belt becomes a 2nd degree black belt or a 3rd degree black belt. A black belt must hold a dan grading for a certain amount of time before he or she can test for the next dan grading; for example, a black belt must hold a first degree rating for two years before he or she can test for a second degree. During the time, in order to keep students on track, learning new skills in a progressive manner, black belts take level test every six months.
My first black belt level test will be Friday, November 2, 2012 at the West Union campus. Times will be announced soon. Keep checking this page.
For my first level test I have to know Koryo, Palgwe Il Jang, Palgwe Yi Jang, nun chuck 1, nun chuck 2, nun chuck 3, nun chuck 4, nun chuk 5, and self defense. Eventually I will need to know all 8 of the palgwe forms and all 15 of the nun chuck forms.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Pan American Tournament
Four months ago (05/26/2012), my children and I had the opportunity to enter an international competition. U.S. West Coast Taekwondo typically holds an semi-annual tournament in Portland at the Convention Center. This year, they hosted the 2012 Pan American Junior International Open Taekwondo Championship!
They offered several competitions we had never entered before: team poomsae (forms), height breaking, distance breaking, and an obstacle course. All the black belts age 16+ would wear the electronic scoring gear. My children and I entered the team poomsae competition. We performed TaeGukOhJang. We competed against three other red belt teams who performed TaeGukChicJang or TaeGukPalJang. My daughter and I competed as red belts since our black belt certificates had not yet arrived from Korea. My son competed as a blue belt, that is why we didn't perform TaeGukPalJang.
Anyway, we were not very good, in my opinion. The other teams were much older. They had better technique, and one team was VERY well rehearsed. They had clearly done this plenty of times before. I was rather certain that we were not going to medal, but fortunately they gave bronze medals to two teams, so we didn't come home with nothing.
We were all entered in sparring competitions, too. My seven-year-old son did very well against his first opponent, but his second opponent was much faster than he was, so he brought home a silver medal.
My nine-year-old daughter was placed in the same bracket with someone who was clearly not in her weight class. They made some changes, and she sparred against someone more appropriate. She won quite soundly. It was very exciting for her. It is the first time that she had actually beaten someone in a tournament.
Not surprisingly, they did not have anyone in my age, belt and weight bracket, so I was given a gold medal before even entering the ring. They did find me someone to fight. She looked a bit younger than me and a good bit heavier, and she was only a green belt. I'm sure it was the first time that I fought someone who was slower than me. I won the match with a score something like 14-2.
In the middle of the tournament they had a ceremony where they read off some lottery numbers. My daughter won a bottle of soy sauce. The sauce manufacturer was in attendance. I think he was one of the sponsors of the tournament. Another student from our school won a giant television. That was neat.
Master Kim was there, but I didn't see any other students from any of the other schools. I think only the Scappoose school came, and brought seven students, I think. Robert had a really rough match. I think he was kicked or punched in the throat. That hurts.
My daughter was the only one of our family who entered the breaking competition. She entered height breaking. It was really a very interesting contest. The judges held up a big yard stick, and then the competitor indicated how high they wanted to set their board. They were only allowed one break, so they had too choose wisely. Samantha didn't understand this, and she let the ref set the height of her board, but she won a gold medal anyway.
All together, we brought home three bronze medals, one silver medal, and three gold medals!
They offered several competitions we had never entered before: team poomsae (forms), height breaking, distance breaking, and an obstacle course. All the black belts age 16+ would wear the electronic scoring gear. My children and I entered the team poomsae competition. We performed TaeGukOhJang. We competed against three other red belt teams who performed TaeGukChicJang or TaeGukPalJang. My daughter and I competed as red belts since our black belt certificates had not yet arrived from Korea. My son competed as a blue belt, that is why we didn't perform TaeGukPalJang.
Anyway, we were not very good, in my opinion. The other teams were much older. They had better technique, and one team was VERY well rehearsed. They had clearly done this plenty of times before. I was rather certain that we were not going to medal, but fortunately they gave bronze medals to two teams, so we didn't come home with nothing.
We were all entered in sparring competitions, too. My seven-year-old son did very well against his first opponent, but his second opponent was much faster than he was, so he brought home a silver medal.
My nine-year-old daughter was placed in the same bracket with someone who was clearly not in her weight class. They made some changes, and she sparred against someone more appropriate. She won quite soundly. It was very exciting for her. It is the first time that she had actually beaten someone in a tournament.
Not surprisingly, they did not have anyone in my age, belt and weight bracket, so I was given a gold medal before even entering the ring. They did find me someone to fight. She looked a bit younger than me and a good bit heavier, and she was only a green belt. I'm sure it was the first time that I fought someone who was slower than me. I won the match with a score something like 14-2.
In the middle of the tournament they had a ceremony where they read off some lottery numbers. My daughter won a bottle of soy sauce. The sauce manufacturer was in attendance. I think he was one of the sponsors of the tournament. Another student from our school won a giant television. That was neat.
Master Kim was there, but I didn't see any other students from any of the other schools. I think only the Scappoose school came, and brought seven students, I think. Robert had a really rough match. I think he was kicked or punched in the throat. That hurts.
My daughter was the only one of our family who entered the breaking competition. She entered height breaking. It was really a very interesting contest. The judges held up a big yard stick, and then the competitor indicated how high they wanted to set their board. They were only allowed one break, so they had too choose wisely. Samantha didn't understand this, and she let the ref set the height of her board, but she won a gold medal anyway.
All together, we brought home three bronze medals, one silver medal, and three gold medals!
Monday, May 7, 2012
My first black belt test
On Saturday, April 28, 2012, my nine-year-old daughter and I took our first black belt test. I tested for first-degree black belt (first dan), and she tested for first-degree junior black belt (first poom).
In the weeks leading up to the test, I was very nervous about performing all of my forms. My daughter had them memorized with no problem, but I kept getting the mixed up. I would start out performing one form, and then after the turn, I would start performing steps from another form. It was maddening. Fortunately my daughter helped me “cram” for the test the night before.
On the morning of the test, we arrived at the testing center at about 9:15 am. My daughter's best friend came with us for support. The test was held at Portland Community College, Sylvania Campus. There were approximately 50 students testing for first- second- or third-degree black belt or first-, second- or third-degree junior black belt. Most were testing for first-degree; there were (oddly) only a handful of students testing for second- or third-degree.
The test was scheduled to begin at 10am, so we had some time to stretch and review our forms. I was still mixing some of them up. This did not help set my nerves at ease. At 10am, we separated into three groups, and we did some stretching. There were only two other adults in my group. The rest were all teenagers. I recognized the masters leading my group, but I do not know their names. They made a point to emphasize the importance that everyone stay safe today. They wanted us to let them know if we became injured during the test.
At approximately 10:20, we began endurance testing (20 minutes). This is the part of the test that most candidates dread the most. The masters asked us to do lots and lots and lots or jumping jacks, mountain climbers, pushups and sit-ups. Some of these exercises we do regularly in class, but not all of them and not nearly enough in my opinion. I had wanted to be better prepared for this portion of the test, but I just can’t keep up with the teenagers, so my strategy was to just do my best, not give up, and maintain a positive attitude. I was not near enough the other adults in class to notice how well they were doing, but one of the masters came to the back to check on me at least three times to make sure I was doing alright.
After endurance testing, he gave us a five-minute break to get a drink of water. I checked in with my daughter and learned that her master had asked her group to remain in plank position for what seemed like forever. She said it actually made her cry, but no one noticed. She was red in the face and sweaty, but as happy as I was to have completed this portion of the test.
At 10:45 we started basic techniques (40 minutes). This portion of the test was really fun. We demonstrated various punches and blocks. At this point I was able to relax and even smile. We finished basic techniques with one hundred punches. I was surprised how easy that was. Then he asked us to one hundred more. I think I probably lost count and only did 90. My arms were starting to feel like jelly. At 11:05 we started kicking (25minutes). At this point I was finally able to shine. I was feeling really good, and when the master complimented me on my spinning hook kicks, I felt nine feet tall.
After kicking, he gave us a ten-minute break to get some water and put on our sparring gear. I also grabbed a little snack from lunch box. Oddly, this was the part of the test that my daughter was most nervous about. She thought we were going to be scored, like in the tournament, but I knew that we were going to have friendly bouts, like in sparring class. It was also at this point in the day that our former master, Jason Leitski, made an appearance. It was super-awesome to see him again.
At 11:40 we started sparring (30 minutes). I was paired up with the other adult woman testing today. She was very nice. I think she said her name is Shirley, and she studies at the West Union School. Her daughters were testing today, too. The master announced to us that we would fight in five ten-minute rounds. My sparring partner freaked out a little bit, but I knew he was teasing. We fought in three one-minute rounds. We couldn’t all fight at once, so half of us sat down while the other half fought, and then they sat down while we fought. We traded places each round. After each round, some of us switched partners; I switched partners after the first round. My second partner was younger, but closer to my own weight. I think I was much better than either of my partners, but not everyone likes sparring.
After sparring, we had another five-minute break to get some water and stow our gear.
At 12:15 we started forms (30 minutes). This was the portion of the test that I was most dreading, but it turned out all right. We did not perform the forms in order, but two other things happened that were to my advantage: first we performed the forms all as a group, which I knew we would, and second, the master called out the steps. I tend to fall behind when we are told to perform the form at our own pace. I did forget which step comes next a few times, but I was able to “cheat” by watching the people around me, and I did okay. I did get an extra kick in on of the forms, but no one called me out on it.
At 12:45 we watched the higher-ranked students perform their nun chuck forms. They were really good. Hardly anyone dropped the nun chucks, but there were a lot fewer candidates than years past.
At 1:05 we heard some speeches (20 minutes), I think four different parents had been asked to speak about how taekwondo had helped their children grow up into better people. Some of the parents were also studying taekwondo.
At 1:25 we started board breaking (35 minutes). We were each given eight boards. The children were given medium-sized boards and the teenagers and adults were given “thick” boards. My master, Eric Jun, held my boards for me. We had to think up our own breaking techniques. I thought we could do eight kicking techniques, but we had to do four hand techniques. I chose chop, hammer fist, and elbow strike. I couldn’t think of any others, so Master Eric called out punch: not my favorite breaking technique, but I did fine. For kicking techniques, I performed back kick, sidekick, spinning hook kick and spinning roundhouse kick. I broke all my boards on my first attempts. Later I learned that my daughter chose hammer fist, chop, elbow strike, reverse chop, axe kick (her favorite), sidekick and spinning roundhouse kick.
At 2:00 we began the closing ceremony (30 minutes). We lined up by school and received new uniforms, so we scurried off to the bathrooms to change. I love new uniforms. They are always so bright white. These uniforms had black collars and black stripes on the shoulders and thigh. They also had the name of the school running down the sleeve, across the back and down the leg. When we came back to the testing area, we lined up in front of our masters again and we received our belts. Our friends Laura and Dominic came down and snapped pictures with us. The Bakkensens and Singles were also there to support us. When everyone had his or her black belts, we gathered for a group photo.
After the test, we went out to lunch at Red Robin with our friends the Singles to celebrate. Red Robin is becoming the go to place to celebrate black belts. We ate there after Jared’s black belt test, and we ate there after Dominic’s black belt test.
The whole experience was really wonderful. I'm so grateful that so many of my friends were there to support me. I am especially grateful to Laura and Olivia who took pictures. It would be a real shame if we had no photos of our experience. I’m looking forward to continuing my taekwondo journey. I will be eligible to test for second-degree black belt in two years, but before that, I will have three level tests at six month intervals to keep me on pace toward my next dan ranking.
In the weeks leading up to the test, I was very nervous about performing all of my forms. My daughter had them memorized with no problem, but I kept getting the mixed up. I would start out performing one form, and then after the turn, I would start performing steps from another form. It was maddening. Fortunately my daughter helped me “cram” for the test the night before.
On the morning of the test, we arrived at the testing center at about 9:15 am. My daughter's best friend came with us for support. The test was held at Portland Community College, Sylvania Campus. There were approximately 50 students testing for first- second- or third-degree black belt or first-, second- or third-degree junior black belt. Most were testing for first-degree; there were (oddly) only a handful of students testing for second- or third-degree.
The test was scheduled to begin at 10am, so we had some time to stretch and review our forms. I was still mixing some of them up. This did not help set my nerves at ease. At 10am, we separated into three groups, and we did some stretching. There were only two other adults in my group. The rest were all teenagers. I recognized the masters leading my group, but I do not know their names. They made a point to emphasize the importance that everyone stay safe today. They wanted us to let them know if we became injured during the test.
At approximately 10:20, we began endurance testing (20 minutes). This is the part of the test that most candidates dread the most. The masters asked us to do lots and lots and lots or jumping jacks, mountain climbers, pushups and sit-ups. Some of these exercises we do regularly in class, but not all of them and not nearly enough in my opinion. I had wanted to be better prepared for this portion of the test, but I just can’t keep up with the teenagers, so my strategy was to just do my best, not give up, and maintain a positive attitude. I was not near enough the other adults in class to notice how well they were doing, but one of the masters came to the back to check on me at least three times to make sure I was doing alright.
After endurance testing, he gave us a five-minute break to get a drink of water. I checked in with my daughter and learned that her master had asked her group to remain in plank position for what seemed like forever. She said it actually made her cry, but no one noticed. She was red in the face and sweaty, but as happy as I was to have completed this portion of the test.
After kicking, he gave us a ten-minute break to get some water and put on our sparring gear. I also grabbed a little snack from lunch box. Oddly, this was the part of the test that my daughter was most nervous about. She thought we were going to be scored, like in the tournament, but I knew that we were going to have friendly bouts, like in sparring class. It was also at this point in the day that our former master, Jason Leitski, made an appearance. It was super-awesome to see him again.
After sparring, we had another five-minute break to get some water and stow our gear.
At 12:15 we started forms (30 minutes). This was the portion of the test that I was most dreading, but it turned out all right. We did not perform the forms in order, but two other things happened that were to my advantage: first we performed the forms all as a group, which I knew we would, and second, the master called out the steps. I tend to fall behind when we are told to perform the form at our own pace. I did forget which step comes next a few times, but I was able to “cheat” by watching the people around me, and I did okay. I did get an extra kick in on of the forms, but no one called me out on it.
At 12:45 we watched the higher-ranked students perform their nun chuck forms. They were really good. Hardly anyone dropped the nun chucks, but there were a lot fewer candidates than years past.
At 1:05 we heard some speeches (20 minutes), I think four different parents had been asked to speak about how taekwondo had helped their children grow up into better people. Some of the parents were also studying taekwondo.
At 1:25 we started board breaking (35 minutes). We were each given eight boards. The children were given medium-sized boards and the teenagers and adults were given “thick” boards. My master, Eric Jun, held my boards for me. We had to think up our own breaking techniques. I thought we could do eight kicking techniques, but we had to do four hand techniques. I chose chop, hammer fist, and elbow strike. I couldn’t think of any others, so Master Eric called out punch: not my favorite breaking technique, but I did fine. For kicking techniques, I performed back kick, sidekick, spinning hook kick and spinning roundhouse kick. I broke all my boards on my first attempts. Later I learned that my daughter chose hammer fist, chop, elbow strike, reverse chop, axe kick (her favorite), sidekick and spinning roundhouse kick.
The whole experience was really wonderful. I'm so grateful that so many of my friends were there to support me. I am especially grateful to Laura and Olivia who took pictures. It would be a real shame if we had no photos of our experience. I’m looking forward to continuing my taekwondo journey. I will be eligible to test for second-degree black belt in two years, but before that, I will have three level tests at six month intervals to keep me on pace toward my next dan ranking.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
My fourth tournament
On Saturday, March 3, 2012, the Taekwondo of America Association held its annual All Oregon Open friendship tournament. For the first time, my nine-year-old daughter and I were entered in all four events: demonstration team, forms, breaking and sparring. My six-year-old son was entered in three events: forms, breaking and sparring.
There were eight demonstration teams entered in this year's tournament. Our team captain drew number three for our presentation order. I was really glad we went early in the rotation. We opened with what we called a moving meditation. I've also heard this section of demonstrations called musical forms. It was very realizing music, and we performed low block, middle block, high block, punch and single knife block all in slow motion, all in unison. It was neat. I really liked this section of the demo, but I was disappointed that the audience didn't quiet down when the calm, relaxing music started playing. We performed this demo last week for a different crowd, and the audience was much more generous.
After the slow motion bit, we continued our musical form with some music called Into the Arena. It is the cheer song associated with the South Korean national soccer team. It is really great music, and we had to move very fast during this section of the demonstration. We performed high block chop, reverse chop, middle punch, high block and palm block in rapid succession, in unison. This was the hardest part to learn, but once we learned it, it was easy.
After the musical forms, we did a self defense sequence in which four boys attacked four girls with a punch, The girls blocked the punch and countered with three roundhouse kicks to the body before throwing the boys to the ground. It looked really cool.
Then we went right into breaking. We started with jumping front kick. Four team members performed a regular jumping front kick and then John did a jumping front kick off a chair. Robert did a two kicks off the chair, and Dominic did his triple kick off the chair. I held for John, Robert and Dominic, but I didn't do a very good job. Only Dominic's board broke.
After jumping front kick we performed spinning roundhouse kick. Six of us held while six of us kicked in rapid succession. I held for Claire, and her board broke. I was very pleased about that. After spinning round house kick was flying side kick. Four students stood next to each other side by sidle and bent over double. Robert took a nice long run and jumped up onto a chair and then straight across their backs. He looked really great (and he broke his board)!
We concluded with power breaking. I was set up downstage center with ten boards on blocks. Claire was stage right with five boards and Betty was stage left with five boards. The rest of the team was assembled behind us, each with their own boards in their hands. We counted together to three and then we all broke together. The students behind us broke with their knee: jumping with their left knee and breaking with their right knee, sort of like jumping front kick. Claire, Betty and I broke with hammer fist. I got through all ten of my boards! it was awesome!
The other teams were very good. The team from Seattle was the best. I wonder why they came all the way from Seattle to compete in our little tournament, but it was a lot of fun to see them. They wore brilliant white uniforms with USA embroidered on the back. Their finale was a break 15 feet over head. They built a human tower to hold the board that high over the mat. Predictably, they took home the first place cup. Wilsonville took the second place cup, and all the other teams were awarded third place cups. I was disappointed that we didn't learn our actual scores. I would have like to know if we came in dead last or not, but that is just the way it is. We have plans to perform at the Pow Wow again this summer and at the Christmas party in December.
There were eight demonstration teams entered in this year's tournament. Our team captain drew number three for our presentation order. I was really glad we went early in the rotation. We opened with what we called a moving meditation. I've also heard this section of demonstrations called musical forms. It was very realizing music, and we performed low block, middle block, high block, punch and single knife block all in slow motion, all in unison. It was neat. I really liked this section of the demo, but I was disappointed that the audience didn't quiet down when the calm, relaxing music started playing. We performed this demo last week for a different crowd, and the audience was much more generous.
After the slow motion bit, we continued our musical form with some music called Into the Arena. It is the cheer song associated with the South Korean national soccer team. It is really great music, and we had to move very fast during this section of the demonstration. We performed high block chop, reverse chop, middle punch, high block and palm block in rapid succession, in unison. This was the hardest part to learn, but once we learned it, it was easy.
After the musical forms, we did a self defense sequence in which four boys attacked four girls with a punch, The girls blocked the punch and countered with three roundhouse kicks to the body before throwing the boys to the ground. It looked really cool.
Then we went right into breaking. We started with jumping front kick. Four team members performed a regular jumping front kick and then John did a jumping front kick off a chair. Robert did a two kicks off the chair, and Dominic did his triple kick off the chair. I held for John, Robert and Dominic, but I didn't do a very good job. Only Dominic's board broke.
After jumping front kick we performed spinning roundhouse kick. Six of us held while six of us kicked in rapid succession. I held for Claire, and her board broke. I was very pleased about that. After spinning round house kick was flying side kick. Four students stood next to each other side by sidle and bent over double. Robert took a nice long run and jumped up onto a chair and then straight across their backs. He looked really great (and he broke his board)!
We concluded with power breaking. I was set up downstage center with ten boards on blocks. Claire was stage right with five boards and Betty was stage left with five boards. The rest of the team was assembled behind us, each with their own boards in their hands. We counted together to three and then we all broke together. The students behind us broke with their knee: jumping with their left knee and breaking with their right knee, sort of like jumping front kick. Claire, Betty and I broke with hammer fist. I got through all ten of my boards! it was awesome!
The other teams were very good. The team from Seattle was the best. I wonder why they came all the way from Seattle to compete in our little tournament, but it was a lot of fun to see them. They wore brilliant white uniforms with USA embroidered on the back. Their finale was a break 15 feet over head. They built a human tower to hold the board that high over the mat. Predictably, they took home the first place cup. Wilsonville took the second place cup, and all the other teams were awarded third place cups. I was disappointed that we didn't learn our actual scores. I would have like to know if we came in dead last or not, but that is just the way it is. We have plans to perform at the Pow Wow again this summer and at the Christmas party in December.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Christmas Party
Last night we had our first Christmas party at the Scappoose location of World Champion Taekwondo. Master Eric said that he was a little nervous, but he did a great job. We started with a performance from the demo team. We did hand techniques, kicking combinations, tae guk pal jang, basic breaking, flying side kick, jumping front kick, power breaking, punching and the student creed. It was super-fun.
Next we all went across the hall to the next room for a pot luck dinner. There was a lot of food. It was all really good. Then we returned to the dojang for some games. We started with family limbo, so that if one member of the family fell, then the whole family was out. It was fun. My children cheered me on each round. Then we reversed it, so that instead of trying to scootch under the belts, we tried to jump over them. This quickly became dangerous as children enjoyed diving over the belts and they came very close to falling on top of each other.
The next game was a quiz game. This was my favorite. I got to show off. Some of the questions were:
(1) Where did taekwondo originate? (A) Seoul, South Korea
(2) When did taekwondo first appear at the Olympics? (A) 1988
(3) When did taekwondo become an official olympic sport? (A) 2000
(4) Who is the highest ranked taekwondo athlete in the United States? (A) Steven Lopez
(5) What is the name of the world taekwondo headquarters? (A) kukkiwon
(6) How many campuses does World Champion Taekwondo have in Oregon? (A) Seven
(7) Where are the seven campuses of World Champion Taekwondo? (A) West Union, Saltzman, Murray Hills, Monroe Park, Lake Oswego, Gresham and Scappoose.
(8) Who are the masters at each of the seven campuses of World Champion Taekwondo?
(9) When and where did Master B.C. Kim win each of his five world championships? (A) 1989 Taekwondo World Cup in Cairo; 1989 World Games in Karlsruhe; 1990 World University Games in Santander; 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona; 1993 World Championships in New York.
After the quiz game, we had a talent show. Monique did a cool dance. Chase and John did some self defense techniques. Dominic and Jared did some nun-chuck techniques. Samantha sang a Taylor Swift song with Jason and Jacob as backup dancers, and then a boy whose name I forget read a really cool story that he wrote for a contest. It was about a Halloween bat. The story he wrote won the contest, and the contest organizers turned it into a play.
After the talent show Tristen's mom presented Master Eric with a photo album. Then we bowed to the flag and said our good-byes. It was a great evening.
Next we all went across the hall to the next room for a pot luck dinner. There was a lot of food. It was all really good. Then we returned to the dojang for some games. We started with family limbo, so that if one member of the family fell, then the whole family was out. It was fun. My children cheered me on each round. Then we reversed it, so that instead of trying to scootch under the belts, we tried to jump over them. This quickly became dangerous as children enjoyed diving over the belts and they came very close to falling on top of each other.
The next game was a quiz game. This was my favorite. I got to show off. Some of the questions were:
(1) Where did taekwondo originate? (A) Seoul, South Korea
(2) When did taekwondo first appear at the Olympics? (A) 1988
(3) When did taekwondo become an official olympic sport? (A) 2000
(4) Who is the highest ranked taekwondo athlete in the United States? (A) Steven Lopez
(5) What is the name of the world taekwondo headquarters? (A) kukkiwon
(6) How many campuses does World Champion Taekwondo have in Oregon? (A) Seven
(7) Where are the seven campuses of World Champion Taekwondo? (A) West Union, Saltzman, Murray Hills, Monroe Park, Lake Oswego, Gresham and Scappoose.
(8) Who are the masters at each of the seven campuses of World Champion Taekwondo?
(9) When and where did Master B.C. Kim win each of his five world championships? (A) 1989 Taekwondo World Cup in Cairo; 1989 World Games in Karlsruhe; 1990 World University Games in Santander; 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona; 1993 World Championships in New York.
After the quiz game, we had a talent show. Monique did a cool dance. Chase and John did some self defense techniques. Dominic and Jared did some nun-chuck techniques. Samantha sang a Taylor Swift song with Jason and Jacob as backup dancers, and then a boy whose name I forget read a really cool story that he wrote for a contest. It was about a Halloween bat. The story he wrote won the contest, and the contest organizers turned it into a play.
After the talent show Tristen's mom presented Master Eric with a photo album. Then we bowed to the flag and said our good-byes. It was a great evening.
Friday, December 9, 2011
My 11th Belt Test
Last night (12/8/2011), my nine-year-old daughter and I participated in our 11th belt test. We have been studying taekwondo at World Champion Taekwondo for 33 months. We advanced from red belt to black stripe. We were the only two in our belt group. We began the test at 6:15pm. Our instructor, HyungMin Jun (aka Eric), called up the red belts. He had us do jumping jacks and pushups and more jumping jacks. Then we did basic punching and Hand Technique Number 3 and Kicking Combination Number 3. I lost the count during the kicking combination, and we had to do it again. I was breathing heavily by then, so I was glad he didn't ask us to do our form next.
Next, we did self-defense and one-step sparing. My daughter went first, so I had the chance to breathe a little bit. Betty (green belt) came up to work with Samantha and Nancy (brown belt) came up to be my partner. She was a very good partner. The self defense technique required the attacker to grab my sleeve, then I spun my arm around her hand, locking her attacking arm before throwing a punch to the solar plexus, a c-strike to the throat and an elbow to the face. Then, I grabbed my attackers belt, stepped forward, placing my foot behind hers and threw her down to the floor before delivering a final punch to the face. Of course, I did all of this without actually hitting my partner.
The one-step sparring sequence was a bit less complicated. The attacker began with a round house kick. The defender slid back before delivering a spinning roundhouse kick followed immediately by a spinning hook kick. Getting the spins right is pretty tricky, and I could actually use a lot more practice. In an actual sparring situation, it is unlikely that I would have actually hit my target with either kick.
We finished with our form: tae guk pal jang. This has been one of my favorite forms. It has two jumping kicks and couple of really cool hand techniques in slow motion. I made a mistake or two, but I was able to compensate and continue. He didn't ask us to start over or do it again. Then we sat down, it was 6:30 pm.
Next, the brown belts stood up and did nearly the same thing except that they performed a different form. Only Nancy and Robert were in attendance. Bert had tested earlier because he knew that he would be out-of-town today. Claire had a fever this evening. She will probably miss the demonstration tomorrow, too. I expected to see J.T., but she wasn't there. She is moving to Texas later this month, and she said she was going to do this one last belt test, but she didn't make it. Deacon also stood up with the brown belts even though he is a blue belt.
When the brown belts finished, the green belts stood up. My six-year-old son was the smallest among them. They were the largest group. I think there were seven: (1) Nick, (2) Tristan, (3) Trinity, (4) Betty, (5) Eladio, (6) Jacob and (7) Jason. They went through all the same things as the two previous groups, except of course, they performed a different form.
For the grand finale, we all stood up with our boards. We read our philosophies by belt group. Then we read our bad habits. Then the children promised their parents that they would change their bad habits. Then we lined up for breaking. The green belts and blue belts went first. The green belts broke with hammer fist and the blue belt broke with elbow strike. Then the brown belts broke with with spinning roundhouse kick. I remember Nancy needed two attempts. Then the red belts lined up to break with spinning hook kick. I needed two attempts, too, but I made the break. Master Je Kim held my board for me. He told me I had a nice spinning hook kick. I love it when the masters compliment my kicks.
Next, Master Eric asked all the children who would be earning their fourth or eighth star to please stand up. The children are awarded stars if they earn ten stripes in the quarter. The earn stripes by showing a good attitude at home. Only Eladio stood. My six-year-old son had three stars on his uniform, but he hadn't earned ten black stripes, so he couldn't earn his gold star and trophy tonight. There had been some tears at home about that, but I had decided to be stricter about signing for those stripes, and so they hadn't earned as many. Samantha was up for her 10th (and final) star. She was the most devastated about not receiving one tonight. I rather hope that she is recognized at the Christmas party this year. One interesting change this test: they awarded medals to the adults. Since adults don't participate in the stripes program, we don't usually receive medals at the test. We did not receive gold stars for our uniforms.
The very last thing were a whole bunch of announcements. The school is restructuring some things in the new year. First, Master Eric is adding a Level 4 class for brown belts, red belts and black belts. The Saturday class is specifically to prepare for the black belt test. By adding brown belts to this class, it makes me think that maybe Nancy, Bert, Claire and Robert will be able to test with me and Samantha in April. I hope so. It will nice for the school to have so many black belts. On the other hand, adding a Level 4 class means that I won't be able to attend classes with my son anymore. He is in Level 3 (green belts and blue belts). That means I will be putting in some time on the bench with the other moms.
He also announced a change in the way that they teach forms, self-defense and one-step sparring. In stead of each belt learning a different form, self-defense technique and one-step sparring sequence. The four belts in the same level will all learn the same one, then they all learn a different one for the next quarter. It will rotate each quarter so that everybody still learns everything, but they learn it together. This way, it will take up less class time and hopefully improve the quality of the instruction for everyone. I think it will be a good change, but it won't affect me, since I will soon be starting on the black belt forms, self-defense techniques and one-step sparring sequences.
They are also changing up the weekly themes. The attitude stripes I mentioned above follow a weekly theme: (1) respect, (2) appreciation, (3) cleanliness, (4) responsibility, (5) love and thanks, (6) above and beyond. There are 12-14 weeks in each quarter, so the themes repeat. Now, they are adding a corresponding monthly theme: (Jan) goal setting and self control, (Feb) love and positive attitude, (Mar) perseverance and team woke, (Apr) integrity and sportsmanship, (May) respect and responsibility, (Jun) se;f-discipline and focus, (Jul) cooperation and forgiveness, (Aug) organization and determination, (Sep) courage and friendship, (Oct) confidence and courtesy, (Nov) leadership and motivation, and (Dec) self-esteem. The instructors will take a minute to discuss each theme at the beginning or end of class each day. I imagine this will be something like the Scoutmasters minute in Boy Scouting. And the students will wear a colored rubber band to represent each theme, a different color each month. These rubber bands look a lot like the popular Live Strong bracelets. The rubber band will be considered a part of the uniform and must be word to class each day. I think the program will be a nice addition to the curriculum. I hope they are not so big that they fall right off my sons small wrist.
Next, we did self-defense and one-step sparing. My daughter went first, so I had the chance to breathe a little bit. Betty (green belt) came up to work with Samantha and Nancy (brown belt) came up to be my partner. She was a very good partner. The self defense technique required the attacker to grab my sleeve, then I spun my arm around her hand, locking her attacking arm before throwing a punch to the solar plexus, a c-strike to the throat and an elbow to the face. Then, I grabbed my attackers belt, stepped forward, placing my foot behind hers and threw her down to the floor before delivering a final punch to the face. Of course, I did all of this without actually hitting my partner.
The one-step sparring sequence was a bit less complicated. The attacker began with a round house kick. The defender slid back before delivering a spinning roundhouse kick followed immediately by a spinning hook kick. Getting the spins right is pretty tricky, and I could actually use a lot more practice. In an actual sparring situation, it is unlikely that I would have actually hit my target with either kick.
We finished with our form: tae guk pal jang. This has been one of my favorite forms. It has two jumping kicks and couple of really cool hand techniques in slow motion. I made a mistake or two, but I was able to compensate and continue. He didn't ask us to start over or do it again. Then we sat down, it was 6:30 pm.
Next, the brown belts stood up and did nearly the same thing except that they performed a different form. Only Nancy and Robert were in attendance. Bert had tested earlier because he knew that he would be out-of-town today. Claire had a fever this evening. She will probably miss the demonstration tomorrow, too. I expected to see J.T., but she wasn't there. She is moving to Texas later this month, and she said she was going to do this one last belt test, but she didn't make it. Deacon also stood up with the brown belts even though he is a blue belt.
When the brown belts finished, the green belts stood up. My six-year-old son was the smallest among them. They were the largest group. I think there were seven: (1) Nick, (2) Tristan, (3) Trinity, (4) Betty, (5) Eladio, (6) Jacob and (7) Jason. They went through all the same things as the two previous groups, except of course, they performed a different form.
For the grand finale, we all stood up with our boards. We read our philosophies by belt group. Then we read our bad habits. Then the children promised their parents that they would change their bad habits. Then we lined up for breaking. The green belts and blue belts went first. The green belts broke with hammer fist and the blue belt broke with elbow strike. Then the brown belts broke with with spinning roundhouse kick. I remember Nancy needed two attempts. Then the red belts lined up to break with spinning hook kick. I needed two attempts, too, but I made the break. Master Je Kim held my board for me. He told me I had a nice spinning hook kick. I love it when the masters compliment my kicks.
Next, Master Eric asked all the children who would be earning their fourth or eighth star to please stand up. The children are awarded stars if they earn ten stripes in the quarter. The earn stripes by showing a good attitude at home. Only Eladio stood. My six-year-old son had three stars on his uniform, but he hadn't earned ten black stripes, so he couldn't earn his gold star and trophy tonight. There had been some tears at home about that, but I had decided to be stricter about signing for those stripes, and so they hadn't earned as many. Samantha was up for her 10th (and final) star. She was the most devastated about not receiving one tonight. I rather hope that she is recognized at the Christmas party this year. One interesting change this test: they awarded medals to the adults. Since adults don't participate in the stripes program, we don't usually receive medals at the test. We did not receive gold stars for our uniforms.
The very last thing were a whole bunch of announcements. The school is restructuring some things in the new year. First, Master Eric is adding a Level 4 class for brown belts, red belts and black belts. The Saturday class is specifically to prepare for the black belt test. By adding brown belts to this class, it makes me think that maybe Nancy, Bert, Claire and Robert will be able to test with me and Samantha in April. I hope so. It will nice for the school to have so many black belts. On the other hand, adding a Level 4 class means that I won't be able to attend classes with my son anymore. He is in Level 3 (green belts and blue belts). That means I will be putting in some time on the bench with the other moms.
He also announced a change in the way that they teach forms, self-defense and one-step sparring. In stead of each belt learning a different form, self-defense technique and one-step sparring sequence. The four belts in the same level will all learn the same one, then they all learn a different one for the next quarter. It will rotate each quarter so that everybody still learns everything, but they learn it together. This way, it will take up less class time and hopefully improve the quality of the instruction for everyone. I think it will be a good change, but it won't affect me, since I will soon be starting on the black belt forms, self-defense techniques and one-step sparring sequences.
They are also changing up the weekly themes. The attitude stripes I mentioned above follow a weekly theme: (1) respect, (2) appreciation, (3) cleanliness, (4) responsibility, (5) love and thanks, (6) above and beyond. There are 12-14 weeks in each quarter, so the themes repeat. Now, they are adding a corresponding monthly theme: (Jan) goal setting and self control, (Feb) love and positive attitude, (Mar) perseverance and team woke, (Apr) integrity and sportsmanship, (May) respect and responsibility, (Jun) se;f-discipline and focus, (Jul) cooperation and forgiveness, (Aug) organization and determination, (Sep) courage and friendship, (Oct) confidence and courtesy, (Nov) leadership and motivation, and (Dec) self-esteem. The instructors will take a minute to discuss each theme at the beginning or end of class each day. I imagine this will be something like the Scoutmasters minute in Boy Scouting. And the students will wear a colored rubber band to represent each theme, a different color each month. These rubber bands look a lot like the popular Live Strong bracelets. The rubber band will be considered a part of the uniform and must be word to class each day. I think the program will be a nice addition to the curriculum. I hope they are not so big that they fall right off my sons small wrist.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Tae Guk Pal Jang
There are many sites on the Internet, which offer instruction on performing the forms of taekwondo. They vary widely, partly because instructors refer to the same techniques by different names, but mostly because people just write things differently. I am intrigued at the notion that although we are all doing these forms exactly the same way, we are all talking and writing about them very differently. It's really easier to learn forms in class than it is to learn them from written text, but I think this is helpful. I wrote this out to help me study for my test (December 2011), and I offer it up to anyone who might find it useful. If you note any errors, please let me know. Thanks.
Tae Guek Pal (8th) Jang is represented by the symbol for earth.
From the Joon Be (ready) position (facing north):
Tae Guek Pal (8th) Jang is represented by the symbol for earth.
From the Joon Be (ready) position (facing north):
- Step forward with the left foot in back stance and perform a double middle block with the left hand, then immediately move left foot to to create a front stance and perform a middle punch with the right hand.
- Perform a jumping front kick with the left foot. KI HAP! (yell) Land in front stance, left foot forward and perform an outside-in middle block with the left hand, followed immediately by two punches.
- Step forward with the right foot into front stance and perform an middle punch with the left hand.
- Turn 270* to the right into front stance right foot forward (west), look back (east) perform a low block with the left hand and a middle block with the right hand (also known as mountain block).
- Turn both feet 180* to the left into front stance with the left foot forward (facing east) and perform an upper cut with the right hand in slow motion (8 count).
- Step back with the left foot into cross stance with the arms crossed in front of the chest and look right. Step forward with the right foot into front stance left foot forward (east), look back (west) and perform a low block with the right hand and a middle block with the left hand (also known as mountain block).
- Turn both feet 180* to the right into front stance with the right foot forward (facing west) and perform and upper cut with the left hand.
- Turn 90* to the left into backstance (left foot forward) and perform a double knife-hand block with the left hand, then shift into front stance and perform a middle punch with the right hand.
- Perform a front kick with the right foot. Bring the right foot back behind the left foot in tiger stance and perform a palm block with the right hand.
- Turn 90* to the left in tiger stance with the left foot forward and perform a double knife-hand block with the left hand.
- Perform a front kick with the left foot, landing in front stance with the left foot forward and perform a middle punch with the right hand, pull the left foot back into tiger stance and perform a palm block with the left hand.
- Turn 180* to the right into tiger stance with the right foot forward and perform a double knife-hand block with the right hand.
- Perform a front kick with the left foot. Bring the left foot back behind the right foot in tiger stance and perform a palm block with the left hand.
- Turn 90* to the left into back stance with the right foot forward and perform a double fist low block.
- Perform a front kick with the left foot followed immediately by a jumping front kick with the right foot. KIHAP! Come down in front stance with the right foot forward and perform an inside-out middle block with the right hand followed immediately by a middle punch with the left hand and another middle punch with the right hand.
- Turn 270* to the left into back stance with the left foot forward and perform a single knife-hand block with the left hand. Shift into front stance (left foot forward) and perform an elbow strike with the right hand followed immediately by a back fist with the right hand and a middle punch with the left hand.
- Turn 180* to the right into back stance with the right foot forward and perform a single knife-hand block with the right hand. Shift into front stance (right foot forward) and perform an elbow strike with the left hand followed immediately by a back fist with the left hand and a middle punch with the right hand.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)