Our daughter's timing was impeccable. Kerry and I had considered starting Caelyn in a martial arts class for some time. I had even started looking around at what was available though not seriously.
One afternoon in the beginning of August, I found myself at a playground with the kids. Caelyn had found a boy (why does it always seem to be a boy) about her age to play with. I was talking to his mom when she called out to her son that they would be leaving soon for taekwon-do. This got my interest as Caelyn's statement about trying karate had been only a few days before.
I asked her where her son took classes and what it was like. She told me about her son's experience at the dojang and I was impressed by what I heard. In mid-August I scheduled a trial class. That one class was all it took. Caelyn was hooked. We signed her up on the spot.
She has no scheduled class. With her enrollment, she is allowed to attend any age and belt appropriate class twice a week. Normally, I take her on Monday and Thursday afternoons but this does not stop her from asking almost every day if that day is a taekwon-do day.
It is fun to see her so excited about something. It is also great to see the intensity and seriousness with which she approaches it. The focus she shows in class is something that I hope manifests itself in other areas of her life.
This past weekend she tested for, and acquired, her white belt with a yellow stripe. This is the first level for children above the beginners white belt. It was a very exciting day for her.
A few weeks before the testing day, one of the dojang's employees told me I should expect to be approached about Caelyn's testing for the belt. When I told Caelyn about it, she was thrilled. When the master instructor came over to us a couple of classes later and formally invited her to test, she was beside herself. It was one of the few times I have seen her speechless.
When the master instructor left, she simply looked at me with eyes ablaze and said, "I want that belt."
So, Saturday was the day for her to test and show what she could do. There were a large number of children testing that afternoon and they were tested either individually or in a group of no more than five. Caelyn's group contained four people and was the first to go.
She performed well. I won't pretend to know the how well, but it was well enough to pass and receive her new yellow striped belt. She also broke a board with a kick. Breaking the board was a great thrill for her. When we got home, she wanted me to hold it for her so she could break it some more. When I told her that wasn't a good idea, she asked me to get her more stuff to break.
It was a very exciting day all around. As I sat there and watched her perform, I couldn't help but smile and admire her determination. Her excitement for taekwon-do is even stronger after her successful test. As we were driving home from the test with her certificate, new belt and broken board in hand, she calls to me from the back seat and says, "Daddy, now I want the green striped belt."
Below are some pics from the test. You can find the full video of the test here.
(watching the older kids warm up)
(waiting to begin while in ready stance)
(getting ready to kick the board)
(bowing out after the test was completed)
(triumphant with new belt and board in hand)
