| Yeah... I'm really failing at updating this. But I feel like if I update about anything, I better do it about my black belt test. Although, it's kind of weird, but... I can barely remember it. It passed so fast. Random moments stand out, but the rest is just a blur. I'm going to document as much as I can... because I never want to forget it =D The night before the test, I spent the night up in Cleveland at my Aunt's house with Elyse and a whole bunch of my family. I was so nervous on the drive up that I couldn't sleep like I usually do on long drives... so Elyse and I just talked about life and CSG the whooole ride up. Elyse and I spent the rest of the night studying terminology/philosophy by using ridiculous phrases to remember things, and I reviewed parts of forms that always give me trouble... like Yul Go, Tae Guk Pal, and Bat Sa Ee So. We slept in the living room with a fire going =] It was comfy cozy. That morning, I woke up around 8:30. I was really nervous, but I actually managed to eat some breakfeast because I know the black belts would probably kill me if I didn't listen to them about that again, haha. We got to the Dojang around 10 and waited around. I was really, really nervous in the few hours before the Test. There were two others testing... Mr. Melendez's son for his yellow, and Mr. O'Shay for his blue. Finally, Wukovich started the Test off at 10:30 with a 30-minute speech (of COURSE =D) and we all read our essays. I read What are the relationships in the martial arts school? and My Philosophy in TKD. I was really happy about reading the relationship one, because a lot of the people that I adore in TKD were at my Test. But the fact Wukovich chose the philosophy one really surprised me. That was the hardest one for me to write. The first one I thought about, and the last one I finished. Eh, weird. Finished up that section with terminology… I was tested by Mr. Ricart, and apparently I got 95%. Yesss =D Next in to Poomsae! I was still a little apprehensive while I was watching little Melendez and O’Shay… but once I got out there, all my nervousness dissolved. My forms were pretty good. I did Pal Ga O and up. I only blanked out ONCE during Tae Guk Pal, but I remembered what I was doing after a few painful seconds. I tried soo hard to slow down all my forms. The problem for me isn’t remembering them… its going way too fast. But Abraham had told me to go 75% at my Test, and it’d still end being 100% or more speed. So that’s what I did, and I think their speed was about right. Right after that were one steps. Josh was my partner, which was good since I’d just practiced with him that Tuesday/Thursday before… but he is SO tall, man. My kicks barely reach up to his solar plexus =D The only thing I really messed up in during one-steps were figuring out what number/side I was on… ahaha. Brilliance. After one-steps, we sparred. AHH FUN. My first match was against Ricart Jr. He’s about my height and had been a 1st dan black belt for a little under a year. That match went surprisingly well, so next they put me with Melendez who is a CRAZY INSANE SPARRER. His ki haps are asjdhflasjdlf, and he strikes like… lightening. (On top of all this, he is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met). It was a hard match, but I kicked him a few times =D My last match was against O’Shay… we were both so exhausted. We both admitted to each other after that we wanted the other person to knock us out so we could sleep instead of fight, ahaha. Hartshorne came up to me later after the Test and told me that sparring was my most impressive part of my Test. …aka my world has turn upside down. It really hit home that was ready to be black belt, however, when the Ricarts told me that my sparring was amazing. I just remember them both testing with Hartshorne and Josh last year, and I was sitting there thinking "shit... I will never be that good. I can never do that." But maybe I am just good enough =] After that was JUDOOO. I am in love with judo. First, we did basic and then advanced break falls (the advanced weren’t required, but Hartshorne accidentally taught them to me before the test… oopsies! They’re fun though.) And then I had to jump over all those pads. I cleared ALL of them for both height and distance. I was SO EXCITED. Josh worked with me for seriously about every class just to beat whatever my mental block was when I was jumping over them before. So, I did everything he said and I won!!! I was so proud of myself =D Judo itself was good. The one-step throws were kinda iffy, but my black belt judo was awesome. I was alright at Kata Garuma (THE DEATH THROW) =D Tominagi always makes up for it though… my favorite throw ever. But apparently my adrenaline was so high I was actually hurting Josh when I threw him… oops. Breaking was after that. Breaking was… eh. I had to switch everything up because I hurt myself sparring, so it ended up kind of sketchy. I broke everything though, which was good. The best part of the breaking was that I finally broke with spinning jumping slant for the first time =D The last part was philosophy. Wukovich, Hartshorne, and Josh all asked the people being tested a variety of questions. I started my sequences off right by stating that “No profanity is prohibited in the dojang.” Priceless. I barely remember this part, but I believe Wukovich asked me about what it means to be a leader in the martial arts, Hartshorne asked me to compare working with CSG girls and then the guys up at Hilliard (who are primarily early 20’s to mid 40’s), and Josh asked me if getting my black belt would change anything about how I was currently training. After everything, I passed. Wukovich belted O’Shay, Melendez belted his son, and Hartshorne got to belt me =) I was so excited… I really wanted him to do it. Josh also got to give me all my certificates, which also made me really happy. After ending the test, giving a hug to absolutely everyone in the room, and celebrating with Chinese food… I finally was on my way home. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. But honestly, being a black belt hasn’t changed anything much beyond the title, the uniform, and people bowing to me when I enter the room. I still feel the same way about martial arts as I did before, and I still know I have a long way to go before I am even half as good as people like Hartshorne and Josh. I still want to continue my training as I have been…doubling up at CSG and Hilliard TKD. And I would love to go for more degrees. Bah, TKD is just awesome. And the people I have met doing it are amazing, and we all care about each other. Like I said in my paper, they have become my extended family. Seriously, I wouldn’t have been standing up there without Hartshorne and Josh. Both of them have put so much time and effort in to making sure I would do okay. Both of them have really been watching out for me *big grin* Elyse gave me all the moral support in the world. Mr. Abraham, the Thompson boys, Mr. Evans and his daughter, and Mr. Belcher all came up to watch and support me. Mr. Abraham told me later that he was so nervous watching me up there because he cared so much, and then he made me stand outside the Hilliard dojang for like 5 minutes with him just so people would have to clap and bow to us when we entered… me being bowed to for the first time =D They are the people that I never want to lose, because they've all become a really big part of who I am and have shaped who I want to become.. I owe them the world. Especially Hartshorne, Josh, and Abraham... Bahh, I love them ALL. I LOVE TKD =D |
