My Tae
Kwon Do Life
Austin
Carpenter
Temporary
Black Belt Test
June 1,
2013
My Tae
Kwon Do Life
I’ve
been in Tae Kwon Do for four years. I started when I was four, learning about
Tae Kwon Do from my cousin Nolan (whose picture is on the wall). There was no tape system at the time so I had
a yellow belt in no time. I remember one night we were breaking boards, and it
was my first night of doing reverse kick, which I was no good at the time. I refused
to do it, and hid, but I eventually did it, breaking it on my first try. When I was seven, I was a brown belt and
getting ready for my black belt test, my grandpa died of cancer. This was a
very hard time for me. Having too many
memories of him in the dojang, I quit. In the spring of 2012, my mom had to
drop some papers off for Master Bendickson and I asked if I could rejoin. As you can see, I am back and have grown up.
After my four years away from Tae Kwon Do, I forgot everything, but quickly regained
my knowledge. One thing I did not regain was having scenery with my forms. I
would pretend to be in another place, blocking my attacker’s moves, and
striking back. Although I forgot that, I gained much more skills, ones that may
be vital for my test.
Tae
Kwon do has been hard on me since my first day I committed to get ready for my
temp test. I’m going to try my best not to get emotional during class and my
test. My strong reason not to be emotional is because of
bullies. The week of my fifth degree brown belt test, a friend of mine transferred
to another school because of bullying. So for my test, my focus and power will
be dedicated to those who are truants because of bullying, or commit suicide
because of bullying. When Master Bendickson at class or Grand Master Jung at my
test tells me to use more power, I will give it all I’ve got. When Master Jung
or Master Bendickson tells me to focus, I will focus on only my form or board
break. With that, I have a motivation; the only disability in life is a bad
attitude. Seeing that come from a man whose skeleton has been through more than
fifty surgeries, it inspired me. And if it can help the Ravens win the Super
Bowl, it can help me pass my test.
Four
areas of struggle I have had to face while preparing for the test continue to
drive me to work harder. The number one
struggle I work on daily is using more power and focusing on my target and
doing one steps in the air. The second was learning more of Chu-Moo. Master
Bendickson made me yell over and over and over again until I was practically
screaming. I was mad after class for having to yell over and over again. I
realize that there is strength in a loud scream. The third struggle, my least favorite, is
flying sidekicks. I was fine until we had to do flying sidekicks. First I had
to jump over the pad, then one person, then two, three, four, then five! I
never thought I would EVER be able to do it! But I did. It helped having my
friends cheer me on. The fourth struggle was one of the most emotional nights
ever. Master Benidickson said I’m not testing for a long time if I don't step
up to the plate and use as much power as I’ve got all the time. Then when she
was asking terminology, I forgot Chung-Gun after “ he assassinated Hiro Bumi
Edo”. After class my mom said I should be embarrassed for not have knowing it.
I just forgot it at the moment. As I’m writing this, my muscles still ache and
my nose is running from all the emotions. I wish I could hide my emotions
better.
I
know deep in my heart that I am going to make a very strong black belt because
of my perseverance, my willingness to try harder, and ability to recognize when
I need to work harder. I made it my 2013 New Year’s goal in school to reach
this goal. I know that it will continue
to help me gain more confidence in myself and help me not to give in to bullies
in life. I have already started to
regain confidence that I lost back in 2008 when my grandpa died. I also rejoined a baseball team this year. I hope that my success will show others that
it isn’t what others think of you, it is what you think of yourself that
counts. I will show my parents,
grandparents, friends and peers that when I put my mind to it, I can accomplish
anything I set my mind on doing. No
matter how difficult it may be.
