Martial Arts America
Journey to Becoming a Black Belt
All of us at Martial Arts America are on a journey. It doesn’t matter what our individual routes are, we all are trying to arrive at the same destination. This destination is to achieve our Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do.
Before I began taking classes with Mr. Kleinwort in the Madrid branch, I was just wandering around looking for something. I knew I wanted to have some form of exercise. From 2001 through 2004, I held a part-time job as a server in addition to my full-time job as Senior Registered Client Service Associate in the investment industry. I started the server position just to get me out of the house and to try to meet people. It then became a necessity for a few years. I changed companies in 2004 and with this job change I decided I no longer needed my part-time job to support myself and felt that I needed a break from working six to seven days a week or from 8:00 am to 1:00 am during the work week. Who knew that I would miss the constant walking in circles from one table to the next, delivering food, beverages, condiments, clearing tables, chatting to customers.
This break became four years of inactivity. At the time I would come home from work and just plop down on the chair and turn on the television. The only form of exercise I ever received was mowing the yard or shoveling snow. I just existed in my house. I started gaining weight and soon gained 15 pounds. While I may not be a heavy person, I new this trend would continue if I didn’t start exercising. I knew that I would not be happy joining a gym and working out on equipment. There wasn’t anyone there to hold me accountable and without that, I would find the excuse not to go and work out. We all have been there and regret the wasted money we have spent to join the gym and then never use the facilities.
Because of this, I tried a belly dancing class in Madrid. Belly dancing… sounds exciting, right? Well, this was a six week beginner’s class held one day a week. Not one time did I work up a sweat. What type of exercise class doesn’t make you sweat? I mentioned to one of the other girls in the class that I wasn’t going to sign up for the next session and that I might try the yoga classes that were starting up in town. Christy mentioned that she took Tae Kwon Do at 6:30 on Tuesday and Thursday and she worked up a sweat in this class. She had skipped the current session so she could try the belly dancing class. She wasn’t going to sign up for the next belly dancing class and asked that I join her for Tae Kwon Do. I agreed to go to the next session. What could it hurt?
On August 5, 2008, I walked into the dojang in Madrid, not really knowing what I was getting myself into at the time. It was going to be exercise and I really needed exercise. Looking around the facility, I saw a handful of people in White pants and t-shirts with different colored belts. OK, a uniform? Wasn’t this class going to be similar to the Farrell’s Extreme Body Workout I had heard about from other people? Don’t you just kick the bags, punch the bags, do some other exercises and call it a day? Oh well, I’ll give it a try.
During my first few weeks, I thought, I can do this. Then, I learned there were tests. A test! Really, I’m 41 years old, I don’t want to take a test. Well, I took the test and passed. I’m now a Yellow Belt. So this Tae Kwon Do thing has tests and different colored belts involved. Christy didn’t tell me this. I decided to continue the class for the next session.
For the next few sessions, I just plodded along. At times, telling myself that I didn’t want to continue taking classes. It wasn’t really what I was looking for in exercise. I didn’t seem to be losing any weight and had just hit my all time high weight. In addition to the classes, I now have to quit drinking my favorite beverage, Mountain Dew and started drinking Diet. This exercise thing is not really helping me. But I continued taking the classes. During my Yellow Belt, I wasn’t really interested in continuing, and by my Orange Belt, I thought I would quit. However, other members had quit and we had a small class. I couldn’t quit and leave Mr. Kleinwort with an ever smaller class. So I continued.
The months have continued to pass and it is now my Green Belt test. As usual, I am extremely nervous about this test. When it comes time for the board break, I’m beat. However, I need to break with a front jump snap kick. I try and try and try… no luck! I cannot get that board to break and end up doing my first knife hand strike. Having never practiced this break, Mrs. Wells steps in and instructs me how to accomplish the strike. On my first strike, I break the board! What a rush! Thank you, Mrs. Wells, for your excellent instruction! This has boosted my confidence because I was told during the test that since I couldn’t break with the assigned break, I shouldn’t have been testing. This was a major mental set back for me with that comment. Mrs. Wells told me that not everyone can accomplish the assigned breaks, but to keep on trying.
I work my way through the hurtful comment and continue taking classes and advancing. I’m now a high Blue Belt and have been told that as a Brown Belt I will need to attend the Brown/Black Belt class in Ankeny one day a week. I kept saying, I’ll just stay a Blue Belt. I don’t want to have to go all the way to Ankeny for a class. Well, I took the high Blue Belt test and passed. I’m now a Brown Belt!
So now I need to start going to Ankeny for an additional class. The first class I attend I feel as though I’m going to die! I happened to be in front of the mirrors and when we would turn to the back with our hand movements, I got a glimpse of my face. It is beet red! Someone is obviously holding her breath during class! I’m still not totally sure I want to continue Brown/Black class, but I continue to attend. I’m learning to control my breathing a little more, but still tend to hold my breath.
Soon, I’m actually looking forward to Wednesday class. Who would have thought that someone who didn’t want to have to “go all the way to Ankeny” for a class, now looks forward to that class. I work up a sweat in my Tuesday and Thursday class, but Wednesday is even harder and I can feel it in my muscles. It must be the rapid changes between movements, to the quick “down for pushups”, jogging and punching, to mountain climbers.
For the next year, I attend classes on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. During my First Temp Brown Belt, I now start attending Saturday classes at 6:00 am with Mr. Brewer. If you didn’t know, 6:00 am is really early in the morning. It takes me a while, but I eventually become a regular to this class beginning in July. This is a good class to attend, because it is mostly adults. From July to the end of September, I was taking four classes per week and I’m now taking six classes per week. Wow! My journey has taken me from a couch potato to training six days per week and enjoying it.
Not only am I training six days per week, but during my Tuesday and Thursday classes, we have started getting more White Belts in our branch. I’m now helping to instruct the lower Belts on their forms and one steps. Instructing adults is so much easier than children. For some reason, children just don’t pay attention as they should. As the children advance, I can see improvement in their attention span. They are listening better and trying harder. They may have trouble remembering which direction to turn on their forms, but they are starting to listen. Helping the children learn is a lesson in self-control. You just want to yell “stop wiggling and listen to me!” But, you don’t! You just keep trying to contain their energy in Chunbee position until you start the form or one steps.
After training and helping to instruct, my journey has taken me to my first destination in Tae Kwon Do -- to obtain my Black Belt. It’s not my final destination, but it is the first stop. I have had help along with way in the form of instruction or inspiration from Masters Mr. and Mrs. Wells, Mr. Kleinwort, Mr. Seth Kleinwort, Miss Kleinwort, Mr. Ostrander, Mr. Brewer, Mr. Dobson, Mr. Bassett, Mrs. Bassett, Mr. Brewer, Mr. Trestle, Mr. Hass, Mrs. Matthews, Mrs. Brandt, Master Sledge and Master Dudak. I’m sure there are a lot of other Black Belt’s that have helped me throughout this journey and I want to thank you all for your help. Even little comments during Brown/Black Belt class have helped me improve throughout my evolution from a White Belt to hopefully, my Black Belt.
