I started studying taekwondo 15 years ago, made it to 5th gup, then quit. Yesterday I officially tested for my cho dan. After another two hours I’m pleased to say that I passed. It took me precisely two years and 8 months to achieve 1st degree black belt.

I had my school black belt test back in Dec. 07. It too was a two hour ordeal. This one was just as nerve-wracking, just in a different way. First, you are tossed into a situation with a bunch of testing candidates from several other schools. Second, the Board of Masters sometimes calls out a technique that our school may call something else. For example we call “spin kick” a “reverse side kick”, etc. Third, once again there’s that darn audience which always rattles me.

How did my morning start? With a surprise call from sabum v. 1. He’s away pursing his PhD and when he has time, he’s keeping one foot in TKD and the other in aikido. Anyhow, it’s been almost two years since I’ve heard his voice so that was really nice. He took the time to wish me well which says an awful lot about some of the bonds you can form in the martial arts.

Let’s get the bad out of the way first: Forms aka poomse. I can have really good days and if my nerves get the better of me I can have really bad days. Let’s just say it was not my “A” material. Funny thing but I made a big mistake on Pal Jang and a minor mistake on Koryo but the judges had me re-do Koryo. It should be noted that a person testing for her master rank (4th dan) bobbled a form and had to re-do too. So, this makes me feel better since she’s probably been at it for 10 years.

We prepared as best we could for my performance anxiety. When it appears it’s always in forms. In practice Sabum v. 2 even had students surround me while I demonstrated a form. Their goal was to distract me in any way that they could without touching me. (waving arms, making noises, throwing punches and kicks, etc.) Oh well. These tests are no good unless your ego gets taken down a notch with a little defeat. There is a lesson in that too, I think.

Now the good: Baring the master candidate, out of anyone on the floor I looked the best during fundamentals, self-defense, and sparring. I also came in third on breaking for sure. No surprise here because these were the things sabum v. 1 (and v. 2 by proxy) always emphasize(d). In fact, we received compliments on the self-defense, sparring, and breaks so I’m happy about that (the Board also referenced sabum v.1 twice in regards to my performance). Give me someone to thrash or something to break and my anxiety disappears. Make me dance in front of an audience during poomse like a ballet dancer and it’s a crap shoot! Go figure because some people nail poomse but fall apart on breaking or sparring.

On self-defense we really sold it. Here’s where practicing on that darn wooden floor payed off! We are definitely desensitized to pain compared to everyone else who trains on nice soft martial arts mats. Since Master C’s school has mats I put my partner down with authority which made us look very intense. The other thing we did was start with 10 of the 44 self-defense out-of-sequence and we did not call out numbers like everyone else. Instead, we had these numbers rehearsed from memory, rolled with it, and it did impress the judges.

On sparring we had to fight a single opponent and then two opponents. At this test we did it without pads or gear on–part to demonstrate control. Well we sold that part really well too. Sabum v. 1 is famous for his sparring in our outfit. I’ve heard the story at least three times about how his crew kicked someone through a drywall at their school during one of their intense sessions. Anyhow, we did good on that part too.

Breaking did not go as planned because they waited until the end and also pre-exhausted us with knuckle push-ups, sit-ups, and running in place. Here’s my results:

• Spinning hook kick on two boards: Nailed it!
• Jump side on two boards: Broke one of two. (damn!)
• Spinning knife edge on one board: Nailed it!
• 1 3/4″ concrete slab: Nailed it!

If I would have nailed the side kick I would have taken second. As it stands I’m happy with how I made out.

The master candidate did a break that was simply awesome. She stood four concrete slabs on their sides with an inch space between. Then she lined up and did a shuffle side kick (aka skipping side kick) speed break and blasted all four slabs on her first try! This from someone who probably weighs 115 - 120lbs! This shows what 10 years of practice can teach you to do and I would definitely call this a death touch. Given the right circumstances I have no doubt that she could break someone’s spine or shatter ribs.

The photos and videos are slowly rolling in. Several people were taking pictures of me so with luck there’ll be at least one of me smiling! Put me in this traditional environment and my German heritage/military brainwashing always kicks in and the smile goes out the window. Anyhow, here’s a few photos (click to enlarge):

- Awaiting orders

- Receiving my by gold braided belt from Master C.

- Master C., me, and sabum v. 2

I’ll close this post with a slightly blurry shot of me breaking the concrete slab. The hardest part for me is the fact that I’m 6′ 2″ and have very long legs. So, getting positioned and coming down straight on such a short stand proved a challenge for sure. Patterson 1 concrete 0!

I have two more days of a four-day vacation. I spent the first two days practicing and practicing. So, starting today I’m officially off and resting! Per sabum’s orders I’m not to come to practice this week. For once I think I’ll take her advice!

~BCP

• Cuba cleans up in judo medal count.

Cuba and Brazil dominated again during the second day of the Pan American Judo Championships, while the United States had some highlights of its own.

• Vietnamese take gold at world junior TKD.

Vietnamese martial artist Hoang Ha Giang has secured a gold medal in the women’s 49 kg category at the 7th World Junior Taekwondo Championships in Izmir , Turkey.

• Canadians earn shot at Olympic Judo.

Canadian judokas Keith Morgan and Marylise Levesque have punched their ticket to the Summer Olympics.

The pair guaranteed their berths on Thursday in Miami at the Pan American judo championships, which also doubles an Olympic qualifying event.

• Columnist critical of MMA–especially in relation to fighter safety.

I admit, that’s just one death in many years — which is amazing in my opinion.

I guess my main concern is safety. Why can’t they wear helmets and other protective gear?

Probably because no one will get hurt and that seems like the point.

The lady has a point. Is part of the MMA appeal hearkening back to a tamer version of the Roman gladiatorial games? Is it a martial sport and a blood sport? Would the promoters be putting butts in seats if there was not blood, knock outs, injured limbs, and the risk of something worse? All interesting questions…

• Perhaps this review of a martial arts movie is a nice counter to what the MMA critique is suggesting?

Mamet, who has a purple belt in jiujitsu, clearly is fascinated by the philosophy underlying it, which explains such Eastern-influenced exchanges as: “You train people to fight?” “No,” Ejiofor responds. “I train people to prevail.”

• The “which art is better” debate continues on.

Branstetter said that for years he’s heard —- and been involved in —- endless arguments about who is tougher, the boxer or the karate expert, the kung fu fighter or the kickboxer, the Jiu Jitsu master or the wrestler.

I really think that often the wrong question is being asked or it’s being asked poorly. Who is tougher? That’s a bad question and I can tell you that all of the above stylists undergo some hard training. So, I think they are all “tough”. Which martial arts is the best from a self-defense perspective is one good question. Early UFC started to answer that question but then it got turned into a martial sport. Nothing wrong with that but now it’s not a fair comparison in my opinion. It’s like putting up a boxer against a kick boxer and then asking which is better. One can use fist and feet while the other is limited to just fists. So, it’s not a fair question to begin with because, for the most part, the boxer is limited and set up for failure.

• Taekwondo is even in India.

Group photo of the winners at Invitational Taekwondo Championship organised by Panchkula Taekwondo Association on Sunday.

That’s a wrap for this week!

~BCP

Everything in class is now devoted to polishing me for the cho dan confirmation. The test is close and that’s all I’ll say about that for now.

Forms and self-defense are pretty good. We have 22 one-step sparring techniques (i.e. defense against punches and kicks) and 22 self-defense techniques (i.e. defense against grabs, head locks, etc). I wish they’d just call it all self-defense because explaining it always confuses people.

The fundamentals I’ll keep working on. With my age and varying flexibility some days things are great and some days they’re just a tad off.

My instructor still has to pick three board breaks for me and those testing are always encouraged to do at least one that requires a spin. Groan. Due to an old neck injury from running I do not have full neck rotation. So I do not get my head back on target as fast as others. To compensate I’ve learned to hit from sight memory. In fact, with a human sized target I’m pretty darn good and even sabum fears my reverse side kick.

So I thought that would be the kick I did but my targeting was absolutely horrible at practice. We went through just about every turning and/or jump turning kick I can do. What met with success? My nemesis the spinning hook kick! Physiologically this is one of my slowest kicks. Psychologically I have no confidence in it.  Consequently I rarely use it in sparring. However, I have good power on it and am pretty accurate. In fact I popped two boards with no problem at practice. It’s also one of sabum’s fastest kicks and one that she broke with at her cho dan test. So how’s that for irony?

Needless to say I’ll be a hooker this weekend as I prepare!

I’m also doing some variation of a jump side kick break (either on the move or from stand still). Past she’s still deciding on my third break. My thumb is STILL not right after having been punched there. I was lobbying for a ridge-hand speed break but she’s concerned for the thumb. Also, I have to break a slab of concrete with that same hand too. So I think I’m being overruled. I’ve done a spinning knife edge before so maybe I can convince her…

~BCP