Almost...
Wednesday, January 20, 2016 at 01:09PM And, perhaps most significant right now, Asher has only one more day of official testing for his black belt!!
Over the past week, he turned in all his required paperwork (official checking of things and report card and an essay). Last night, he had the first of two nights of testing. (He's been "testing" since September...with specific checks for technique and such and weekly training sessions, but these two nights of testing are the determining factors for getting his black belt.)
Yesterday were the forms and combinations tests...ten (I think) different forms that he's learned over the last 5.5 years (each with roughly 20-30 steps) and 24 different combinations along with a weapons form that he learned just for this (he had to learn a new one because he already knew the traditional ones too well from demo team). Each form was performed at least two times (not always in order and sometimes while the other person was doing a different form) and each combination was performed 10 times (five on each side).
Folks, I'm so stinkin' proud of my boy. Obviously I'm biased, but I've sat through enough hundreds of hours of karate to know that he did great. :) His technique is so crisp and his memory is amazing. I know that sometimes Asher feels that his brothers' recall is better than his when we're doing schoolwork, but I hope he can see that his physical recall is astounding. He's got all of those things I just listed stored in his head to be performed at will...plus all the grab defenses and one steps that he'll test tomorrow...plus all the demo team performance routines (some of which he knows multiple positions for) and all the weapons forms he's learned through black belt club. Whew.
On top of that, he's really been working on his conditioning and on learning from and moving on from mistakes. I felt like both truly showed last night. The kid is in darn good shape. The 1.5 hours of intense testing didn't phase him (after 1.75 hours of gymnastics earlier in the day) and he was bouncing around again early this morning. And the times he missed a step or whatever, he did a fabulous (for him) job of brushing it off and moving on. Even a couple of years ago, this would have been a struggle...being okay with not performing perfectly was/is a challenge for him. (This is part of why he chose to stop going to archery tournaments. Refocusing after a bad shot wasn't working.) Especially through the black belt training since September, though, he's really worked on seeing mistakes as opportunities to improve rather than the end of the world. So, regardless of anything else, I'm thankful for that.
And now I must go take him to get a haircut (because his bangs were annoyingly in his eyes last night, lol). Tomorrow will be more intense testing, as he'll do all the grab defenses and one-steps (with an opponent) and will have to spar multiple people of varying sizes.
And, then, after these months of training and preparation, we'll know for sure whether he'll be promoting to black belt on January 30. I may be holding my breath until then. ;)
**ETA: Okay, I forgot to post this before I headed out. We're back now. Asher looks so handsome with his haircut...
(Took almost a dozen pictures and he's making a different face in each of them, lol.)
And, now I'm off to get Noah to calculus...
Reader Comments (1)
I'm so excited for Asher. This is a big deal, especially the improvement in his character. That's what it really is all about. I'm so glad I was in Tae Kwon Do. I learned so much about myself. Asher will find that this really is a milestone in his life. He will walk and stand a little prouder and more self-confident. He will not only have a black belt, he will "be" a black belt. He is becoming more aware of his surroundings and about safety. When I took my second degree test, my instructor informed me that women did not break 5 boards, only 4. I, of course, chose to break five. I know Asher is a kid and probably will not do board breaking, which is not good on young one's bodies, but the rest of the test will bring growth physically and mentally. Even more importantly, all of his years of preparation will shape him into becoming a powerful human being with good and solid character.
Basically, I am impressed.