If you follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, then you already know that I started taking Taekwondo a few months ago. For three years, I spent twice a week there with my kids, and I’ve been interested ever since. I was a dancer, once upon a time. But ever since having kids, I’ve wanted to kick some butt. The time was finally right.
It’s been an interesting journey. I’m no spring chicken. I’ve had pulled muscles in my thighs and back. I’ve felt excruciating pain in my chest, shoulder, and arm, and the tops of my feet from roundhouse kicks and my hands from punches. I’ve endured humiliation, getting winded, and being slower than the teens. But it’s also been a ton of fun.
In June, I survived my first belt test. I earned my yellow belt but I wasn’t able to break the board. I’d gone into it feeling really confident about my front kick. I’d spent hours practicing that kick, and had broken multiple practice boards. But when the board didn’t break after the first few kicks, I guess I lost my confidence. After several more tries, the instructor had me try to break the board with a hammer fist. Something I’d only done on a practice board twice and hadn’t prepared for the test. No surprise, that didn’t work.
So, I went into last week’s test feeling pretty nervous. In addition to my anxiety about whether I’d be able to break the board this time, my back had been bothering me for three or four weeks. I’d been icing it, taking hot baths with Epsom salt, using peppermint oil and arnica gel, and alternating between stretching my back and not stretching my back. My back had improved, until four days before the test. The last class before my test, every single thing we did was excruciating. I didn’t know if I could physically make it through the test.
But I did. And I broke the board – on the first try! The proof is below. And above is a picture of me with my new belt – orange.
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