Tori Knightwood

A little sweet, a little spice...

Tag: taekwondo

Welcome back to Tori!

June 17, 2023 / / 0 Comments
Tori Black Belt Test

It’s been a while. If you still follow my blog, thank you so much. I can’t really explain where I’ve been for the past almost two years – not easily.

The pandemic took a lot out of me. I lost my job, my husband lost his job, we lost our benefits, we lost some family members. Then I started a new job at a local college. And I love it! But for a while, that was enough. I didn’t feel the itch to write, and certainly not to do all the other stuff involved in publishing and building an audience that takes away from writing.

Last month, I tested for my black belt in Taekwondo. I spent ten weeks intensively training for the test and then two days proving my readiness to myself and my instructor. It was an amazing experience and I’m so proud of myself for sticking with it despite injuries and personal loss.

Since then, I’ve felt the itch to write. Yay! So, no news yet on the release of new books, but please watch this space. I have some blog posts planned to reacquaint you all with me, Tori Knightwood, and I’ll give you updates on my writing and publishing progress. It will be slow, probably even slower than before my break, but I hope you’ll stick around.

Again, thanks for still being here. <3

A Peek Into My Life: Stay Home

April 2, 2020 / / 0 Comments
A peek into my life

This isn’t meant to be a political post or a preachy post. As the title implies, this is just a peek into my life – my life at home.

As you may know, I have two teenage boys. They do school work online every morning (and the older one often has to continue after lunch). The three of us have been taking Taekwondo lessons for the past several years. I’m coming up on my 2-year anniversary of TKD. We were supposed to have a belt test last week. My 16-year-old would have moved up to Recommended Black Belt (which meant he’d be able to test for Black Belt next November or May). And I would’ve moved up to Red Belt, the first of the advanced level belts at our dojang.

Obviously, our belt tests and classes were cancelled. But our dojang has been doing classes by Zoom – 4 opportunities per week – and giving students the opportunity for private lessons. We take 1 or 2 Zoom classes per week and have a private class for the 3 of us together once a week. Then we have our own family class (including my husband) once a week. This is working for us! And luckily, since my son and I were ready to advance, our instructor is teaching us new curriculum for our next belts. This is awesome because we don’t get bored while stuck at home, we continue to progress, and we’re getting exercise.

And while they do school work or get some fresh air and exercise outside, I write. I’m working on getting a novel for kids published under a pen name – it will release at the end of the month. The Shifter Hunters trilogy comes out in May, so I’m working on some promo for it. And I’m finishing up the final (hopefully!) revisions on Falling For Kigali. Next up, working with a cover designer and figuring out the publishing timeline.

Having my husband home means we’re eating really well these days. He’s mixing in some new recipes with our family favorites. And, like many people, he’s baking.

I hope you’re doing okay at home, staying busy if that’s your thing but being kind to yourself if it isn’t. Self-care is even more important than ever right now. Take care of yourself! And, please, stay home!

September 29, 2018 / / 0 Comments
My orange belt

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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