Second Degree Black Belt Reflections​

 

My Taekwondo journey started when I was seven years old. I started 

Taekwondo  because  I had  so  much  energy and Taekwondo provided

a great place for me to release my energy. 

 

Taekwondo  actually  made  me a  very  calm  person.

It made  me  feel  good about myself. I gained a lot of self confidence

with each belt promotion and new techniques that went with each belt level. 

 

Before  I started,  I was  a  very  hesitant  person,  I used  to  always  hesitate 

to  do  a certain  task (like  a  chore  or  to  help  people).  Now  I respond  to 

a  favor  or  to  help  someone  in need.  

 

There's a  very  special  person  that  will  be  named who has  helped  me 

since  day  one,  and  taught  me  to  have  self  confidence. She  is  probably 

in  this  room  right  now, any  guesses?  

 

The  very  special  person is  my  mom!  Thank  you  for  helping  me  through  Taekwondo.  My mom always encourages me to practice. She supported me through all my belt promotions, always cheering for me.

 

And, even if I felt I didn’t do so well on a certain move, especially

when I first started sparring, she always told me she was proud of me,

and to keep practicing and listen to Master Yoon’s advice. 

 

Some interesting anecdotes, I  was  at  my  yellow  belt  test  and  I had 

enough  confidence  to  break  a  thick  board!  I  was  only  a  white  belt  at 

the  time!  I wasn’t quite sure if it would be possible to break the thick board.

 

But, then I remembered the magic word Ke-Yah!!

Now that I’m a second degree black belt, the word Ke-Yah means to

summon up the courage and confidence inside me to perform the task at hand. 

 

The  last  time  I used a hammer  fist  on  a  board,  I remembered  that 

I broke  two  thick  boards,  and  that  was  about  a  year  ago.

I  just  might  be  able  to  break  three   thick  boards one day.

The advice I will give to  future  black  belts  or  any  belt  rank,

is  to  never  take  in  negativity, only  positive. 

 

I  would  also  like  to take this opportunity to thank several important people.

I would like to thank my Dad, for driving me to class and picking me up.

And thank you for helping me get stronger by taking me on long hikes and

overnight backpacking trips. Especially our longest one yet, 24 miles!!!  

 

Thank  you  to  Helen, because we do class together and motivate each other.

We have a great time training together and share a lot of funny stories. 

 

Thank you Master Yoon, because he is an excellent instructor.

He taught me everything I know, and I look forward to learning more from him.

 

I would like to teach other people to do Taekwondo, like how Master Yoon

has taught me and continues to teach me. 

 

Thank you Daniel, Aaron, and Atharv for their friendship.

I don’t have any brothers, Daniel, Aaron and Atharv are like brothers to me. 

I will say  to  everyone  here  too, never  give  up, never  inhale  negativity 

and  to  have  self  confidence. I  feel  very happy  to  be  here  and  ready 

for  upcoming obstacles.

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