[reptilist]

Just a note to say my 10 year old son and I have both passed our green belt test in TKD on 11/22/03. Blake and I started TKD together about 13 months ago (FYI...I am turning 47 this December.).

I think his performance was outstanding! Apparently so did the judges, as most of his category grades were "A".
Despite having a cast on his right arm, he battled a duo of attackers. He took some big hits and was knocked down 2 or 3 times, but he was quick to get back on his feet and wade through the sparring match.

I was passed too, but I was pretty much unimpressed with myself. For the most part, my inability to break all the boards with spin kicks was a great and unexpected frustration. At least I did ok in the sparring category ("A"), even though I got knocked down once myself.

This December 6th our Martial Arts School will be giving an exhibition for the town during a local celebration. Blake is really looking forward to this and I am sure he will shine! I am slightly more apprehensive...But I will participate as requested with hopes of reflecting well on the dojang!

 

[Unregistered]

that is cool, one of the greatest sources of enjoyment for me is time spent with my buddies sparring, working on technique, or just doing good old fashioned sweat inducing practice. we study a form of kung fu brought to the US in the 1970's by C.G. Casey and have loved every minute of study over the last 12 years. it is a very practical form that i have actually used on security related jobs on several occassions and was very glad for my interest in the kung fu. i hope you and your son enjoys many years of fitness, fun, and comraderie. and i hope that niether of you ever have cause to need your knowledge for anything else. good luck guys.
jamullins

 

[reptilist]

The demo...done deal.

At one o'oclock this afternoon, nearly the entire Tae Kwon Do class took part in a martial arts demonstration for the towns of Clifton-Morenci in Az.
The little bitty kids were predictably cute. The bigger kids were incredibly adept. And then the adult group really wowed the crowd!
The young adults we have can damn near fly! It is so thrilling to see them do their thing; and then to think in a few years my 10 year old will be doing those moves...It brings a tear to the ol' man's eye!
My boy was really flawless! He is really into it for a kid his age. He did his form, and a weapon form with his bo. He did some fancy kicking with the rest of the class, and also broke his board on the first try with a spin side kick.
Our teacher Master Dunagan did his part by breaking several boards at once with kicks, and then breaking some bricks with hand strikes. He is an all around impressive man with a non-pretentious demeanor, so it is pretty cool to see him do his 4th dan black belt moves.
Yes, I too had my moments on the mat. Although I don't compare whatsoever to their aerobatic/gymnastic talents, I can damn near break boards with my kiap alone! (haha.) I used a palm strike, knife hand strike, and then an outside ax kick for the breaking.
I messed up my form (kata) demo because the music was so loud I couldn't hear myself think and lost my concentration. Fortunately the audience didn't know any better, so I just faked it and put a quick end to the faux pas. But, I was able to redeem myself in the self defense portion where we throw each other around and act lethal...That is always fun and definitely my favorite part of our Tae Kwon Do training.

(This is a pic of my son breaking his board)

 

[reptilist]

And...

Here's me (the old bald guy) doing my breaks...