CJ Got His Black Belt!

So last December, during the belt ceremony, CJ got his black belt.

Getting your black belt is a big deal. All the other color belts get their new belts and then Master Yun does a special ceremony just for the about-to-be-minted black belts. He calls up the bo dans, there's a lot of bowing, he calls us the family members, and then Master Yun personally ties each black belt himself. There's more bowing to family members and then comes the talent show.

Each new black belt reads his/her essay about what it TKD means to him/her. This is the essay that students submitted six months earlier, when they submitted their applications to take the black belt test.

Afterward, each new black belt has to perform a talent. Giulam played the violin and CJ did a magic show. Nobody had ever done a magic show before during a black belt ceremony so CJ's talent was a treat. The little kids were especially blown away. One little girl said, "That's so totally magic!" It was so cute. CJ loves magic. He took a magic camp over the summer and he's learning magic from the head of his school, who is a master magician.

I decided to come to the black belt ceremony in regular clothes. For one, I didn't test and I wanted this belt ceremony to be all about CJ. The black belts are really special at the studio. There's a special class just for them, we lower belts bow to them at the beginning and end of class, and they are asked to teach the lower belts during class.

It was an incredible day for CJ. He had trained so hard for the black belt test and now he's a black belt. A black belt can never be taken away from you.

Before the ceremony began, Master Yun shows the bo dans how to bow.

Here's CJ right before the ceremony began. This will be the last day he wears his bo black belt.

Love this photo of MJ, CJ and CJ's buddy, Ewan.

Now it's CJ and Giualem's turn to get their belts.

Normally, parents or SOs tie the new belts. The Master himself ties the belts for the new black belts.

Master Yun always asks the students to bow to family members and thank them for their support.

Here's CJ doing a card trick during his magic show.

Master Yun presenting the new black belts to the studio.

I Got My Bo Black Belt!

I got my brown belt back in August 2014 but I didn't take the next test until February 2015. The reason? It took me six months to learn huligi well enough to earn my stripes and earn the right to test.

Huligi is a spinning back hook kick. As Maki put it, "huligi relies on everything I'm weak at." With huligi, you bend down, spin, raise your leg into a back kick and then hook the target. If it sounds complicated, it is. I have neck issues and balance issues, and I can't raise my leg very high when doing a back kick.

So it took me six months, six months, to master this kick. Okay, master is an overstatement. Six months to do the kick well enough to earn my red stripe (for knowing the brown belt kicking combination ) and yellow stripe for breaking a board with huligi. The brown belt form, btw, is nunchuck #2, which is a beautiful form created by Master Yun. I didn't struggle with this form although it did take me a few weeks to learn it and memorize it.

I am so grateful to Master Yun, Trulyn, Michael and Hannah for working patiently with me on huligi for weeks on end. I promised Michael a Holy Cow burger once I got my red stripe, so when I finally got my red stripe in December, he got his burger!

I test for bo black belt in February. The test was hard; it kicked my butt. I had to do umpteen jumping jacks, 22 kicking combinations (twice per belt), 11 forms, 770 push-ups, and three rounds of sparring. I tested with Igor and Trulynd, which was terrific because it sucks to be a higher belt testing by yourself.

Another name for bo black is bo dan, which means below level. So being a bo dan means you are below the level of black belt. The bo dan belt is a black belt with a white stripe in the middle. It's a really pretty belt.

The belt ceremony was very special. CJ tied my belt and MJ was there in his Tae Kwon Do uniform, given to him by my friend Igor, whose son Nicholas also does Tae Kwon Do and had outgrown his first uniform.

I absolutely adore this photo of the three of us. I love the bowing in TKD.