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.