AIIIIIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!%-D

Oh, pardon me! I just couldn't help myself!;-)

Wow! I did it! I got IT!

it is kicking the boards on the first attempt.

IT is my black belt--with my name on it, no less!

After 3 1/2 years of hard work and a range of emotions from tears of frustration to tears of elation, I finally have my black belt!

This is redemption for the years of p.e. trauma! I am the kid who was always always always picked last for a team, except for third grade, when I had a classmate who had a disability which caused his legs to be twisted, and resulted in his walking and running with great effort. He and I became silent partners and friends very quickly through the weekly torment of team picking.

I couldn't wait until the year when I didn't have to take p.e. anymore! Tenth grade: hurry up, please!

But what happened in 11th grade? I let my best friend talk me into taking a class called "Trimmercise": a workout class for girls only. Our teacher was the school's football coach who also coached the Sacramento Police Department's football team. We were a sorry bunch, for sure! Lift weights, push-ups, crunches, run around the building, across the field, and all over again. Sweat! Pant! I'm dying! Let's stop and chat like teenage girls do!

Halfway through the semester, we were burnt out. Tired of suffering. He tried coddling, threatening...anything to make us move! Poor man! He was outnumbered! What's a man to do when he's outnumbered by a class full of teenaged girls whose collective will is apparently greater than his?

Throw in the towel, dude! He gave up on us. Just do something, ladies, he told us! Yes, Mr. ?, we replied. We understand you need to keep your job. Well, we didn't say that last part, but we knew he'd rather be coaching football anyday.

I think my average grade in p.e. all through my school years was the one thing my parents forgave me for. Or was it, took pity upon me for? The first one sounds better! I did poorly in math classes, too, but I felt more obligated to math than I did to p.e.

What the heck was p.e. going to do for me besides make me suffer the taunts of my classmates week after week, year after year? From elementary school to junior high to high school? Or suffer the dismay of my teachers. How could anyone be so weak? One junior high teacher really made me feel like a freak, when she kept me after class on a few occasions. Yes, I know she was trying to help, but try telling that to a 13 year-old entering the throes of adolescence!%-(

In later years, I had no taste for anything athletic in nature. A friend cajoled me into accompanying her to her Jazzercise class, which she loved with a passion. When she asked me how I liked it, I felt I should be direct, as any true friend would.

So I paused, wanting to choose my words carefully, and replied, "I don't think it's for me. It's not my 'style'."

She looked at me as if I had lost my marbles. As if Jazzercise was the greatest thing since sliced bread! "What?" she exclaimed. "This is great! You get a terrific workout! You don't have any exercise activity--I thought you could benefit from this!" Sure, I could benefit from it, but it's not me.

To each her own!

Lo and behold, 3000 miles across the country and many years later, I happen to be attending a community fair when a man in a martial arts uniform approaches me and asks if I would like to put my name in for a drawing for a free month-long trial to try taekwondo? Sure! I always like to win something!;-)

I didn't hear anything for a few weeks, and then I got a letter from Mr. A at the ATA Black Belt Academy saying I won the drawing. Very cool! Fed right into my fantasies of being the woman who took care of the bad guys on those badly dubbed Kung Fu films from Hong Kong, that hubby and I used to watch in the wee hours of the morning on the Asian t.v. station out in the Bay Area in California.

After only two classes, I was hooked. I was infected with the ATA virus. Forever!;-D I blame my instructors because they are all so awesome! Particularly, you, Mr. J, since you spent the most time teaching me. I bet I made you work for your keep!;-)

This was unlike anything I ever experienced. And I loved and love it because it is very individual-oriented. You are not compared to anyone else. You don't have to worry about being picked last (!) on a team, yet you learn to work with others and develop respect and concern for others. A very positive environment.:-))

I wanted to do it for health/fitness and confidence. And I think those have been restored and continue to be improved. I've had many ailments throughout my lifetime, had a miscarriage and countless mishaps...but taekwondo has helped restore my confidence on many levels. I have a functioning body! I can defend myself! Don't mess with me!%-D

So I can't say enough thank you's to my instructors and classmates who have taught and continue to teach and encourage me in so many ways, and also to certain family members and friends around the country who've been there for me from the start. You're the best! :-))


Thank you! Merci! Gracias! Tesekkur ederim! Doh jeh!