Category Archives: Taekwondo

Feb13

I don’t normally accessorize, but this belt had my name on it.

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I don’t normally accessorize, but this belt had my name on it.

Meanwhile, back in Taekwondo Land… The black belt test for my three girls and me was December 21. I couldn’t tell you about it yet because there was a backup at the embroiderers. Then scheduling conflicts with Sensei. Yadda-yadda. But this happened last night:

After nearly two months away, it felt weird to step back into this gym. But here we be! Youngest Daughter: “We have our black belts. We’re so cool now!” 😛

Last night Sensei said, “Your final test is, what does the Korean lettering on your belt mean?” Youngest Daughter: “It means, ‘Oh yeah!'” Surprisingly, that was incorrect. The real answer is ‘Victory.’ (I got it right.)

Here’s what I wrote, fortunately back in December, or I’d probably have forgotten much of this:

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Dec26

Photo Dump, Part 1

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Photo Dump, Part 1

I’m just assuming there’s going to be a part 2 since I’ve saved so many random things to show you. Here I go, sort of backwards in time. First of all, did everyone get something like this in their mailbox?

Cute.
Way to angle for some cookies, Joe. I complied. No thank you note, though. Let’s see what you get next year, “JOE”!!!!!

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Nov12

Giddy, y’all. Gi-ddy! (There’s a pun in there.)

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Giddy, y’all. Gi-ddy! (There’s a pun in there.)

First, if you’re new here and don’t want to be lost, read this paragraph. If you’re old hat, feel free to skip along. The brief recap: I did Jiu-Jitsu for nearly a year and was In. Love. Then, in September 2022, when testing for my next belt, I injured my foot and ankle. Things got gnarly, and I spent some time in a wheelchair. I nearly went back this past June but busted my knee before I could. I somewhat convinced myself the universe was against me doing Jiu-Jitsu forevermore.

Then this happened…

I’m still on Gracie Jiu-Jitsu’s distribution list. So, imagine my excitement when I saw the announcement for a free two-hour self defense seminar. I dug my old gi from the back of my closet, pulling off the plastic cover, singing, “Awwwwwww,” like a heavenly chorus. I tossed the bag aside and held up my beloved uniform, saying, “BEHOLD!”

My daughter, witnessing this, laughed, shook her head, and pushed her glasses farther up her nose.

I signed myself and two of my girls up and spread the word to others. Only one person took me up on it. Any guesses?

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Sep7

Fiiiiiiiiiiinallly!!!

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Recapping again: I got off track with my Tae Kwon Do belts when I busted my foot, ankle, and (later discovered) tibia at the end of September. Pretty much recovered, I got another belt (then only one behind my daughters) and was going to be fully caught up at the beginning of May except for tearing two ligaments and bruising two bone plates in my knee two days beforehand. (When I texted Sensei from urgent care telling him no belt testing for me, he didn’t believe me until I sent him a pic of my braced-up knee in a wheelchair.)

So, last week, when I finally FINALLY tested for red/black belt, it was kind of a big deal.

Some of you may recall that the pressure of testing tends to get to me a wee bit. For instance, Sensei has said not to do the forms too quickly because I want to show off that I know each move.

Yeah, so much for that. I moved like I was being chased by a ravenous lion and the only way to keep from being eaten was to distract him by my weird, confusing, albeit somewhat impressive he’s thinking, movements.

Another fun part was, though my girls were doing the forms with me, I knew full well I was the only one being watched, as I was the only one being tested. Normally, two people test at a time, and whenever I’ve messed up, I can tell myself, “Sensei was watching the other person at that particular moment.”

I’m not above lying to myself to get through these things.

My starting position was such that I wound up moving to mere feet from Sensei as I made my one and only major flub–probably because I was aware that he was Right. There.

Groan.

I seriously considered

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Aug18

On physical therapy and self defense

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Physical therapy for my knee injury went well. It was helpful, but I ran out of sessions before getting to complete mobility. I’m on my own now.

I said my thanks and goodbyes, as I genuinely liked the people at this place. They were amiable and fun to chat with, to the point where I felt we were truly becoming friends.

And I enjoy being friendly and nice to people. I also enjoy the thought of beating someone up.

Humans are complicated beings.

My previous physical therapy place had this little display on the reception desk. I took several pics specifically with you all in mind.

The person I’d most like to show-what-for is, of course, Sensei. Because he’s always got it coming.

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Aug9

Remember that young woman I mentioned?

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Remember that young woman I mentioned?
This one. Sensei’s super cool daughter, Coral, tap dancing her heart out to earn points for our trivia team.

Here she is again, further demonstrating her coolness.

She probably got her black belt when she was like, I don’t know, 7? It’s going to take me a weeee bit longer than that. But for the sake of argument, let’s just pretend my kicks are that high too, mm’kay?

I also mentioned Coral is going to med school because she wants to be a doctor in Africa. Awesome, right?

Here’s the thing. Med school is insanely expensive. She’ll be paying off loans for yeeeeaaarrrssss when she finishes, meaning, she can’t fulfill her dream of helping impoverished African youth for, you know, a long long time, which is, in medical terminology: super sucky.

So, she’s asking for help. It’s my pleasure to share her Go Fund Me page because this is a young woman going places (literally). She was inspired by a book she read as a kid, Kisses from Katie, about a young woman who moved to Africa and wound up adopting a bunch of girls. Y’all like books. I thought you’d appreciate that.

Please check out her page to read her full story and maybe consider tossing in a buck or two. It would mean a lot to her, and me, and Sensei (though we care about him less) if you helped Coral out with her noble mission.

Thanks, Beloved Blog Buddies! Please go here. 🙂

Jul23

“Time to hang up your gi,” they said.

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Here’s a little recap in case you need it: If all had gone according to plan, I would have gotten my red belt in Taekwondo with my three daughters at the beginning of April. Instead, thanks to that Jiu-Jitsu injury that kept me from walking for 3.5 months, I got behind and was only able to test for brown in April.

Then, because of my “expert” negotiation skills, I “convinced” Sensei to let me test early for red and get caught back up to my girls. All would be right in the world again. I was fully back on my feet, slated to test for my red belt May 1. But on April 29, exactly nine months after my foot/ankle injury, I busted my knee.

Some of those who saw me on crutches YET AGAIN so soon said, “Man, maybe it’s time for Betsy to quit martial arts.”

I did not consider that an option.

Though I wasn’t able to catch up, I was at last(!) able to test for red this past week, which included some board breaks.

Sadly, the moment of impact wasn’t captured, but here’s the immediate aftermath of me breaking that board with a palmheel strike.

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Apr19

Another belt, another ceremony, another baking adventure

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Another belt, another ceremony, another baking adventure

But first, the test. As always, I messed a couple things up because testing makes me nervous, but I recovered quickly and my flubs may have gone unnoticed. Also, I got to do this:

That board was one piece until it met my elbow.

My daughter videoed this for me. I sent it to my mom and then to Sensei noting that I wasn’t too old to proudly show my mommy my board break. He responded:

And so, another belt for my rack. I had blue, my favorite color, the longest, and I’ll have that boring brown the shortest.

The girls’ red belts are beautiful. Hopefully I’ll get mine soon. That test requires kicking a board, so… yeah. Hopefully I don’t injure my good foot. But also, whatever. At this point, I no longer care.

I just hope the board doesn’t look like this:

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Apr7

From snowballs to softballs

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From snowballs to softballs

Last Friday, when Hubby and I attended a gig for that local band I’m fond of, I spotted someone who maybe sort of looked familiar.

“Do you see that man over there in the white jacket?” I asked Hubby. “Is that the guy I had the snowball fight with?”

Hubby wasn’t sure, but he knew who I meant. For my birthday two years ago, I booked the band at a brewery where I was friends with the bartender. I had gotten permission from him to bring 150 fake snowballs. One man in attendance that night was particularly into the ensuing fight, especially when it came to throwing snowballs at me.

The crazy dude on the left. On the right is the woman who kindly took it in stride when I accidentally hit her several times while aiming at my chief adversary next to her. Crazy chic in the center: me.

“Should I ask if it’s him?” I said to Hubby.

“If you want,” he said, not nearly as perplexed by this mystery as I was.

But how to broach the subject with this possible total stranger? “Did I have an epic snowball battle with you nearly two years ago?” Or perhaps I would start slower: “Have you heard this band play before? Do you remember a time they played and there was a snowball fight?”

Without fully figuring out my approach, but curiosity getting the better of me, I announced, “I’m going to go find out.”

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Mar26

Meeting two blog buddies in two days.

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Meeting two blog buddies in two days.

I’ve been Blog-AWOL (BAWOL?) for several weeks. First, I was prepping for a trip, then on a trip, then recovering from the build-up of work post-trip, then I got sick.

I’m nearly recovered from all of that, so let me give you the highlights, primarily, meeting two Blog Buddies!

I’ll start with Bijoux. The funny thing, as she noted too, is that in a recent post I asked people if they have or would meet Blog Buddies in real life. She said she hadn’t, but knowing we were from the same area, if I were to come home for a visit, she would like to meet me. Little did we know at that time…

Left: me. Right: Bijoux

I left a comment on her blog letting her know I was in the area. Any chance she could meet, say… Thursday morning? It worked out perfectly that she could! And not only was she nearby, she lives in the town next door to the one I grew up in!

We met at a cute cafe on the border of our towns. My mom and sister joined us. My sister then proceeded to scandalize her with all manner of stories, and yet Bijoux still hung around. What a great lady! (I was honestly worried for her.) I’m so proud to have been her first Blog Buddy meet-up. It was a great pleasure to meet her!

The other BB lived much farther away and required more forethought and planning.

I finally had an opportunity to meet potentially/probably my longest running Blog Buddy, one whose recent retiring from the blog community made me cry. That is…

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