The Referee tested his very first student for the rank of Black belt in Tae Kwon Do, tonight. It was awesome!
She was awesome...
I am so very proud of both of them...
Tae Kwon Do was such a big part of The Referee's childhood. His Uncle ran a TKD school, and allowed The Referee to attend for free. He trained up to the rank of 2nd degree black belt. Then, he went off to college and moved out of town. 12 years passed before he returned to the martial art. He was never drawn to a new school, for some reason.
Then, one Sunday afternoon, The Referee got caught up in some light saber battles with a few of the kids and teens at church. He was having so much fun, that he asked if they would be interested in learning some REAL fighting techniques. That is when he admitted that he was martial arts trained, and could technically train others. The idea was a hit. After receiving permission from the church congregation, he started up a Tae Kwon Do class, using the church fellowhip hall as his Dojang. He specifically set up his class to be for self-defense, fellowship, and fitness. Class opens and ends in prayer. He did not join any official martial arts federation, so that there is no governing body, above our church. At first, I questioned if it was allowed to not be members of an organization, and would the ranks be legitimate. It turns out, that yes, it is. The Referee has sought counsel with his Uncle and a couple other Black belts who own(ed) martial arts schools, and all tell him he is on the right track with the way he runs his class.
That was 4 years ago. The class began with church members, and then opened up to the homeschooling community. The training is free. Students only have to pay for their testing materials and uniforms. They meet one evening a week and workout. Our older 3 kids are part of the class now too. It is really neat to see the fathers who come and workout with their kids. There have been quite a few occasions where the kids will eventually out-rank their Dads, because Dads often miss classes due to working late or business travel. It is harder to get the Moms to participate, me included. I have not yet jumped into that class, but I am happy to go each week and cheer them on. It is fun. It is really neat to see the progression of skill. It has been amazing to see this fine young lady train for her black belt. She started with the original class, 4 years ago. She took breaks for health and injuries. The Referee took a break. The class took breaks around the church schedule. But, in spite of those random breaks, she was able to go from no martial arts training 4-years ago, to earning a Black belt in Tae Kwon Do tonight. Impressive!
Then, one Sunday afternoon, The Referee got caught up in some light saber battles with a few of the kids and teens at church. He was having so much fun, that he asked if they would be interested in learning some REAL fighting techniques. That is when he admitted that he was martial arts trained, and could technically train others. The idea was a hit. After receiving permission from the church congregation, he started up a Tae Kwon Do class, using the church fellowhip hall as his Dojang. He specifically set up his class to be for self-defense, fellowship, and fitness. Class opens and ends in prayer. He did not join any official martial arts federation, so that there is no governing body, above our church. At first, I questioned if it was allowed to not be members of an organization, and would the ranks be legitimate. It turns out, that yes, it is. The Referee has sought counsel with his Uncle and a couple other Black belts who own(ed) martial arts schools, and all tell him he is on the right track with the way he runs his class.
That was 4 years ago. The class began with church members, and then opened up to the homeschooling community. The training is free. Students only have to pay for their testing materials and uniforms. They meet one evening a week and workout. Our older 3 kids are part of the class now too. It is really neat to see the fathers who come and workout with their kids. There have been quite a few occasions where the kids will eventually out-rank their Dads, because Dads often miss classes due to working late or business travel. It is harder to get the Moms to participate, me included. I have not yet jumped into that class, but I am happy to go each week and cheer them on. It is fun. It is really neat to see the progression of skill. It has been amazing to see this fine young lady train for her black belt. She started with the original class, 4 years ago. She took breaks for health and injuries. The Referee took a break. The class took breaks around the church schedule. But, in spite of those random breaks, she was able to go from no martial arts training 4-years ago, to earning a Black belt in Tae Kwon Do tonight. Impressive!
I was surprised when I heard it had been 4 years of TKD. It seems like yesterday that y'all started that. But, then I thought back, and 4 years sounds so right (yet just like yesterday). I am proud of Referee and his new black belt. They both deserve to be proud!
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