At the beginning of June my Master decreed blessedly, thankfully, that we could wear t-shirts with our dobok pants for training…as long as they were school-branded shirts of course. Her reason–it’s so damn hot in the Texas summer that we were absolutely roasting in our dobok tops.
Continue reading “I Want a Worn Out Black Belt”
Fellas, do you have a sneaking suspicion your girl might be a martial artist? (That is, if she hasn’t mentioned it ad nauseam already). Here are some tell-tale signs that you might just have the coolest girlfriend in the world:
This article was originally a guest post on the website BookMartialArts.com.
Martial arts can benefit women in girls in many ways: it provides a boost in confidence, improves physical fitness, and of course teaches self defense skills. Even a strong, confident female fighter can sometimes feel like a fish out of water, though. Very often a woman may find she’s the only one in the dojo surrounded by bigger, stronger men. A young girl may be surrounded by a gaggle of rambunctious boys.
Rather than feeling like the odd one out, a female student can take advantage of the unique opportunities martial arts gives her to celebrate her strengths.
Continue reading “My Guest Post: How Female Martial Artists Can Celebrate Their Strengths”
Next week two of my classmates will be testing for first and second degree black belt, and several other students will be testing for various color belt levels. In addition to our normal training, much of our practice time has been devoted to preparing these students to test.
It’s nice not to have the heat on me as far as being a testing student, although if time flies as quickly as it has been, it’ll be my turn to test for second dan before I know it. These last few weeks have been a test in a different sense though: do I continue living up to my black belt duties?
Continue reading “The Six Month Long (and Counting) Black Belt Test”
This past Wednesday I was awarded my first degree black belt in taekwondo. My years of hard work and dedication paid off! It was a wonderful, memorable moment to share with my instructors, fellow black belts, classmates, and the supportive family members who have patiently sat through countless hours of our classes.
Continue reading “The Jyo Kyo Neem’s On You: First Days as a Black Belt”