JOURNALING
In the late 1990’s, I decided I wanted to get involved in martial arts for both self-defense and intense exercise, so I enrolled in Vasquez Taekwondo, which is a dojang started by a family of TKD champions (the son was a Junior Olympian). Once I began my taekwondo journey, I was hooked. I had a daily routine of getting off work (after an hour-long commute), picking the girls up from daycare, making everyone dinner, and then headed to the dojang.
I remember going to Starbucks after my first class wearing my dobok (gi) and white belt. Someone in line made a comment about fearing me (because of the uniform), but another person quickly pointed out that I was “only” a white belt (i.e., beginner). That comment stuck and motivated me to work harder to progress through the ranks.
These photos are very poor quality (they’re scans of polaroids), and I look terrible because I was worn out from my belt test, but I’m glad I have them. The bottom pic shows the board I broke for that particular test. Breaking boards was always one of my favorite parts of the testing process but also the most nerve-wracking. There is no practice for it. You are just expected to be able to do it by using the concepts you’ve learned that allow it to break; all while maintaining perfect form. If the tester holding the board pulls back in any way or doesn’t keep the tension when holding it, you can easily injure both of you. I had a tester flinch one time, and I knocked him back on his rearend several feet. The most exhilaration I ever felt was the first time I broke a board with a spinning back kick. Hearing that loud crack and feeling the swirl of air around me was perfection!
Even though I had to stop practicing TKD after our relocation, the dedication, focus, and time required during my years of taekwondo study are traits I still carry with me, and I’m grateful to have had them.
MICHELINE LINCOLN DESIGNS
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