Morgan and Alexander have indeed tested for their black belt and passed with flying colors. The first part of the test started out with demo. Demo means demonstrating how strong, how fast, or how high you can climb. Morgan and Alexander both had to break a board with their foot but it was nothing compared to what the other people who were testing for 2nd Dan had to do. Also Morgan had to break two thick boards and Alexander had to break two thin boards. Both did an excellent job and broke their boards without hesitation and broke it on the first try.
The second part of the test was forms. Forms showed techniques like kicking, punching, and blocking. Morgan and Alexander had to do three different forms: 1,5,8, and the fourth was the black belt form. Morgan and Alexander both wrote papers about how they feel about Taekwondo Read on to read their papers.
Alexander's Paper
I started Taekwondo because when my brother and sister were doing it and so I wanted to do it.
When I had first walked into Master Peter’s Studio I was both excited and nervous at the same time. As I walked into the door I noticed four rows of five chairs and a bench near the window. Looking further I saw a blue mat. In the back room there were leg guards, arm guards, chest guards, and helmets which sat on black shelves. Also there was a bathroom and water fountain and that is what I noticed when I first walked into the studio.
My first class was taken at four o’ clock in the afternoon with my sister, brother and a few other kids around my sister and brother’s age. When Master Peter showed me how to kick I could not make it to his hand making me feel embarrassed. When they showed me how to do part of the white belt form it was difficult especially having to do it and memorizing the form at the same time.
What I love about this studio is that all the instructors are friendly and they know my name and they teach me how to kick and do my form properly and when I make a mistake they correct me. I like also the set up of the chairs that are arranged so that my parents can watch me but it also makes me nervous when they stare right at me.
After being in Taekwondo for two and a half years I feel like I can defend myself and I also feel like I accomplished a lot.
Becoming a black belt is something I wanted from the start because when I saw others as black belts they were fast, and good at fighting.
I feel proud that all my siblings are taking Taekwondo because two of them are black belts and the other is testing with me.
Timing, discipline and strength is what Taekwondo has given me for my hard work.
If I had a choice in Taekwondo I would pick demo and sparring anytime.
Black Belt Means What to Me?
By Morgan Thomas
June 14, 2008
As I asked myself this simple question: Black Belt Means What to Me? I came up with several experiences with Master Peter’s Studio.
The first time I walked into Master Peter’s Studio was not as a student or even a person who was thinking of taking class. When I walked into the studio it was a lot bigger then the YMCA class which only had about five energetic seven and eight year olds. As we walked in, an instructor, who we later learned that her name was Linda, scurried over the blue and red mat and asked if my dad needed any information. While talking to my dad, I watched as instructors walked around counting while the kids kicked. It looked pretty cool but not cool enough to give up my current sport, swimming. Connor looked on in amazement. I could tell he was sold on this studio. His eyes were as big as eggs and he could not stop talking about it on the car ride home.
At first it was only my brother, Connor into Taekwondo, but Andrea after breaking her arm wanted to quit ballet and it went down hill form there. Soon even my younger brother, Alexander found his way into Taekwondo and I could tell my time would soon be coming. Little did I know, it was only one month after Alexander started that I started.
I remembered that first day clearly when I walked into Master Peter’s Studio for the first time as a student. About ten kids showed up to the class and that day was labeled the hardest workout in my life. From learning how to kick, to squatting down and walking across the room, I learned to hate the word “Go” that came from the instructor’s mouth. Once I came home after an exhaustive workout, I went straight to bed, not even caring to eat my supper. I was exhausted. What made it even worse is that my brothers and sister could run around and you could not tell that they even had a work out. I soon got used to squatting and walking across the room that gave me a little victory in itself. Later I learned that I would have to accomplished many tiny victories before getting to my final color belt.
After two months of learning punching, and kicking I got my first taste of sparring. The first person that I sparred was someone who was half my size and was ten times faster then me. Thanks to her I learned a lot. As time went on my habit of kicking with my toes got to me leaving me with tears in my eyes and a badly bruised toe. Thanks to Master Peter I have since then learned how to kick correctly and have gotten a tiny bit faster.
Still I lately had to overcome even another obstacle in my way. After trying six or seven times to break a board I finally overcame the board and it cracked but not after twisting my ankle and jeopardizing if I would quit, of course as you can see I did not.
Yellow, Purple, Orange and all the other color belts seem to be the most obvious accomplishments but before you get to yellow you must know how to kick, punch, count, jump, roll and so on.
So what does Black Belt mean to me? It means that I, Morgan Thomas, can accomplish whatever I set my heart to do.
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