Black belt achieved

Here's what my son gave me for my birthday - a black training dobok, because I'd got through my tae kwon do black belt grading the week before, after nine years.

Black belt & dobok, with training book

I might have done it sooner if I hadn't devoted so much time to my doctorate, and then had the breast cancer. But, I never planned to get a black belt in anything.  I just took my daughter along and found I could train with her.  Most times when a parent takes a child out - to ballet, karate, swimming or piano lessons, - they have to sit there and wait patiently.  I'm not so patient.  Sooner or later my child was going to have to get herself there, or not go.  But once I realised I could join in, I also found that playing tag for the first time in decades made me laugh - another first in a while when you're a woman in your early fifties.  Then I tried to catch up with my rapidly improving daughter, so I went to more classes, got to an intermediate grade and got fitter.

One tag at a time, one new colour at a time, I went up.

As I got higher, I realised more and more people were helping me, not only the subum (teacher) but also lots of black belts, particularly the junior black belts, who courteously showed me how to do something better, and despite my poor and slow technique were willing to partner with me, thus demonstrating that getting to black belt isn't a solo achievement.  Then I realised that middle-aged, middle-grade women were seeing me a a role model, and that spurred me on too. And Christie Bytom was there in the background cheering for me.

The BBC Radio 4 programme iPM: Share What You Know asks for one sentence items of listeners' news, which they then select and read out over the air. I wrote:

"After nine years of training, including a year when I had breast cancer, I've been awarded my tae kwon do black belt" 

On 16 November, they got Dame Jenni Murray to read them and she read my sentence too - she who herself had breast cancer. The podcasts are at http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/ipm and the listeners' news is towards the last couple of minutes of the programme.

Tae Kwon Do Award

I'm well chuffed and gob smacked. Tae Kwon Do subum has awarded me the club Student of the Year award. Thank you to the black belts who nominated and supported me and taught me. This is so motivating.

New Year resolution

New Year resolution has to be not to give up.

1. I have to support husband and our two families. I start by refraining from offering my three beautiful step daughters juicy apples and spinning wheels. I have already refrained from hanging a notice in the window:
"Three lovely step daughters
living here with wicked step mother,
need handsome princes to rescue them."


Fortunately two of them have already found their handsome princes, who are really nice young men, even to me, their step-mother-in-law. And step daughter number 3 has turned quite happy over the last year or two.


2. I'm going to carry on avoiding other people kicking me at tae kwondo, while not thumping them too hard. I like the exercise and the laughter, not the thumps. I might move up a kup if I grade and get another belt. That's one of the tenets of tae kwondo - perseverance.
   


3. Then there's the research work, which has its good moments and its bad moments. Never ever give up until the dissertation is handed in, in September 2010.
   


4. And I'll keep writing this. Thank you those people who tell me they read it and even mention it on Christmas cards to us. You are so encouraging. I really appreciate it.
   

Sadistic subum

The Subum (means teacher) at tae kwondo was a bit grumpy tonight. As people arrived a tad late he stopped the warm up jog and made us do press-ups until the new-comers were ready. He wanted to do pad work but not enough of us had pads - these pads aren't cheap, so a family of four tends to have only one pair between them all. So he decided to do the tae kwondo twelve days of Christmas instead, with an evil scowl on his face.

1. burpy
2. squat thrusts
3. punches
4. star jumps working with a partner to clap as we jumped
5. front kicks
6. press ups
7. sit ups
8. side kicks
9. double punches (means 18)
10. jumping kicks
11. some other kick
    
12. some other exercise - does Subum think we're still moving?
    

He tells us this all adds up to 365 exercises, and so one for each day of the year, but I think it's 362 - how nice not to have to do three more. It's
1 * 12 twice, plus
2 * 11 twice, plus
3 * 10 twice, plus
4 * 9 twice, plus
5 * 8 twice, plus
6 * 7 twice
-----------
which is 24 + 44 + 60+ 72+ 80+ 82 = 362
Don't tell subum, or he' ll think up some evil excuse to make us to three more.

Taekwondo and daughter

Daughter is really fit and well. On Wednesday for the first time in months she came to tae kwondo and we made it through two sessions. On Friday she came back for more, and was so well, that the subum used her fitness as criteria for the rest of us!

"You're not working hard enough! No one in here is panting yet! Who's worked up a sweat? You can't be working - Grace hasn't fainted yet!"

Taekwon Do grading results

I passed the grading and the subum (teacher) presented me with my new certificate and blue belt. I am now officially at an intermediate grade.

The subum was very complimentary as he gave me my belt, because I've been doing the extra classes and sparring, and am 'of an age .. ' He didn't say my age, though it's obvious I'm the oldest in the class. The kids were great afterwards, congratulating me, and asking my age and even a couple of really energetic teenage lads saying I was better than them, which I'm not and they've got the potential that I haven't. But it was nice to have the praise.

I just hope I don't get beaten up in the tournament on Sunday.

Taekwon Do grading

I went in for my blue belt grading, which is scary. I had to do several patterns, 3 and two step sparring, pad work with a black belt. And then free sparring with three different partners of the same grade. I find sparring exhausting. I got a tiny bruise over one eye when I didn't block fast enough.

Big Burly Black Belt Bloke bit me!

I got my finger bitten this evening at taekwondo.

Big burly black belt bloke and I got paired up to play tag. You have to tag your partner on the knee, or shoulder or elbow, depending on the rule of the day. I raised my left arm to block BBBBB from touching my head, while I ducked to tag his knee. I must have had my fingers out, instead of clenching my fist, because I felt his teeth round one finger!

He didn't really bit - he was just as surprised as me. He went home laughing about it!

Taekwon Do demo

Arty friend and I demo'd tae kwon do today at local school fete. The subum was there with his wife and gorgeous new baby. It looks gorgeous, a plump sleepy boy but asleep in his pram, soft as down he doesn't look as dangerous as subum.

We warmed up in front of a crowd. AF reasonably complained that when we had to stand in a circle and bend down to put our elbows on the ground, she didn't appreciate having to have her bum up in the air towards the crowd!

Then we did some line work, demonstrated patterns and three-step sparring. The black belts demonstrated one step sparring. Finally the littlest student demonstrated flying kicks by leaping over two, then three then four then five other students.

Tae for two

We do tae kwondo, my daughter, my grandson and me - well, all right, to be exact, my step-grandson. We all go together on Sunday evening. We're different grades.

• Grandson is white belt - for innocence and beginner.
• I'm blue tag, so my belt is green with a blue strip. It means the grade is half way between green and blue - for growing and getting there.
• Daughter is red tag, which is half way between blue and red - red means danger and she's getting quite scarily good.

We start with jogging and warm ups and then perhaps sparring in pairs. This Sunday for the first time, grandson and I got paired together. Imagine it! It's not often that Nanna and six-year old get to beat each other up.

Now grandson doesn't talk much - a bit like his grandfather but he can laugh. He didn't say a word as we hit with one fist, ducked and hit with the other fist, but he laughed fit to burst as he jumped to tag me on my head. And he laughed and laughed as we sparred. And when we had to take up press up position and try to knock each other off balance by pulling or knocking an arm, we both collapsed on the floor laughing.

That's why I do tae kwondo because it makes me laugh.

Tae Kwondo demo

What am I going to do? We've had our last session till after the new year, yet the first day back we have to demonstrate something. I'm going to be jet lagged and unfit.

Daughter and grandson can work something out to demonstrate together while I'm away. Tonight I'm going to meet fellow tae kwondie over a drink to plan - can't see us practising in the pub though.

Grading

Passed the grading after all those dire prognostications. Ha! Got my blue tag.

And, like my GCE maths teacher insulted me with, "you've done better than I expected" the subum said, "I was pleasantly surprised!"

Na-na-na-na-na.

Tae Kwondo

I've got a grading soon, and about time too, since it is months since I took a grading. But I muddle the moves.

Each grade or kup has an associated pattern of moves. At my kup, I should know a pattern called Won Yo, which I do, but the earlier kup has a pattern called Do San, and the one before is Dan Gun, and for nearly two years, I've confused them. Now I'm finding that when I do Do San, I'm even trying to mix in moves from Won Yo. :(

But despite my lack of kinesthetic or haptic memory, tae kwondo makes me smile so I shall keep doing it. I play tag, like I did in the playground. The small boys, when I get partnered with them, wonder why I don't keep up the same! And they cheat. Even when I do tag them, they don't perform their penalty, 3 press-ups or a sit up or something, but the warm-up game still makes me smile.

And there was the time I was partnered with big cockney accent - lovely chap, twice my weight. We had to face each other in press-up position, and attempt to knock each other's arms away so we'd collapse. He won of course, but I just kept laughing.