My first belt test!

Last night I had my first belt testing for Tae Kwon Do. I have only had three classes and I am now a Yellow Belt! IT was a fun night for me and the whole family came with to show their support and cheer me on. I am glad I let the children talk me into this. It is pretty fun.

To pass my belt test I had to demonstrate "Form 1".

Demonstrate front kicks and crescent kicks.

Do one minute of endurance on a punching bag (that was a long minute!) and demonstrate a self defense move. I had to defend myself against Jack, the owner. I blocked his advance, punched him twice and then kneed him in the gut. I really wish Nathan had gotten video of that. I would've loved to see how it looked. It sure was exhilarating!

Nick was able to gear up and spar with a kid testing for his orange belt. He felt pretty cool doing so and did a great job. Nick is the orange belt.

When the kids spar, it's cute. But when the adults spar, it is very competitive! One guy (he is on the left of the group picture) was testing for his second degree red belt which is just under a black belt. He turned down the chance to wear padding (he's a police officer so I don't know if he was trying to look tough or what) but he got pretty beat up. First he broke his foot on his opponents knee, but wanted to keep going. Then they think he cracked a rib or two and Jack wanted him to be taken to the hospital for x-rays but he insisted on staying and finishing. Well after that he completed his endurance test and his board breaking test (four boards). I think the guy's crazy! All I know is that if I ever spar I will be in so much padding they might mistake me for the Dough Boy!