eternaleponine

I really meant to update about TKD more often, but then I forget or I'm busy doing other things or whatever, and it just doesn't happen.

This morning I tested for my green belt, three months and a week after my yellow belt test. (It probably would have been three months exactly, but Master Paul made sure to schedule the test for a Saturday I didn't have to work, so that added an extra week to it.) This means that our next testing should be right around the end of the school year (not that it matters to me, but for the kids) so that works out well.

I was more nervous going into today's testing than I was last time, mostly about my poomsae (form). I don't like the yellow belt form (Poomsae Taeguk Il Jang, for the curious) and I had this weird paranoia that I was going to somehow mess it up.

Last time, we all had to do our poomsae individually, but that didn't happen this time, which makes it a lot less nerve-wracking. (If all else fails, sneak a peek at what everyone else is doing. *g*) I didn't need to, and it ended up fine. I've been helping out one of our young white belts with her form, and she did really well, too. At one point, she was actually the only one of the three that got a bit right, so yay her!

During the testing of our basic skills (punches, kicks, etc.) he had one row of students sit down, and then another row line up behind them... and kick over our heads. Let me tell you, that is incentive to make sure you've got your leg up! When we did the side kick, I had it easy because the person I was behind was the smallest one there. I was kicking well above her head anyway, and not just because she was hunched over in fear.

We did step-sparring and self-defense, and that all went smoothly. One of the self-defenses we've been working on we didn't actually get tested on, which is probably a good thing because we're all still a bit dicey with it. The Master doing our test (I don't know his name... I should find that out) said that going forward we should work on making sure that we are able to do the self-defense on both sides, instead of just drilling primarily on one side. We have done that for some of them, but there are some that are still pretty hairy if suddenly the person attacks with the left instead of the right.

He also talked a bit about a tournament that's coming up, and some of the events in it. We did a mock sparring match, which was rigged against me, because he wanted to show what happened if someone did something illegal. I got picked to be the one to do the illegal move – TWICE – so it resulted in a point deduction and all of the judges deciding that my partner won. BOO. (He did thank me for playing along, though. *g*)

And then Master Paul did a demo of breaking, and I got called up to do it as well... until Master Paul said that I'd done it before, so instead one of the younger yellow belts got to do it. BOO AGAIN.

But overall, it was fun, and I look forward to seeing what new skills we get to start learning next week for green belt. I know that with the tournament coming up in a month, the intensity of our training is going to pick up to get us ready, but I don't mind. It's good for me, even if it gets more brutal as the temperature goes up.

I should actually get my belt in class on Tuesday, which means I have to make sure that I actually go that day. Yes, I'm a little bit petty and don't want my classmates to actually get their belts before me. (I get mine first because unless there is someone with an actual higher colored belt than me, I am considered the highest ranking because I've been training the longest.)