I was going through my timehop on Facebook and saw where my child was a green belt two years ago…read moreand I had a moment where I realized I needed to preach of the amazing stuff of Atlanta Choong-Sil Kwan.
Background story: My daughter had a very close bond with my foster dad, who had received his 1stDan in Kukkiwon in Seoul back in the 70's. Ever since she was two, she would practice kicks with him and would tell him that she planned to follow in his foot steps. Taekwondo was life for him. It was life for her. But first, she had a plan. It had to go by her terms. Which meant we went through all the sports first. Ballet. T-Ball. Soccer. Basketball. Swim. And she hated all of it. So when she was 6 and told me she was ready for Taekwondo, I just knew that within 2 weeks, we would be back at square one in finding something she would enjoy.
She started in 02/16. I am a Scrooge McDuck. I don't spend money on anything unless I absolutely have to. So when I found a Groupon deal AND had a Groupon coupon on top of that, I figured that 6 weeks and an uniform for $9 was a freaking steal. We walked in, and she rushed to the mats. And she was in love. By the end of the first week, we had signed up for a year long membership commitment. Even though not much time had passed, I could tell this is where she belonged.
Within two months, she earned her yellow belt. The realist in me thought that was way too quick. I had scouted out several other dojangs and had not been impressed on the number of McDojo's I had found. I did not want my kid to be in a belt mill. Afterall, my foster dad would kill me if I did. So at first, I was bummed. I thought I had made an error. But, the mom in me was super excited for her. And she was excited. And she stuck with it. Besides, she was less moody, her behavior had improved, she was listening better, not arguing, sticking up for herself instead of crying over every little thing. So, in and of that, worth it.
Anyways, shortly after she earned her yellow belt, she learned about the Olympics. And after talking it over with my foster dad, suddenly she had her eyes on that. HAHAHAH! Oh, I had a good laugh over that. Until she learned about an upcoming tournament and she was the first one to sign up for it. And my wee little yellow belt grabbed sparring gear and went at it. And..she sucked. I mean, her forms were good. But she could not spar to save her life. But I noticed something in that moment. She knew she sucked. But she was going to do it anyways. And I noticed how much John and his team saw her ambition. And how much they were not just instructors, but coaches, friends, mentors, shoulders, and role models. It was then that I realized that it wasn't just my child who wanted these things, they wanted it with her. Not for her...no, they never forced any of it on her (in fact, they are ITF, not WTF, which is a requirement of the Olympics.) No, they wanted it with her because she wanted it. The day she got her green belt (two years ago today) was the day I realized that she had not been given that yellow belt too quickly. She had earned it. And she had earned this one. And they saw potential in her that at the time, I had missed.
Today, she blows my mind. She is 9. And she hold a "black belt." Okay...so...it is mostly black. She is not a 1stDan. They are NOT a belt mill, she has had to earn every last belt she has and there have been times she did not test. She had moments where she wanted to quit (twice, right after she boomed a tournament and right after when my foster dad died.) She had moments where attitude won out (she is 9 after all.) But she stuck with it. And they have been there, every step of the way.
I won't lie...not every child will have the same results as mine. Not every child will go through the belts as quickly as she has. A lot of it really does depend on the child. Mine practices just about daily in the garage and shows up to every class we will let her and time affords. Not all kids have that drive. But this dojang will feed on your child's energy and put just as much if not more effort into them than your child puts into the art. Because that is what they do. They are no longer just instructors. They are family. And I would not have it any other way. This is where we belong. This is where she belongs. They are home.