IA Born Report post Posted June 17, 2019 Thank you to all of you who helped my son raise the funds for his black belt journey last fall, when he offered to tie flies for a donation towards the $550 he had to raise himself! I figured I owe you all an update on this one. This past Saturday (June 15), we had our belt promotion. I earned my yellow w/green stripe belt, but, more importantly, Jacob earned his red w/black stripe belt. Over the next four months, things are going to get harder and even more is expected of him in our studio, but he will be testing for his black belt October 18-19. Its a 24-hour test with intermittent 5-minute breaks. He will be the second youngest in this cohort at 11 years old (three total 11-yos) and he will be the only guy among the six first degree black belt candidates. There will be two other guys testing for their second degree black, which is great for him to have that kind of leadership, too, since I can't be there for him; he'll have two other father figures, in addition to three "moms' to keep each other moving. Jacob could not do what he's done in the past seven months without the support and encouragement from the CW community. It truly does take a village to raise a child and I'm proud that many of you are part of our village. If you're in Flagstaff on October 19, you're welcome to come to the studio. It will be open to the public at 8am, and the rest of the promotion (for me and my green, too) will start at 9am. PM me for studio information. Please keep him in your thoughts over the next four months and, especially, in October. Yes, I'm an extremely proud dad. On behalf of Jacob and my family, THANK YOU!!! Pics from Saturday. No pics of me because nobody wants to see an old fat man in a TKD Dobok. Jacob had to do what is called a "speed break", where you break a board that is barely held. Younger candidates have someone hold it, while adults have to hold their own. You have to generate enough speed to go with the power to break it that way. It took him several attempts, and he got extremely frustrated, but the room erupted (I was the loudest) when he got it. Demonstrating 13 required forms Speed Break (bottom half if flying low and away) Our Master with Jacob and his new belt 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZBIG10 Report post Posted June 17, 2019 Legit! Thx for the update Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Adicted Report post Posted June 17, 2019 Thats Awesome Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big Browns Report post Posted June 18, 2019 Very cool, Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
muledeerarea33? Report post Posted June 18, 2019 I’d like to hear more about the 24 hour test! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildwoody Report post Posted June 18, 2019 Nice, great journey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IA Born Report post Posted June 18, 2019 12 hours ago, muledeerarea33? said: I’d like to hear more about the 24 hour test! Me, too! All I know is that we'll drop him off at the studio on Friday Oct. 18, around 2-3pm and I won't see him again until 8 am Saturday morning, when they open the studio to the public. The official promotion for all candidates, including me, starts at 0900 and will run until 2 or 3. The black belt candidates will do a bunch of team-bonding, practice forms, spar, practice their board breaks (up to 5 boards). The three 11-yos will not break a brick because of growth plate, but that's the only slack they get. Their 5-minute breaks consist of cutting boards for the whole promotion the next day. Occasionally, they'll get a chance to use the bathroom, grab a drink, and a quick bite to eat. I guess I'll have more details two years from October when I test for my black belt. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IA Born Report post Posted September 27, 2019 I figure another update is on order, especially with how many of you have helped support him. Jacob got himself in a not-so-good situation at our studio the last couple of months and got complacent and lazy in his training. Last week, he was called to task on it and given one more chance to get everything figured out as to whether or not he really wanted his black belt. It was a huge wake up call for him and difficult on all of us. We couldn't do anything to help him and, as much as it killed me inside as a dad, I knew I had to let him go to succeed or fail on his own. The short story is that he got his act together and earned his two missing stripes this past Wednesday night while I was out of town. It was great for both of us because I had no choice but to let him go and he had to figure it all out on his own. He is now back on track for to test for his black belt next month and he realized just how badly he wants his black belt after 6 years of training. If you are free October 19, you are invited to Flagstaff to come support our son, Jacob during his Taekwondo black belt promotion. I will be testing for my green belt as well, but that day is more about him than me. I have to let him go that day and, for lack of a better way to put it, forget he's in the room. I can’t be his dad; I have to be a TKD student first and foremost if I am to succeed and honor my promise to him and myself. For the first time in a very long time, I am making a conscious choice to focus on me first. Its a strange feeling, but the more I can focus on me for once, the better off I will be. The more people in the studio cheering for Jacob and supporting him, the easier I can let him go and forget about him for a few hours. You are welcome to cheer for me, but I humbly and respectfully ask that you make Jacob priority one that day. The doors will open at 8am and the actual color belt promotion (for everyone testing that day) will start promptly at 0900. By that time, Jacob and the other six black belt candidates will be running on 17 hours straight of training and the promotion will run until 2 or 3 pm. He can use, and will appreciate, all of the support and encouragement he can get. If you decide to go, our studio is Academy of the Martial Way on 4th Street in the Knoles Village Square on 4th Street, behind Roof Dancers. If you can't make it, I completely understand. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Academy of the Martial Way 2708 N Fourth St Ste. 1 Flagstaff, AZ 86004 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kennethwo Report post Posted October 7, 2019 Thanks for sharing! Looks like a very athletic kid. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IA Born Report post Posted October 7, 2019 Time for another update, especially now that we're less than two weeks out. Jacob and the rest of the black belt candidates had their oral boards and written exam this past Saturday. Every candidate has to go in front of the black belt board and they are grilled with some very thought-provoking questions, at least as best as I can tell. I wasn't allowed in there with him. One of the other 11-year old candidates told us, as we were waiting on Jacob, that she started crying as soon as she opened her mouth the first time and didn't quit until she was excused. When Jacob came out, he snuck in behind me, so I didn't see him at first. When I finally turned to see him, his eyes were red and puffy, and it was obvious he'd been sobbing. He didn't say much, but gave me a thumbs up to let me at least know he was ok. One of the adult black belt candidates was next to him and I realized that she was the one he needed to talk to, so I turned around and gave him the space he needed with the only one who really understood what had just happened. This studio definitely does NOT give their black belts out; they are EARNED!! On the drive home from the studio, all he did was tell me to keep being me and encouraging him in my way and that he had some deeply personal things he needed to work on about himself, but he didn't want to talk about it. As much as that almost crushed me as a dad to not be able to talk and/or help him, I also knew that he had the situation under control and he'd earned the right and my respect enough to keep it to himself. He's 11, folks, and he's got his $h!t together enough that I'm slightly (more than slightly?) jealous of him. He's handling this stressful situation, on top of school (Basis School, no less, and his mountain biking team) better than most adults I know. At 11 years old, my son is more of a man than I'll ever be. That's what every dad wants, though, right. I hope to see some of you there next Saturday, the 19th. Between now and then, we're leaving Thursday morning for his youth deer hunt in 35A! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IA Born Report post Posted October 21, 2019 BOOM!! He did it!!! After being awake for almost 30 hours and training for 23 hours straight, Jacob earned his black belt in Taekwondo Saturday! And, yes, he earned every bit of it. There aren't enough words to express my pride and joy in our son. This was his journey and his alone. To say he brought it and rocked it is an understatement! As Jacob's black belt was being passed down the line of Black Belts, I started crying. The second to last Black Belt told Jacob, who was also crying, to run and give me a hug after he was presented his belt. I will proudly own every single tear and sob. We heard the whole story of his 23-hour promotion yesterday and it is impressive. Sorry, but it stays with us. The part that had me laughing, though, was him following up on an injury that I kind of remember him telling me about Saturday morning. Somewhere around 3 or 4 am, Jacob dislocated his right pinky toe in a training exercise. Fortunately, one of his cohort is a nurse, so she popped it back in place (relocated, according to Jacob). All I could hear was "You shot my pinky toe!" (name that movie), and I couldn't quit laughing. Our son is a total badass in that he finished his black belt promotion, including sparring matches, with a bruised, swollen, relocated pinky toe. We got home around 3pm Saturday. He had two slices of leftover pizza, his first real food since lunch on Friday, and was found slumped over his phone, dead asleep around 4:15 Saturday afternoon with all of his clothes on, including his shoes. We covered him and, around 10pm carried him to bed. He woke up Sunday morning around 8:30. He took off yesterday afternoon with some friends to go to a pumpkin patch. I wasn't the least bit surprised in how he carved his pumpkin when he brought it home. That's the Um-Yang (Korean for Yin-Yang), a kid throwing a side kick, and the blocks were supposed to be the Kwe, the principles of movement and harmony. His journey to earn his black belt is over, but his journey as a black belt has just begun. I was busy earning my green belt, so I didn't have time for pictures. We're still waiting for our studio to post the official action photos, which I'll share when it happens, but these are pictures from a dear friend who was there to support us. Thank you all for the support and encouragement over the last year. We all greatly appreciate it. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattys281 Report post Posted October 21, 2019 Congrats to him. Glad he got back on track, that’s a big accomplishment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
