Board Breaking Video

Hey, everyone! Jaime tested Saturday (in Taekwondo) for her advanced red belt. She did awesome as usual, and I managed to get some great board breaking clips with my digital camera.

For the next few hours of the day, I spent my time editing this video which I've posted below. Hope you enjoy!

-Courtney-

Black Belt Testing (Alexa, Emily, and Erin)

NOTE: This first part, although just now posted, was actually written on the 19th of December.


There's a Taekwondo testing going on tomorrow. Emily and Erin (both girls), the twins, will be testing for their black belts. Alexa will also be testing for her black belt. Emily and Erin are somewhere around 15 and 16. Alexa, judging by her height, is probably around 13 or 14. I'm going to help out. I'll probably mostly be partnered with Alexa for grappling, free sparring, 3 steps, etc. Judging by how long it took for my black belt testing, I'd say it'll probably go from 1 o'clock to 3 or 4 o'clock. That'd be from 2-3 hours. That's the only thing I'm dreading. I'll let you know how it goes when I get back.


Ok here's how it went. In the very beginning, Mr Simpson, the Taekwondo instructor, lined everybody up and introduced all of us black belts; besides me, there were about 10 other black belts. Most of whom had tested for their black belts around the same time I did, July. After that, the testing began. They went through a few warm up stuff first. After that they did paddles, which is where you do these certain memorized moves on the kicking paddles. I (and everyone else who was there), then watched all three girls do their forms for 30 minutes to possibly and hour. (A form is basically a series of kicks, punches, and blocks put together in a certain order. The girls each had about 11 of these to memorize for their testing.) Everyone did great on these.

After that they went into self defense and other things. There were about 20 different self defense moves the girls had to go through, but it didn't take half as long as those forms took. I got called in to do the boxing drill with Alexa for a few minutes. Pretty soon they went through 3 steps. I, again, went with Alexa. (3 steps are where 1 person acts as the attacker and throws some stuff at the other person who has to try to deflect the blows or step out of the way and throw some kicks, punches, etc back at them.)

Pretty soon they went through grappling. Alexa went with someone else for this part. Then there was also free sparring. I free sparred with Alexa here. I love free sparring! (Free sparring is similar to sparring, but you don't actually hurt each other.) The testing finally ended, and the girls were each rewarded for their efforts with a black belt, some punching gloves, grappling shorts, a sword, and a framed certificate. They were awesome! They were going to have a celebration afterward, but Mom, Mommom (my Grandmother), and I were so tired by this time that we were ready to leave. Before we left, however, I congratulated Emily, Erin, and Alexa. Finally, at 4 o'clock, we drove off, headed home. It had been a loooooooong day. Well, that's about it.

PS: Mommom kept dozing off in the middle of it, but she never missed a clap. LOL.

-Courtney-

TaeKwonDo and Black Belt Testing

Tae Kwon Do is a form of martial arts, as you may be able to tell from the name. We kids, me (Courtney), my brother Will, and Jaime, have been taking TKD classes for quite a while now. Will and I have been doing it for about 5 years now, and Jaime's been doing it for about 3 years. Our main instructor, Craig Simpson, has taught us many different things, such as: traditional Tae Kwon Do, grappling (similar to wrestling), boxing, and many other things as well. We've even learned a little bit of Hapkido with one of our other instructors, Cindy Wallow. We've not only learned about self defense and how to fight if need be, but also about many other great characteristics for everyday life such as: courtesy, integrity, perseverance, and self control. We couldn't have had a better instructor than Mr. Simpson or any of the other instructors there for that matter.

On July 25, last friday, Will and I tested for our black belts. Jaime tested for her red belt. The testing took about 3 hours, not exaggerating. It went from 6:30 to around 9 something. It was tiring but we managed. We had to do about 10 different forms, which are sets of different kicks, punches, blocks, and stances that you have to memorize. We got those down pretty easily. We also did some boxing and grappling, three steps, takedowns, and free sparring. We broke boards too. Will broke with a running elbow, jump spinning back kick, running jump fake side thrust kick, and a butterfly elbow. Jaime broke with a running jump fake front thrust kick. And finally, I broke with a jump fake spinning back kick, a jump fake front thrust kick, and a butterfly elbow. I was supposed to break another board with my other elbow, but instead of breaking the board I bruised my elbow lol.

Well finally when the testing was over, Will and I were rewarded new TKD suits, black belts, a certificate certifying that we had obtained our black belts, and a sword. Jaime was rewarded her red belt. In maybe 2 more years or at least a year, Jaime will probably be awarded a black belt as well. If your interested in knowing which Tae Kwon Do school we go to click this link taekwondoworks.biz.

Will and I also had to write about what becoming black belts meant to us. If your interested here's what we wrote:

What Becoming A Black Belt Means To Me

By Courtney Robinson

Tae Kwon Do has been great for me to learn. I've learned
self-confidence as well as perseverance and many other great
character traits. After five years of hard work, I will finally be testing for my black belt. The belt really means nothing. It's the accomplishment that really has meaning. Going for my black belt has been difficult, but that's what makes it worth it. If I could have gotten my black belt in just a few months, what would it have been worth? This concept could be compared to our spiritual lives as well. I mean to be a Christian is to go through hardships and persecution for Christ, but in the end we will get the prize if we don't give up. Never give up! If we go after something and don't give up, we can accomplish almost anything. This is what becoming a black belt means to me.

Why Getting My Black Belt Means Alot To Me By Will Robinson


Getting my black belt means alot to me for several different reasons. First of all, I feel good about the accomplishment of earning my black belt because I've persevered and haven't quit, and because it was alot of hard work to get there. Another reason getting my black belt means so much to me is because I've learned numerous things in Taekwondo such as balance, body coordination, and self control. The last reason getting my black belt means alot to me is because I've been training in Taekwondo for almost 5 years and I'm finally reaching my goal. Those are some of the reasons I'm excited to be getting my black belt.

Just in case your interested, here are some pictures from our testing. Most of them aren't very good because of all the action and lighting but........

-Courtney-

Taekwondo

Taekwondo is a great thing to do for exercise. I have been doing taekwondo for almost four years. I go to Taekwondoworks, Mechanicsville and am now a red belt. (After red is black) My brother and sister are black belts now and they're most-likely going to stop taekwondo at the end of the summer. I do taekwondo on Tuesday and Thursday and at this rate I'll probably be a black belt in about two years.

Taekwondo teaches you many good things. It teaches self-control, integrity, perseverance, courtesy, and self respect. Usually our taekwondo instructor has us test every year. That's when he has us come on a certain day and sees if we're ready to be promoted. He has another person attack you (not violently) and you have to try to get away. You also have to do many other things , but I'll only mention one. Near the end you have to break a board. It might sound hard but if you do it right it isn't very hard. In all, I've broken seven boards I believe, and for my next testing I have to break four boards. One for each elbow and one for each leg. Anyway, enough about breaking boards. Taekwondo is good exercise and fun. After four years, I hope that I can continue in taekwondo and won't have to quit. If you want you can also visit TaekwondoWorks on the web.

Me doing my form

Me getting my red belt

-Jaime Robinson-