Returning to Taekwondo After 40 Years

Like Bruce Lee said, i love belts, they great for holding your pants up. :D I took my green belt test last week and on leaving the Dojang, I told my Sahyun that it's not about the belt but the journey and he agreed. While I believe that with all my heart - a part of that journey (within the classes) is moving up in rank because in class rank determines what forms you do - what sparring you do, what level of kicks you work on. So while I agree that it's not about the belt - it depends on how your classes are setup and if the belt level keeps you at a beginners level of training you may want to work within the system.

Just passed my green belt test! Hooray!! My heart was pounding and the adrenaline was so intense my hands were shaking and did not stop until I got in the car and was driving home. Also given to me (since I pre-bought it) was my sparring equipment. Looking forward to do some sparring in class with the higher belts. Grandmaster Kang, Master Kang, and Master Nam and the rest of the class.                               Master Nam                                         Certificate, Belt and Trophy

 As I previously wrote, I was in need of major surgery - which involved removing part of my colon.   I had the surgery on 06/15/2023.  The surgery is keeping me from most exercises and stretching.  I was told up front by the surgeon that I will not be able to take Tae Kwon Do until a full month!    I went to the TKD school immediately after the surgery (it was painful to drive), and informed my instructor of the surgery and recovery that will be needed.  He was very understanding and told me he was going to pause my lessons and help me catch up when I return to be ready for the next belt test in September.  Very grateful for this support!!  Best instructors, hands down! I've been doing my best to recover and my surgeon has been quite impressed with my recovery - she stands by the one month wait before returning to TKD.   So what I have been doing is walking the first few days, and then running.  As of today, I ran 2.1 mile...

This morning I was able to take my orange belt test. I had to request this because I need to get major surgery ASAP. Very grateful to Master Nam for allowing me to test, in a private session at the last minute.

  As I've mentioned before I'm taking Tae Kwon Do (which is a Korean Martial Art) and I've been learning Korean language on the side and have been practicing on the instructors. Normally when I say a word or phrase in Korean wrong they politely tell me the correct pronunciation. So on Monday day, I tried to memorize how to say 'Excuse Me' in Korean (실례합니다 sillyehabnida). When I saw my instructor I attempted to say it, and received a puzzled look and then a laugh. It appeared that he thought I said "I love you". I thought that was so funny. He told me I should only say that to my family! Anyway, I thought you would get a kick out of that.... LOL

  Grateful for a successful belt test to yellow.  This is a picture with the Grandmaster Kang after the test.  

 Update: It's been a month but as you can see my progress has been minimal. The only real difference is getting this low was easy and not as challenging.   I  guess I'll just continue and see where I am after another month. I guess my age is slowing me down.  :(