3 Ways to Motivate Your Children
This past weekend I was one of the judges for our 42nd annual Taekwondo Color Belt Test. Besides scoring the individual students on their overall forms, kicking techniques, flexibility and other skills, the judges are asked to pick two students to award trophies to for “Best Student”. One of our newer students, Ryan, was clearly doing an outstanding job, and he won the smaller trophy. The bigger trophy, however, went to Matthew, one of our green belt students. Was Matthew our best green...
Read MoreSoybeans and Chopsticks Build Patience
Last weekend, I had an interesting opportunity to participate in part of my school's Taekwondo Survival Camp. Taekwondo develops not only the body, but our mind and spirit as well. At 8:00 PM, we were instructed to get ready for meditation. I thought to myself, I came at a good time. I missed a lot of the rigorous work others had to do earlier. As we sat in meditation position, eyes closed, the music began. I said one thing to God. My words were...
Read MoreEven Mistakes Can Earn You Trophies
On Saturday afternoon, I tested for my 1st degree Tae Keuk 2 black belt test. It was the first test on my journey towards my 2nd degree black belt. I didn’t feel particularly prepared on one of my forms but I decided to push myself and give it my best shot anyways. And sure enough, I made some mistakes on my Koryo form. Grand Master Lee called me up in front of the class to ask me to redo my form so he could correct my mistakes. Eager to learn my form, and perform it with...
Read MorePreparing for my Black Belt Testing in Taekwondo
About a week ago, I earned my deputy belt in Taekwondo. It was a proud moment for me because it’s the belt you receive before you become a black belt. With your deputy belt also comes a lot of responsibility and a lot of preparation. I’m excited to become a black belt in Taekwondo, but I know I have a lot of work ahead of me. Sometimes between now and the end of October, I need to be able to run 5 miles and return to the dojang to do 1000s of kicks and punches, perform 10...
Read MoreLori and Ian Break Boards for a New Belt in Tae Kwon Do
In this video, I am breaking 3 boards for my red belt in Tae Kwon Do. Next to me is my son Ian, also breaking 3 boards to get his high brown...
Read MoreBreaking Boards Sometimes Requires Perseverence
Well, today I tested for my brown belt in Tae Kwon Do. In addition to the hundreds of front snap kicks, roundhouse kicks, high rising kicks, side kicks, back kicks and more, we always have to break a board using a particular kick to pass the next belt level in Tae Kwon Do. As a high blue belt, I needed to use a turning roundhouse kick to break a board that is about 3/4″ thick. While there were other boards I broke on the first attempt (in earlier belt testings), today I struggled. ...
Read MoreMeet Our House Guest
From Friday to Wednesday of this week, we have a house guest. His name is Chang Yong and he is from Korea. Through our Tae Kwon Do school, we had the opportunity to host some children who are visiting from Korea. I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity for my kids to learn about life in a different country, and for Chang Yong to learn about America. It is much easier for us to teach Chang Yong about America because we, of course, can speak to him. But because...
Read MoreTop 10 Reasons Our Family Practices Tae Kwon Do
Our family has been practicing Tae Kwon Do for about 9 months now. I am a huge advocate of martial arts for children and adults. Here is why our family values Tae Kwon Do: 1. Tae Kwon Do is a great workout!2. Tae Kwon Do allows our family to take care of our health together.3. Tae Kwon Do's main value is RESPECT.4. Tae Kwon Do teaches confidence and empowerment to somewhat shy children.5. Tae Kwon Do utilizes the process of goal setting to...
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