TAEKWONDO - WE ARRIVED BY ACCIDENT.
(Introduction written on 6th March 2003)
In August 2002, we went along to a local club/gym as there was a computer fair on and I was after some cheap CD's. On arrival, we were told it was £3 just to get in - just as we were heading off we saw a small advert for a Taekwondo demonstration.
This coincided with Manchester City visiting Villa Park so I missed it, but Mrs CT went along and came back with a very glowing report - so we decided to give it a try.
My only regret is that I never had the chance to start this 10 years ago. It is addictive, compulsive and gets you fitter. I've never been one for studying for any great length of time, yet this has got me engrossed - the black belts can teach you so much it's untrue.
Our teacher is Mr Martin Paradine, a 5th Degree black belt (who we were informed on Sept 22 2003) had just passed for that 5th Dan. He is awesome - If I can learn just a fraction of what he knows in the next few years, I'll be very happy.
Martin Paradine to you. Sir to the rest of us.
Sometimes he will hand off lessons to some of the other black-belts - all are excellent to learn various things from. We are always progressing - no two lessons are ever the same - patterns, sparring, kicks/punches on the kick-pads, self-defence techniques. When you see some of the kids doing it, it just makes me wish I could started then too, as I said before.
It seems very strange and uneasy at first when you call people "Sir" (including females!) but it something you get used to very quickly. It can often seem a bit like army-life, everything can be very regemented and have an order. It's all pretty much second nature now.
The gradings are very nervous affairs, certainly for some of us "beginners". The last time I had been that nervous was my driving test - 14 years ago! As well as the stuff listed below, you also grade on fitness, line-work and a grasp of the Korean language.
My Taekwondo Black Tag Grading
Sunday 3rd June 2007 was the date for my black-tag grading.
I'd been nervous for ages but had been training as hard as possible despite having a bad foot injury. If I had to hobble through this grading then so be it - I'd worry about pain afterwards.
We started around 2.15pm and "warmed up" while the juniors and lower grades did their proper gradings.
When it came to us we were given a thorough workout which lasted until about 4.40pm. Despite the fact I was knackered I got a real buzz out of this particular test and actually quite enjoyed it despite how tough it was.
Mr Sekulic gave a great, uplifting speech about "everyone making mistakes but the important aspect was to learn from it". He's well known for his tough gradings (he did my red-tag one too) but the fact you can look back and say "I really earned that" is very satisfying.
The following Wednesday I was told that I had passed along with a junior collegue. I am eternally grateful to Mr Paradine for getting me this far in my Taekwondo career - he's stuck with me all the way and hopefully I repaid him a little bit with the effort and focus I put into this grading.
Plus a huge thanks to all the other black belts, especially John, who have spent time with me working on certain things too.
My black belt grading is due in November. I have 5 big, big months ahead of me.
My Taekwondo Black Belt Grading
So here it was, stood very nervously in front of three of the top Taekwondo exponents around with three more sat to their right, about to show what I've learnt in the last 5 years. I'd been having headaches about this for the last week.
Six of us on the floor (two grading for 2nd Dan, John & Matt) we started off with some random patterns before turning round and doing some three-step sparring, the followed by two-step.
We were told the importance of one-stop sparring before we set into that, followed by some strong take-downs on the mat. I really enjoyed this section, especially as I was paired with John who I've worked on this with in training numoerous times.
Then it was on with the sparring gear and a few rounds of one on one, - then came the dreaded two onto one where it just becomes survival mode. This particular part of the grading always leaves me needing to catch my breath although I was just happy to come out of it with my nose fully intact!
After this the two grading for 2nd Dan had some "knife attacks" to see how they could dis-arm the attacker. We also had a go at this too. We also had some hand-grabs and lapel-grabs to get out of plus some head-locks - all things we've worked on a great deal and which I think I showed off quite well.
Some line-work followed and then more patterns - at the end everyone bar the two younger students had to break the board, fortunately my two elbow strikes broke first time as did my right side-kick. My left side-kick attempt wasn't so hot but I made up for it second time around. It was a jam-packed hour and three quarters.
At the end we had some questions, pattern meanings and also why we want to be black-belts.
I won't know any results for a while yet, all I can say was that I was determined to leave everything I had on the floor in the 2 hours and I felt I did that. Of course I made some errors but I think I minimalised that and in the main was pleased with what I showed - the main thing was that I came away with a soaking dirty kit so I know I put everything in effort-wise again.
I certainly didn't walk away from the Dojang with any regrets and that's as much as I can ask of myself. So that's it. My head's clear, my elbows, shoulder and hamstring are sore but that's fine - now I've just got to wait and see if I've progressed which I'll obviously update as and when I know.
The Night I Was Handed My Taekwondo Black Belt
December 17th 2007.
In my mind I'd accepted I wasn't going to find out the result until early next year and I'd played out all the scenarios of how and what I would be told. Mr Sekulic sat everyone down said a few words before handing one of the juniors their red tags. Then he carried on, his speech ending in me being handed my black belt in front of the class.
Initially it was very hard to take in and it was pretty overwhelming. I've seen quite a few students step forward and accept their belts but now I was one of two who would be accepting the honour.
Over five years ago stood outside a health club which was hosting a computer fair and deciding not to go in as the £3 was a bit steep. We noticed a Taekwondo advert on the door and Mrs CT decided to go along to the demonstration while I was at Villa Park!
She said it looked great so along we went, and that was it. Apart from a gap of about 8 months with my nose injury I've been there 2/3 times a week ever since. I've seen so many people come and go, trained with the some of the same almost all the way through the ranks and now have many of the juniors who are now as tall as me!
Ever since knowing the big grading day and also attending a seminar with 5th Dan Mr Champion, I trained even harder, going out running on my spare nights - even one night in a torrential downpour when everyone must have thought I was mad! I brushed up on the pattern & belt meanings and gave myself the best chance overall of passing.
I can't say enough about Mr Paradine for everything he's done for me. Saying thanks just isn't enough by a long way. The road from White to Black hasn't always been easy but thanks to Mr P and so many others, I've stuck at it and hopefully rewarded myself and more importantly them.
In that grading the most important thing for me was not to let Mr Paradine down no matter what.
Over the last couple of months Mr Carter has been helping me too down at AFCMPT Kick-boxing and all this extra training and advice has helped so much. With Mr Paradine's blessing, I'm going to push on with kick-boxing too and also my grappling and ground work with John every month.
Massive congratulations are also due to my two other class members who also passed and are now 1st Dan black belts. One junior female member who did superbly and one younger adult student who has trained for nearly 10 years to get to that point. Also to John, again, who passed and became a much-deserved 2nd Dan - massive thanks go to him too for all his help, especially on one-step and take-downs in which he excels.
This is my biggest sporting achievement ever and something I've still not quite got round to believeing! It may sink in by the new year!
What an incredible Christmas present. This is a position I never imagined I could attain, and the whole thing has made me very proud and honoured to be a Taekwondo black-belt.
ONE TO TEN IN KOREAN;
ONE - HANA / TWO - DOOL / THREE - SET / FOUR - NET / FIVE - TASUT / SIX - YASUT / SEVEN - ILGOPE / EIGHT - YADUL / NINE - AHOPE / TEN - YAUL
THE FIVE TENETS OF TAEKWONDO;
Courtesy / Integrity / Perserverance / Self-Control / Indomitable Spirit
FIRST GRADING - 15th DECEMBER 2002;
PATTERN TO LEARN - 4 DIRECTIONAL.
THREE-STEP SPARRING - NO.1
This grading was for ORANGE belt.
ORANGE BELT represents the Sun, which brings life to earth, signifying the start of Taekwondo training.
PASSED.
SECOND GRADING - 30th MARCH 2003;
PATTERN TO LEARN - CHON-JI (19 moves)
CHON-JI - Literally means heaven and earth. It is in the orient interpreted as the creation of the world or the beginning of human history, therefore it is the initial pattern played by the beginner. This pattern consists of two similar parts; one to represent the Heaven and the other the Earth.
THREE-STEP SPARRING - NO.1 through to NO.3
This grading is for YELLOW belt.
YELLOW BELT represents the Earth - a plant growing it's roots and that the student is now learning the basic techniques.
PASSED.
THIRD GRADING - 29th JUNE 2003;
PATTERN TO LEARN - DAN-GUN (21 moves)
DAN-GUN is named after the Holy Dan Gun, the legendary founder of Korea in the year 2333 B.C..
THREE-STEP SPARRING - No.1 through to NO.4
This grading is for "GREEN TAGS" on a YELLOW BELT.
PASSED
FOURTH GRADING - 28th SEPTEMBER 2003;
PATTERN TO LEARN - DO-SAN (24 moves)
DO-SAN is the pseudonym of the patriot Ahn Ch'ang Ho (1876-1938) who dedicated his entire life to furthering the education of Korea and it's independent movement.
THREE-STEP SPARRING - NO.1 through to NO.6
ONE FOR ONE KICKING EXCERCISE.
This grading is for GREEN belt.
The GREEN belt indicates that a student is growing as a Taekwondo student. The colour of the belt is compared to a plant growing its leafs.
PASSED
FIFTH GRADING - 14th DECEMBER 2003;
PATTERN TO LEARN - WON-HYO (28 moves)
WON-HYO was the noted monk who introduced Buddhism to the Silla Dynasty in the year 686 AD.
THREE-STEP SPARRING - NO.1 through to NO.9
This grading is for BLUE TAGS on a GREEN BELT.
PASSED
SIXTH GRADING - 18th APRIL 2004
PATTERN TO LEARN - YUL-GOK (38 moves)
YUL-GOK is a pseudonym of a great philosopher and scholar Yi I (1536 - 1584) nicknamed the "Confucius of Korea". The 38 movements of this pattern refer to his birthplace on 38 degree latitude and the diagram of the pattern represents scholar
THREE-STEP SPARRING - NO.1 through to NO.9
TWO-STEP SPARRING - NO.1 through to NO.4
ONE FOR ONE KICK SPARRING
HOLD BREAKS(BEAR HUGS, STRANGLEHOLDS, HEADLOCKS)
This grading is for BLUE belt.
The BLUE belt signifies the heaven towards which the plant matures into a towering tree as Taekwondo training progresses.
PASSED
SEVENTH GRADING - 14th NOVEMBER 2004
PATTERN TO LEARN - JOONG-GUN (32 Moves)
JOONG-GUN is named after the patriot Ahn Joong-Gun who assassinated Hiro Bumi Ito, the first Japanese governor-general of Korea, known as the man who played the leading part in the Korea-Japan merger. There are 32 movements in this pattern to represent Mr Ahn's age when he was executed at Lui-Shung in 1910.
THREE-STEP SPARRING - NO.1 through to NO.9
TWO-STEP SPARRING - NO.1 through to NO.4
ONE STEP SPARRING
BREAKING BOARDS - ONE STRIKE OF CHOICE ALLOWED
FREE SPARRING WITH HIGHER GRADES INCLUDING 2 ONTO 1
ALL PATTERNS, SEVERAL TIMES OVER WITH VARIOUS EXCERCISES IN BETWEEN
This grading is for RED tags on a BLUE belt.
PASSED
EIGHTH GRADING - 1st MAY 2005
PATTERN TO LEARN - TOI-GYE (37 Moves)
TOI-GYE is the pen name of the noted scholar Yi Hwang (16th century), an authority on neo Confucianism. The 37 movements of the pattern refer to his birthplace on 37 degree latitude and the diagram represents "scholar".
THREE-STEP SPARRING - NO.1 through to NO.9
TWO-STEP SPARRING - NO.1 through to NO.4
ONE STEP SPARRING
BREAKING BOARDS - TWO STRIKES DECIDED BY EXAMINER
FREE SPARRING, INCLUDING 2 ONTO 1
ALL PATTERNS, SEVERAL TIMES OVER WITH VARIOUS EXCERCISES IN BETWEEN
This grading is for RED belt.
PASSED
NINTH GRADING - June 3rd 2007
PATTERN TO LEARN - HWA RANG (29 Moves)
Video Of Hwa Rang Pattern
HWA-RANG is named after the Hwa-Rang youth group, which originated in the Silla Dynasty in the early 7th century. The 29 movements refer to the 29th Infantry Division, where Taekwon-Do developed into maturity.
THREE-STEP SPARRING - NO.1 through to NO.9
TWO-STEP SPARRING - NO.1 through to NO.4
ONE STEP SPARRING
BREAKING BOARDS - STRIKES DECIDED BY EXAMINER
FREE SPARRING, INCLUDING 2 ONTO 1
ALL PATTERNS, SEVERAL TIMES OVER WITH VARIOUS EXCERCISES IN BETWEEN
This grading is for BLACK TAG ON RED belt.
Passed!
TENTH GRADING - November 25th, 2007
PATTERN TO LEARN - CHOONG MOO (30 Moves)
Video Of Choong Moo Pattern
CHOONG-MOO was the name given to the great Admiral Yi Soon-Sin of the Yi Dynasty. He was reputed to have invented the first armoured battleship (Kobukson) in 1592, which is said to be the precursor of the present day submarine. The reason why this pattern ends with a left hand attack is to symbolize his regrettable death, having no chance to show his unrestrained potentiality checked by the forced reservation of his loyalty to the king.
Grading will involve everything ever covered over the past 5 years!
Passed!!
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