Today was tae kwon do testing day for our whole family. I was feeling especially nervous, not so much for myself (although I was a little), but for my oldest son. As a brown belt, this was the first testing that required him to break boards in order to pass.
The way the testing schedule was set up, my younger son (who is currently a blue belt) was in the first time slot. He had to repeat his form with a few other kids. They get three tries at that level, so it wasn't a huge deal, and not the first time he's had to repeat it. He made it through his sparring rounds without incident. He was finished.
My husband and I were in the second time slot. Since we were testing at the same time, I didn't see how he did, but I'm sure he did well. I didn't have to repeat anything, so I guess I did alright.
The older son (who just turned ten last week, by the way!) was in the last time slot, which is where all the testers who need to break wood go. At the beginning of each group, everyone is lined up on the floor together to warm up and recite the student oath and tenets of tae kwon do--courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, indomitable spirit.
Then the students are called by name to a certain spot on the floor to do their form. When Aaron's name was called, he answered "Yes Ma'am!" and ran towards his spot, just the way he was supposed to. On the way, however, he tripped (maybe on his pant leg, somehow I didn't see exactly how it happened). There he was, sprawled out on the middle of the floor in front of at least 100 people. In tears, he managed to get up and was instructed to go get a drink. By the time I got to him, his lip was beginning to swell and was bleeding. Fortunately, there didn't appear to be any damage to his teeth.
The testing continued without him while he stood in the back of the gym, visibly upset. One of the instructors came to check on him and see if he was ready to come back. He wasn't, and they said he could have a few more minutes. By this time, he was asking us if he could test on another day (no, not really). Another instructor came to check on him, letting him know that he could still test, but that they were going to start the sparring portion, and he'd have to do his form by himself (when they're normally out there with at least three or more other kids). He still wasn't keen on the idea of going out there at all, but somehow he was convinced to do it.
After that sparring round was finished, the testers were asked to step aside, and Aaron's name was called again. This time he ran out to the center of the floor to applause and cheers of the spectators. He did his form with confidence (I don't know what it's supposed to look like, but he looked good doing it!). He only had to do it that one time before he was dismissed to put his sparring gear on. After all that he had already been through, I doubt the judges would have made him do it alone a second time unless he really botched it.
He made it through sparring without incident. Then came board breaking. This was what I was most nervous about for him, since he hadn't been real consistent with his practice breaks in class. Well, that's what I was most nervous about before we left the house this morning. After all the drama earlier in the testing, the boards almost seemed anti-climactic.
At his level, they need to break one board with a hand technique, and one with a foot. They get three attempts to do so. On his first attempt, he didn't break the first board, but broke the second. On the second attempt, he broke it! I could finally relax.
After all this, we still don't know for sure yet if he passed testing (or any of us, for that matter). If we don't get a phone call on Monday, we're in the clear. I am just so proud of him for persevering and getting out there and going through with the testing when he really hadn't wanted to. I was a little afraid that "forcing" him to do it would make him even more upset and he wouldn't perform well. He rose to the challenge, though, and I think he'll be stronger for it.
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