Six And A Half Years On The Mat
elcome and thank you for all coming to my third degree black belt ceremony. I have been working hard and looking forward for this day. My journey started in September 2005; I was seven years old when I started Taekwondo. I’m almost fourteen now and I have been doing Taekwondo for six and a half years. I started Taekwondo with my sister Pyper, after our first lesson I remember coming home and practicing what we learned together.
I also remember my first testing very clearly. I was testing for my orange belt like any other student would, I was so nervous of making a mistake. I was so happy after the testing was finished and I earned my belt.
I got my first degree black belt when I was ten years old. When I first started Taekwondo I knew that I was going to get my black belt, but my parents were skeptical. They didn’t believe that I could maintain this goal and focus for three and a half years. After a while my parents saw that I was really committed, so they enrolled me in the black belt training program, and eventually the leadership program.
My first black belt testing was really nerve racking. Everything was great until we got to the self defence portion, the nine. The nine is the top 9 most common attacks. When I was doing the knife defence I didn’t block the arm that was holding the plastic knife strong enough and was hit in the eye. I remember my eyes started to tear up and I cried a bit, but I didn’t quit! I went twice as hard as before because I knew that I couldn’t quit if I was out on the streets or I’d be ‘a goner.’ When Mr. Davidson told me that I passed my testing I was so happy and proud of myself! I felt like I could do anything I wanted!
I tested for my second degree black belt two years ago at Ocean Shores Washington at ‘The Summit’. The testing went perfectly, nothing wrong, no flaws or errors. I was almost certain I passed - I was right, I did.
Now finally this brings me to my testing for my third degree. I originally tested for my third degree black belt at Oceans Shores in September, but I did not prevail. I didn’t consider it a setback, but more of a stepping stone and motivation to keep working hard and staying focused.
I retested just recently for my third degree. I worked hard to correct any errors that were present in September. I was focused and determined, passionate about this art that Mr. Davidson has spent so many years teaching me. This time I was successful!
Now that I have my third degree I am hoping to continue my training in Taekwondo, and focusing on furthering my knowledge in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Once getting my third degree black belt was just a dream for me, but now it has become a reality.
Joining Taekwondo was one of the best decisions I have made in my life. It has taught me so much; how to set goals and stick with them, how to persevere through tough times and keep going, and the glory of competition and winning!
I would like to thank my mom and dad for enrolling me in this fantastic program and for all their support. My sister for putting up with me and coming to all my testings, and a very special thank you to my grandparents for spending hours and hours driving me to and from Taekwondo and supporting me at every tournament and all my testings. I would also like to thank the Pattersons; Matt, Dawn, and Clay for taking me to and from Taekwondo and for keeping me on task and focused when Matt and I were fooling around. Mr. Raphael for teaching me new things and helping me in BJJ. Finally I would like to give my biggest thanks to the Davidson family for teaching me all these years and never giving up on me - even when I got sidetracked or fooled around in class. Mr. Davidson helped me become the person I am today.
I’m looking forward to continuing training with Mr. Davidson for more years to come and gain more knowledge from him. Thank you once again Mr. Davidson and family.
That has been my journey so far… but it is certainly not the end. Some might say it is only the beginning!
Thank you all for coming to my third degree black belt ceremony.