First thing: I’d like to give a big shout-out to Brett over at 6 weeks for inspiring me to get off my lazy butt. Go here to check out this inspirational post!
The dream
Ever since I was a white belt first learning how to NOT fall over in horse stance, I’ve loved Taekwondo. I fell in love from the beginning and since then, I’ve dreamed of progressing. I remember seeing the blue belts and thinking that they were pretty 1337 (“leet” – I’m a computer geek, so what? 
). I got my blue belt and started looking toward grasping the holy grail: black belt. Here’s a secret: I got it! I used to be a black belt!
Here’s the thing: my “master” wasn’t registered with any federation (turns out, he thought it was anti-Christian) and I was stripped of my belt by the real martial artists. To keep my black belt wouldn’t have been fair to the other black belts, so I respect the decision 100%. Since then, I’ve not only dreamed of becoming a black belt, I’ve dreamed of finally proving myself to the martial arts community.
The goals
Within the next year, I plan on finally getting my balck belt. I’m ONE step away, but I have a whole lot of training until I get there. I’ll also continue participating in tournaments until I’m considered to be tough competition. I want to be able to distinguish myself in a male dominated sport.
On the smaller scale, I have plans on losing my last couple pounds (I’m so close to my goal weight – yay me!!) and improving my endurance, so that I can fight at a good pace for more than a minute without having breathing difficulties. Because man, that’s an embarrassment in the dojang.
Today
As silly as this may sound, today I’m going for a run. Here’s the thing: I don’t run voluntarily. I crap out after about 2 minutes. It’s hard, monotonous, and I feel like crap afterward. Well too damned bad! I’m sucking it up and I’m going to learn how to make running work for me! Pil-sung!
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June 17, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Brett Legree
You *are* a black belt already, which is why you will succeed. As you say, your “master” just wasn’t registered. A formality, I suppose. And good luck with your run. You will do it!!!
Thanks for the link back, and believe me, you certainly are *not* lazy.
-Brett
June 17, 2008 at 10:08 pm
rld002
Brett,
I’ve been feeling lazy, but now I’m all happy that I got some exercise in today. Hopefully, I can turn it into a habit
As for my black belt, I’m not nearly as well trained as my peers. Getting my black belt was *about* the same process as all the others and it really should have been more involved. I had the feeling that the “master” was making things up as he went along and once I did more research, I realized that he was!
The main problem is that the black belt doesn’t feel valid at all. Fortunately, there’s quite the silver lining in this whole ordeal: I will DEFINITELY have earned it (once I finally get it) and I’ll feel so rewarded!
The best part is that my searches brought me to the most trustworthy master I could ask for and a school that’s a perfect fit