By: Katelyn Tijerina
The Beginning
I first started taekwondo in second or third grade. I don’t remember much from this time. Old memories here and there. How I got reprimanded for the use of “dang” or how I got kicked so hard I couldn’t speak. How Fridays were the worst because the instructor would use a whistle and I would get paired with the younger kids who didn’t know what they were doing. In 5th grade for combined reasons of my moving and my need for friends took me away from taekwondo.
A Second Chance
I never forgot my time in taekwondo neither did it seem my dad did. Often bringing it up at social gatherings. I vaguely remembered liking it and was interested when the ads started popping up around the neighborhood. “Taekwondo lessons opening near you!”. It was the same company I had gone to previously and I knew I was close to a black belt and everyone knew what a black belt was. After taking a trial class, I knew I was in for the long run. I was exhilarated with the positive feedback loop I couldn’t find anywhere else and how my body knew what to do, from lessons all that long ago. I was signed up for a year that August, August 2021.
Pushing
I immediately fell in love again with taekwondo. The ideals, the people, the sport, all of it. Classes were open six days a week and I went every day. most days classes would be open from 4-7 o’clock. I usually went for that long. I was spending 10-20 hours at Taekwondo a week. I had so much fun and I had found a place where I could be respected in a way I really wasn’t in the outside world. I moved ranks in October and by December I had learned all the possible curriculum I could. Vocab, and moves, forms and self-defenses. I had such a drive to learn it was awesome until it wasn’t. In Decemeber, we learned that me pushing myself so hard had given me shin splints. The instructors were surprised that I had gotten them solely from taekwondo. My teachers, and my doctors, and anybody else I asked said the same thing. Stretching, ice, rest, painkillers. I did that. I did that for months and the pain was still there and I was missing out on class. It was frustrating to be in pain and no one seemed to be able to help. In Feburary, I got a physical therapist. We paid a couple hundred dollars a month to keep this up. She said she could help so I saw her once a week. Through her, we learned I also had plantar fasciitis. There were times when I was in class where it hurt to stand. nevertheless, do hard physical exercise. There were times when I thought I would break down crying because of how much pain I was in. In February though, a mandatory class started, one I had to take if I wanted to graduate in May, and I did. So in pain, I took the hardest classes of my life. Ranging from 1-2 hours long with hard physical exercise. One me and my peers looked upon with dread was flutterkicks. We started with 150 flutterkicks and worked our way up to 550 by the end of the course. It would leave me so tired it was hard to focus on anything else and I would still have an hour or more left to go. I practiced flutter kicks at home, so I wouldn’t fall behind like I realized I had. I got through these and even though I had deep-seated hate for the classes and the flutterkicks I never stopped, I never missed a class. In addition, in February, they offered me a job, a part-time position to help with the younger students and of course, I said yes. I worked four days a week for three months and went to class the same amount. I know everything I needed know, I studied, I practiced, I asked questions. I was ready, I could do it.
The Sickness
This Monday I found out I had Covid, today is Friday, and tomorrow is the black belt test. Today, I again tested positive for covid and I am not allowed to test. For a sickness I have no control over, for no fault of anyone’s I am unable to test. I am also unable to retest as they have refused me to. They hold black belt classes twice a year. In May and in December. I now have to wait until December to test for my black belt. After all the hard work and the time and the money. After doing everything I possibly could there is nothing I can do. After telling all my family and friends and even teachers. Tomorrow I will wake up in the morning knowing what I am missing and the next time I go to class I will be lined up after the same people I have been in class with for three months. Everyone will see that I did not graduate and even though I did my best my fate in written in the stars.
The Future
None of this means I am going to stop. I am going to work just as hard to get my black belt even though it is seven months away. I will take the extra time to refine my technique and work on the things I need to. I am hoping I will even be permitted to work on the same material those who have just graduated are working on. Hopefully, I will be able to go into the test in December without a worry in my heart because I got extra time to work on it. When I line up behind the same people I saw struggle with me. I will not be upset because I do not have my black belt I will be proud knowing they earned theirs. I will hopefully share their experiences in the coming months. People will see that I did not graduate and when they ask I will tell them. I am not going to lie and say I am not frustrated with the setback but I do know the only way is forward and it doesn’t help anybody if I give up. The only way is forward and the only attitude is to move on.
