Goal Attained

Two years ago I set a goal for myself.  That I would earn my Black Belt before I turned 40 years old.  I had hoped to attain that rank many years ago, but I met some obstacles along the way.

I began my training in North Carolina in 1984 under the instruction of Mr. Bill Osterholt and his wife Diane Osterholt (See blog post "Origins")  I stopped my training at the brown belt level and we moved up north to Pennsylvania shortly afterward.

I started training again in college (1992), but stopped when I switched schools.  I was a brown belt.  College was tough and I didn't take care of myself, gained a lot of weight and didn't consider training again for many years later.  I wanted to get back into it, but I felt I needed to get back in shape first, so I spent about a year doing a lot of hard running (4+ miles per day) and dropped 40 pounds.  I had some health problems shortly after this and I didn't think about training again until several years later.

In 2004, I started training again at a local ATA taekwondo school and worked hard to quickly attain again the rank of Brown Belt.  I took a break after the birth of my son, but then had a string of injuries, a car wreck and subsequent health problems.  I was in a lot of pain and day to day life was very difficult and the thought of training again seemed impossible.  I thought I would be stuck as a Brown Belt forever!  With the strength and encouragement of my wife to support me, I exercised hard for 3 years, re-built my body, and worked on balance and flexibility.

In 2011, I called the ATA school and talked with the head instructors about returning to train with them.  They were very kind and allowed me to continue my Black Belt contract 8 years after leaving the studio.  I was there for about a month and hurt my knee pretty bad.  I had to stop training for another year while that healed.

In 2012, I returned again, trained hard, endured another string of injuries, and became very involved in the instructor group at the school.  I tested for Black Belt last Saturday and passed.

I carry very high expectations for myself and generally fall short of them.  This day was exceptional.  I performed well and afterwards I was proud of the achievement.

This milestone achievement could not have been accomplished were it not for the support and encouragement of the school, the head instructor and owner, and most importantly my family, who has struggled with me though the whole process.  Below are some highlights from the test:

Mr. Frederick Sparring during Black Belt Test

Mr. Frederick Breaks boards during Black Belt Test

Mr. Frederick throws a jump-reverse crescent kick

Origins

My Instructor: Mr. Bill Osterholt
(8th Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo)

The road to black belt has been a long one.  It began in 1984 in a small karate studio in North Carolina where I trained for 4 years under the instruction of Senseis Bill & Dianne Osterholt.  I was never very good at sports, nor was I very interested in them, but I found karate fascinating.   My instructors' movements were crisp, precise, fast, and powerful.  I wanted very much to emulate their abilities and still strive to achieve their level of proficiency.

My instructors were tough, but fair.  They had very high standards for technique and I worked very hard to attain the level of proficiency they required.  I have studied in other schools and systems on and off throughout my martial arts career (including ATA), but I still hold myself to their standards when I evaluate my own performance.  I regret not having the opportunity to continue my training under their instruction, but I hope to pass on what I have learned to others.

No Change

"No Changes" are tough to swallow.  I remember when I tested for my blue belt in Karate (equivalent=yellow belt in Taekwondo) many years ago.  The news came as a shock and it was hard to come back to class wearing the same rank while my classmates had moved on.  My instructor took me aside and explained why I was not promoted and what I would need to show before I could continue.  She worked with me on chambering and re-chambering my front kicks, which are some of the finer details expected of the 2nd rank in the style.  After a few classes of training, I took a make-up exam and was promoted to blue belt.

From this experience, I learned to expect more from myself and how to practice while performing self-evaluation using a mirror.