Testing

Yesterday the Stahr ladies tested for our new belts in taekwondo. Jeremiah was photographer for the morning using the trusty old point and shoot. Jamie was up first, achieving the most character stripes for the girls with 31 stripes and getting her second trophy for doing so. She was so proud of herself. I love that Jeremiah caught her in the air doing a jumping jack...

Then Jamie did her poomse without mistake. She knew this form inside and out and it showed in her confidence!

Then onto the board break. Jamie had to do a jumping side kick. She broke her board on the first try but the shocking part for her was that she kicked her board into three pieces!

Then she recieved her new blue belt from the Grand Master...

Then it was my turn. They graduated 10 basic students into the black belt club. There were two moms in the group (one being me). Now I get to wear the blue uniform, like the girls, and get to learn all the forms and sparring that I need to know to get my black belt.

Then it was time to test. I was doing a jumping front snap kick here. Jeremiah managed to at least get me off of the floor, even though the kick was over...

I had to do an elbow strike for my board break. Anyone see how thick that board is? The adult boards are thicker than the kid boards, like they should be, but I still broke it on my first try...

Then I received my new orange belt from the Grand Master as well...

Mazie was up last. She also received a trophy for her character stripes. However, Jamie was quick to point out that she would have beat her since Mazie only had 30 stripes. I guess it was a warning for next test since they are in the same section now...

Mazie showing her ability to punch. Hard.

And her poomse. As they progress, the forms get harder. Mazie loves the forms because they make her feel like she is dancing!

Then the batteries died to the point that the camera wouldn't even shut down completely. Who carries spare AA batteries? Not us, of course. But Mazie broke her board by doing a jumping front snap kick. It took her 4 tries only because she had the intermediate sized board. The kids boards come in two sizes thin and half way between thin and the adult board. This was her first attempt to kick on the midium board and when she first kicked the board, it threw her for a loop. She had a take a minute to refocus her energy and kicked it perfectly in the middle. She received her new red senior (red with a white stripe) belt from the Grand Master and was very proud of herself.

So there you have it. I have a slide show with more pictures on the sidebar. I will update it will new pictures for each test.