At the start of this year, I decided to try my daughter in a Korean Taekwando institute, where the Grandmaster is a 9th degree black belt.  It differed from her first school, which was a more western mixed martial arts style.  This is straight up old school.  I told them my barely five year old had already earned a black belt but I truly think they thought I did not know what I was talking about.  So I watched my petite little girl in a beginning class decimate everyone, including an eight year old boy.  It was a little intimidating watching and not knowing the same style or the language, as I had started taking lessons at the previous school myself.  Pretty soon they had all the other students sit down.  The two instructors signaled for her to come to the front where they showed her how to kneel.  It wasn’t a western praying in church sort of kneel; rather it was one where she was required to sit back on her heels.  From that position they set up two bricks with a board in between and proceeded to show her how to strike it with her hand.  Previously she had broken boards with an ax kick, a side kick, and an elbow strike, all of which had the benefit of utilizing some momentum.  This strike had practically none.  It was sort of like hitting a nail with a hammer.  She got it on her third try with a resounding “YA!” and I was later told by the Grandmaster this was not the class for her.  So they tried her at the next level, with bigger kids and where she was the only girl.  I worried how she would fare.  It was much more complicated and she knew nothing of what they were doing.  After studying her the Grandmaster, who looks like a gentle grandfather, said she positively glows when she is out there.  He placed her in the advanced class but at a lower rank because of the vast difference in schools.  So imagine my pride when she was awarded this stripe after her fifth class!  I could not believe it.  I do not understand why so many believe the study of martial arts to be violent when in fact it is the antithesis.  I decided to begin again myself at this place but I lost my yellow belt ranking and I am starting over at the white belt level.  I do not know how far I can go, as it emphasizes head high kicks and spins, but I am going to try.  They told me to be patient and to enjoy the journey.  The American broadcast journalist Soledad O’Brien said:

“I’ve learned that fear limits you and your vision.  It serves as blinders to what may be just a few steps down the road for you.  The journey is valuable, but believing in your talents, your abilities, and your self-worth can empower you to walk down an even brighter path.  Transforming fear into freedom – how great is that?”

And so begins our journeys of a different stripe.