Tae Kwon Do / About a Boy / Black Belt

I received my Tae Kwon Do black belt yesterday. It was the best thing I could do for myself. A twenty five year journey with stops and starts. Below is the 500 word essay I was required to submit for my testing criteria. I share it now...

My Tae Kwon Do Journey

By
TANYA TAIMANGLO
February 2015
USTA

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”—Lao Tzu

My journey in Tae Kwon Do began 25 years ago when at the age of 16, I joined my first dojang in Guam. I had been familiar with this school for four years prior, but never had the courage to join the class. I sat in the back while my two younger brothers moved up in the ranks. During those four years of observation, many of the tenets of Tae Kwon Do seeped into my being. My father would nudge me to join from time to time, but not having the courage to do so, I declined, even when my father added, “You need to honor your Korean culture and mom by joining.”

My first Master, Hyung Ho Lee was young, skillful, and proud. Classes were on the second level of an old two story building. The hard wood floors were not pristine, but the wide windows brought in the fresh ocean air. For five years, I continued to move up slowly in belt rank, ending my time with Master Lee at a high blue belt. Belt testing happened only every six months, and with graduating from high school and beginning college, I advanced slowly, but surely.

I remember the day that would be my last with Master Lee. I was competing in an island wide Tae Kwon Do tournament. I was 21 at the time. Prior to that, I had some success with poomse and sparring competitions, gaining further confidence and trophies with each year. But, this day was different. I was unfocused, because I was transitioning socially. I had my first date that evening (in my entire life), which is late by today’s standards. I lost the tournament, already abandoning Tae Kwon Do for a boy. For six years, while I established my teaching career and hoped for marriage with the boy I had my first date with, I let my physical self deteriorate. At the age of 27, I found myself suddenly single, unhappy, and unhealthy.

My knee jerk response was to join Tae Kwon Do again. Master Lee no longer had a gym, and I found Master Chuuth Sekria. He welcomed me at my blue belt level, but I saw his disappointment when he realized that I lost much of my training. That first week in his class was frightening, with a weaker me struggling to not faint. I made it though and even got a few teacher friends to join with me. For the next three years, I flourished. Advancement came quicker and I realized that Master Sekria was both a teacher and a business man. At the age of 28, I reconnected with a childhood friend, who is now my husband. My husband was in the Navy, and I knew that after our wedding I would relocate to California. Master Sekria knew my time on Guam was limited. With an upcoming belt test, he told me, “I’m going to give you your junior black belt, then you’re getting married and leaving our gym.” It was true, once again, I was leaving Tae Kwon Do “for a boy.”

My new focus was marriage and starting a family. Fast forward ten years and another military move to Washington State. My son joined USTA after two years of proving his worthiness. His first class brought back many memories of sitting in the back with my father. I was filled with pride and at home with the familiar sights and sounds of the dojang.

When Master Ekle announced that parents would be invited to practice for free, my immediate reaction was YES. I’ve been with my new dojang and new Master now since October 2014. It has been the best reinvention of myself, even if my Korean mother thinks I’m “too old.” I’m proving that at age 40, it’s never too late to strive for a goal. My goal is my black belt.

My father passed away in 2007, but I’m certain that he would be proud to know that a black belt is in my grasp. I’m thankful for the opportunity to put my body and mind to the test. This time, I joined a dojang and embraced Tae Kwon Do again “for a boy”, my son.

NaNoWriMo Take 2.

Excited to start my second year with NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I consider this the kick in the pants I need to get a novel first draft done. 50,000 words in 30 days. Not too late to start! Check them out too. Link HERE.

My working title is, Flies in the Vasoline. First POV of a teenage boy. Young Adult.

Writing music. Lots of Ed Sheeran, Hannah Trigwell, Boyce Avenue, covers and 90s rock.

Words, Schmords....

“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.”—Norman Cousins

I have a daily struggle with myself and the little box of hopes and dreams that rests in my chest. This box holds every bright idea I’ve had, every storyline I’ve created and every fantasy scenario I whip up in my head. Frustration builds when I CANNOT carve a time and space to write. The thoughts and feelings and characters that dance in my busy brain get louder and louder (no, I don’t need a shrink) and then my frustration builds. As a military wife and a mom of two young children, my priorities day to day is family, then the house, then me. It’s typical, I’m not complaining, but after a few days or weeks of this, I think of my blog, my unfinished novel, the second draft of another novel, my screenplay that was critiqued and sitting (which I’m going to eventually put in novel format), my personal journals etc. The frustration builds and I have to let off the steam from my literary creative juices.

I’ve often told my husband that I wish that I didn’t feel the NEED or WANT to write. It’s there in my DNA and I can’t extract it. If I did, my home would be spotless, my body would be oogle-worthy and healthier and my children would be playing extravagant classical music on a violin or piano. But, when one desire tips the focus away from other things, someone or something will suffer. Ideally, I would live in a library. Read, write, read, write, have a snack then read and write again.

With this plopped on cyber paper, I’m off to reconnect with the novel that waits like a hungry, ignored child. “Mommy! I want you! Play with me!” (In the meantime, I've fed my child fruit, tied her blanket on like a super hero cape, made her a ham sandwich and refilled my coffee twice--clock is ticking as my real kid is asking me to sit with her, NOW!)

The above quote by Norman Cousins struck a huge chord in me. I heard it at my cousin’s law school graduation last week. As I sat among family in the beautiful Organ Pavilion at Balboa Park, I was touched by the keynote speakers, a successful duo of father and son. I can’t recall if the son or the father said this, but a few times "he" reiterated that “Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.”

I feel most akin to people who strive daily to live their dream, whether that be music, writing, art or even being a better parent! When I see that they have kept that little box in their chest alive, open and free to express itself, then I feel like I should too. I don’t say that I wish that I didn’t need or want to write anymore, because it’s something that is inherently part of me, my identity and my future. All I can do is jump in with both feet and do what I do.

Words excite me. Being a wordsmith intrigues me. Creating worlds and moving mountains with a page of text exhilarates my soul.
Thanks for allowing me to share…and here is Gotye's Eyes Wide Open which pretty much reflects that I don't want to regret not living a meaningful, true life.

"We walk the plank with our eyes wide open."--Gotye


ESTA LATER!