Black Wednesday

Just a note for remembrance in the future: I received my black belt in hapkido today. I took the test on Friday, October 27th, and I managed to not embarrass myself too much. Actually, the test went quite well.

Obviously, it is a milestone to attain a black belt in the martial arts. I first trained in the martial arts during university, where I learned taekwondo. In three years of training, I reached brown belt level, one level away from black belt. Ironically, I then came to Korea only to never train while I was here. Then, in 2001, I got the urge to go back into training, and this time I chose hapkido. I trained with Master Shin for one year, again reaching brown belt level, before I decided to stop due to work commitments. Five years passed, and my body aged. The pounds continued to add up on my 30-something body to the point where I finally had enough. In September of this year, I returned to Master Shin's hapkido school along with some co-workers who wanted to try it out. I was like a beginner all over again in those first classes, but I soon began to get the hang of it once more.

After two months of re-training, I was put through the test last Friday. Like I said, it turned out pretty well, and I gave a pretty good accounting of myself. Today, Master Shin placed the black belt around my waist. I won't kid anybody -- it was an enjoyable feeling.

Hap-ki.