Testing for 2nd and 3rd degree belts #ChoiKwangDo #family #son

Hard to believe that this boy is testing for his 3rd degree (sam dan) belt in Choi tomorrow. Of course, I have a hard time believing he's actually 17 now too.

The boy is testing for his first black belt (il dan) in the photo.

I'll be testing as well, but for 2nd degree (ee dan).  Hopefully, there will be pictures that I can share next week.

From white senior to 2nd degree..

Master E. mentioned wanting the "story" of my daughter going to black belt. This of course churned in my brain for a couple of days. Then I sat down yesterday and put this together. The hard part was finding all the pictures that were scattered around.

ee-dan testing at headquarters (more Choi)

My daughter tested for her ee-dan belt (2nd degree black belt) in Choi Kwang Do Saturday. To say she was nervous might be an understatement. When she gets nervous or worried, she takes pictures like this one...

Once things get under way, though, she gets down to business and starts to focus.

She worked hard during the approximately three hour test.

The only problem with testing was that she didn't have her patches on her uniform.  This was pointed out to everyone at testing at the end when she was asked to stand in front of the group and tell about why/how she got started in Choi.  The Grand Master then asked why she didn't have her patches.. argh.  Talk about wanting to sink under the floor and stay there.  My daughter handled it, though, much better than I likely would have.  She got the giggles.   After we were away from headquarters, then she had her "real" embarrassment reaction.  GrandMaster did at least say she'd passed, without her patches.

You can watch videos of her testing on my channel on YouTube.

Testing with Choi Kwang Do

It was testing weekend.  Normally, there'd only be one or two of us testing.  This weekend was all three of us.  My son and I started it off on Friday night with color stripe testing. It was a nice group of black belts testing for color stripes. Something I don't always get to see.  There were 8 il-dan belts (9 including me) and 3 ee-dan belts (including my son).

My son decided to use my camera and get a couple of pics of me doing my thing. I guess it's a good thing as my husband (my photographer) stayed home with my daughter (who was testing Saturday afternoon).

And for those that know me and my facial expressions.. yes, I still make faces when doing stuff.  Some even like to make sure I'm aware of it as it happens.  Testing went well and everyone passed.  Congrats to everyone that was there.

Get Ready..

My daughter is preparing to test for her 2nd degree black belt in Choi Kwang Do this weekend.  She was goofing off at her great grandmother's house and I caught a short video of her kicking at a chain hanging from the car port.  Yes, she's wearing jeans.

Friday's Fierce

I recorded my daughter at practice Wednesday at Choi.  I snagged these shots out of the video. 

You kinda lose the effect of the fierce when she's giggling while kicking at her brother.

My son took his turn doing kicks while I was holding the pad.

Monday Musings

Last Week -
Getting sick really stinks. I don't generally get sick, so when I do I generally "do it right". I thought initially I was just suffering bad allergies (and probably actually was). Then a week ago Saturday I spent the day out at Stone Mountain Park with the family hiking. I came home and my head really started having issues. Then Monday evening, I get wet in the rain a couple of times and ended up chilled. By Tuesday, I was not a happy camper. I managed to plow through somewhat until Thursday morning at which point I gave up and went to the doctor. Diagnosis: a sinus infection that had moved to the throat. No wonder. So, several days later of antibiotics and a treatment called "Magic Mouthwash" which numbs the throat, I'm doing better. In the process, I managed to lose some weight, though I somehow doubt it will stay off.

New project-
I'm working with another pet rescue group. I'm currently helping them with their word press site, getting animals posted. I'm still in training, so I'm working through the learning curve. It's giving me a chance to learn a new blogging platform too. I've considered moving this blog, though no real decisions are even close to being made. So, this may help on that front too.

Future stuff-
My kids and I will be doing something of a demo this upcoming Saturday at a friend's church. Luxomni Baptist Church is having an Easter fun day with activities for the kids and all. We'll be out there with some of the other Choi students showing off our skills. ;) If you get a chance, feel free to come out and see us.

Thursday's Time Capsule #ChoiKwangDo

#WW Positive Thinking through #ChoiKwangDo

Not so wordless this time. When my son was having so many problems last semester with school, I was looking for any way I could positively affect his manner. I attended EdCamp Atlanta and there I talked with several teachers who emphasized positive work areas. So, after much thought on the matter, I came up with this. It is proudly framed over his desk and he loves it. It's him at his ee-dan testing. I videoed the test and managed to snag this one shot of him in action. I found a free poster maker app online and created the poster with the Principles on it. I can't say it's definitely influenced him, but it certainly hasn't hurt.

CKD Black Belt Family

Variations of these were posted on facebook by one of the instructors.. these are the ones from my camera with a little bit of editing.

CKD Belt Testing - Me

The uniform does nothing for me style wise, though it looks fine on Master E.'s other first degree candidate (the girl behind me).



My power test


For those that know me, know that I (yet again) made faces while concentrating.

CKD Power Test

My son's power test, courtesy of my daughter.

CKD Testing - the boys

The boys (2nd degree candidates) were complimented on their work. Various parents and instructors mentioned how well they thought they'd done.

CKD Belt Testing Teaser

My son tested for his 2nd degree black belt on the 9th.


I actually went along and tested for my 1st.


Master E. actually had 4 students testing: 2 second degree candidates (incl. my son) and 2 first degree candidates (incl. myself). Not to mention she had several testing for color stripes (1st & 2nd degree students). Congrats Master E!

Choi Kwang Do color stripe test @CKD Lawrenceville

Congratulations to the black belt color stripe testers this month! You did a great job.

#ChoiKwangDo Belt Testing @CKD Lawrenceville

My daughter tests for her next il-dan color stripe tonight.

My son will test for his ee-dan (2nd degree) belt at headquarters tomorrow.

He's worked for a long time to get to this point and I wish him all the best! I want to say THANK YOU to Master E. and Mrs. Mitzi for helping them BOTH accomplish their goals this weekend.

Weekend Stuff

It'll be a busy start to spring break for us tomorrow. My daughter and I are going to go run in the Color Run. It's a 5K around Piedmont Park. We'll be very colorful when we get home. While we're gone, my son will be with friends at the 25th anniversary celebration for Choi Kwang Do. He'll be training with the Grandmaster.

From there I'll be cleaning up and heading out to the Village of Stone Mountain. I'll be working for the Georgia Aquarium at the city's Blue Grassroots Music & Art festival.

Feel free to cheer us on in the morning, or swing by and visit me in the afternoon.

New Il-Dan Green Stripe

She didn't have the best of tests this time around, but she did pass. Ms. E's going to work on her (and the rest of us).

Choi Kwang Do Demonstration

My kids participated in a demo team demonstration with one of their instructors. Discovery Point day care was having a yard sale/fund raiser and the kids did the demonstration there. These are a few of the photos I took.

This is the group of kids.. My son breaking a board with one of his downward kicks.. The girls doing their portion.. My son and his friend doing another portion..

They did a very nice job considering they only took 3 weeks to prepare.

Board Breaking

My kids' Choi instructor likes to have the black belts do board breaking after testing. We didn't do it at the test itself, we did it at the day care where they take the class. I missed my daughter's actual kick, though you can see the result (she broke 2 boards) and her instructor's face is priceless. The instructor had thought she'd take a practice kick before connecting so she hadn't really braced for it.

My son I was a little slow on, but you can still see the end result.