Black Belt Essay

I never wanted to write this, but it’s required so I, my lazy self, wrote this – with some typing help from my parents.

First, I want to say thanks to my friends, family, masters, role models, and well… food. When I was just a baby, I went to the dojang looking for sights to see. I started Taekwondo when I was 5 and I fell in love with it. As soon as I saw Taekwondo, it became part of my soul. I loved it so much that I come even if I have a bad cold. Today is an exciting day.

I have to always try to fulfill my goals and what other people expect from me – and believe me, that’s hard. When I was 5, I didn’t know the challenges that Taekwondo comes with. For example, sparring and getting kicked in the head, remembering forms and one steps and remembering Korean terminology. That stuff is hard!

Next I’ll tell you about the people I have grown to respect. To start, there are three: Grandmaster Pak, Grandmaster Grieme, and Master Vink. They all are nice, respectful and hard-working. Grandmaster Pak is 8th degree black belt in Taekwondo, and he inspired me to give it all to pursue my goals and drain the life out of life by trying too hard. Grandmaster Grieme advised me to pursue all my dreams and work hard. Master Vink has taught me for many years. He understands me and trains me very well. He believes in me 100%. After listening to them, I worked hard for every test. I am proud that I got a Decided rank with 2 stripes on every belt. I was also nominated for an award by all black belts, except my mom – that’s because she shouldn’t nominate a family member. Master Vink, Tammy Vink, and Tayln Vink, thank you for always believing in us and helping us. You put a TON of time into us, and we can’t thank you enough!

Thank you to all the judges for taking time from your busy lives to help us go up the ranks, encouraging us, and sharing your wisdom and skills with us. You have taught us a lot. Sorry for kicking your fingers during board breaking. And thank you for feeding us Pizza after every test. They are delicious.

Next, I want to thank my classmates. Thank you to James, who might be judging right now, for accepting me as a friend and showing us how to keep on going. Next is Felicity Huemiller from Angola. She showed me how to find my voice in front of many people through tough times. And, of course, all of my teammates in Sioux Falls Taekwondo namely Kylie, Josh, Jax, Liam, Jenna, Finn, Tayln, Cole, Elijah, and Gavin. I love hanging out with them and they are inspirational. I even have some T-shirts that Tayln shared with me and has Talyn’s name. I proudly wear it and I am always happy to practice with my friends in the Dojang.

Tournaments inspired me to not stop doing Taekwondo. I learned from Taekwondo to follow the 5 tenets – courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, and indomitable spirit. I follow courtesy most often and I struggle with perseverance the most. I’m working with my mom to get better with perseverance. Taekwondo also taught me to be calm in school and that, if I am angry at school, I should not go around round-house kicking people at school.

Talking about mom – my mom helped me push through challenges and educated me well. Thank you for restricting me from wasting my time. My mom encouraged me to play music and do Taekwondo and not give up. My mom is Veronica Shukla and she is a black belt, who trained under Master Vink also. Thank you for continuing to teach me forms even when I was struggling with my emotions. Thank you for all you have done for me despite my many challenges. Mom, just a fair warning: if you continue to miss Taekwondo classes, I will outrank you soon.

I hope I did/do well today and get my black belt. It has been a great journey. I expect there will be some family celebration or, at least, that’s what I think will happen. <Wink, Wink>. And, maybe, kids in the intermediate class will listen to me more and do push-ups when I tell them to when they are being rude. I have also been teaching kids and hope to continue doing that after I get my black belt just like Master Vink and his family does. I might look a little strange being a young kid with a black belt tied around his waist, but I’m fine with that strangeness. I am strange in different ways, so it won’t matter too much.

Now I have a new goal. I’d like to follow in the footsteps of Master Vink, Grandmaster Grieme and Grandmaster Pak to get higher degrees of black belt and contribute to teaching.

To the audience who’s here – thank you for coming and supporting us. I have a strange question for you. Raise your hand if you play a musical instrument.

Well, that was my essay. It took many days to write it. Several tears have contributed to this writing. Mom’s teaching me perseverance.

Thank you, everyone.