Tea with Mrs. Nesbitt: Black Belt

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Black Belt

"I WILL PRACTICE IN THE SPIRIT OF TAEKWONDO

WITH COURTESY FOR MY FELLOW STUDENTS

LOYALTY FOR MY INSTRUCTOR

AND RESPECT FOR MY JUNIORS AND SENIORS."

Landmark day today! After years of training and classes, Madison finally earned her black belt tonight after the official testing session in the evening. It was of course a challenging year, but tonight sort of amplified that whole concept quite a bit: someone at the previous testing, at the very end of class, got sick in a messy way. Everyone but staff wound up going out into the parking lot - outside in the cold - until they could get the mess cleaned up! And as it was all over, it took a while. So... some of the testing was actually outside in the parking lot!

All the parents were lined up on the sidewalk, and all the students were in the parking lot warming up - quite literally. It was rather cold out there tonight!

But eventually, class resumed inside. And although things were a bit rushed in places, it was still a wonderful occasion. We had so many come to see Madison. My parents were there, along with Mom and Nana. Uncle George flew in from California to be here. Pastor Lance was there. Pastor Jacob and his girlfriend were there, along with Pastor Joe and his family, the two of them brought along by Pastor Lance because they work with the youth. Pastor Camille was there too, as was a friend from the office, Beth Parks, who has several degrees of black belt from another school. Seats were saved for the immediate family, but some sat on the floor directly in front of us to see the whole evening.

As with each of these, there was the standard flow of things: warm-ups, sparring, self-defense demonstrations, and then the form demonstration as well. At the end, as always, there is the moment where the belt is tied, each side of the belt held by someone who was there along for the journey. For this one, Mom and I held these ends, and pulled the knot for this big accomplishment. The rest of the family was there, all of us in front of the class as Bart and Chris spoke about Madison's journey. Everyone cheered when she got her black belt. It was a very special time, this completely epic moment I know she won't forget. She's the first black belt in the family, and she's very much earned this one. She's been dedicated, hard-working, faithful, and relentless. She's talented, and focused, and just in love with taekwondo. Below are pictures and even movies from tonight. We've got a lot to look through, a lot of happy memories of this unforgettable day.