Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting!!! DJCurtiss' Tae Kwon Do Experience with the Tiger Claw School of Martial Arts.

Now that I've completed the MBA program, I decided to begin a journey of spiritual and physical disipline. I am learning Tae Kwon Do from the oh so talented Instructor J, who is not only a 2nd Degree Black Belt, accomplished Artist, and T-Shirt Designer, but also a very good friend. My goal is to become a Black Belt, so I too can teach Tae Kwon Do and be called Instructor C... kinda like this whole "Men In Black" name thing. But I have a very long way to go, many muscles to stretch and many more forms to learn.... I am quite content being the student.

On July 1, 1997, I began my first class awkward and filled with anxiety as I walked into the gym that would be our school's first DoJang. Surrounded by weights, machines and testosterone, I struggled to complete 10 pushups and something that resembled a "hurdler" stretch. Within two and a half weeks, I had earned my first belt... the White Belt. I was amused by the definition of the White Belt, which summed up my feelings; "Innosence, the beginning....you know nothing about Tae Kwon Do."

By the end of the summer of 1997, we changed our school's location to a larger private room in Market Station, Leesburg (a good two flying kicks from Master J's art studio!!!) to accomodate the growing number of students. On September 4, 1997, I earned my Yellow belt!!! And I even have a picture of Instructor J smiling over my success. I am very proud to be on my way up the ladder of rainbow color belts and I am now one more rung closer. Being the highest student belt in the school and my love of helping people has naturally placed me in a leadership role. For the next two months, I worked on my forms and test requirements outside of class and concentrated on helping the other students succeed during class. Though my inner creed is that "I teach best what I need to learn", I find it extremely rewarding to share my knowledge and watch the other students progress.

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By November 13, 1997, I had gained my Green Belt and was warned by Master J that this was the "last easy test I'll ever take". I recall him mumbling something about cement and my head.... but I'm sure he was joking... well, at least I hope he was joking!!! My biggest accomplishment and honor to this date occurred on December 2, 1997, when Master J ceremoniously presented me with a Certificate of Merit for my efforts and dedication to the"Hoe Rang Ee Bal Toap"(Tiger Claw) school and officially made me a Student Instructor. I am very appreciative of this recognition and even more excited about being that more closer to my goal of being called Instructor C !!! A lot has happened since my last entry. In late January, our temporary DoJang was sold off to a capitalist Credit Union who immediately moved in and began reconstructing the room to fit their needs within a week. But, not after we were able to practise my side kicks into the dry wall!!! One of the more funnier moments was during the kids class, Instructor J, who nevers loses his tempor, pretended to get angry with me and threw a side kick, crashing through the dry wall... luckily, I jumped out of the way. The kids have all behaved properly ever since that day. Later in the adult, class, Instructor J allowed me to do the same. Their was the "papa" hole which was about 3' in diameter and my hole which was only 1' in diameter... and it only took me three trys!!! On January 27, 1998, we officially moved into a tiny space across from our old temporary DoJang, next to the Korean cleaners. The space is definitely small and with the growing number of students, we had to tone down many of our regular practise routines. But over the months, we have all grown accustom to our little home and proceeded forward in our learning. On February 10, J was out of town for his son's birthday and allowed me to lead class for the first time. I was a little disappointed that only 4 students showed up to the kids class, but it worked out just as well, because I was quite nervous. The funny thing was how fast time went and I never got to do many of the excercises I had "dreamed" up to do that day. For the adult class, that day, I lead the stretches and our new black belt student, Julie, lead us through the punches, kicks and forms excercises. All in all, it was a great and humbling experience for me and I have a new level of respect for Instructor J. As the month passed by, J allowed me to lead the stretches and part of class. A new DoJang was being contemplated and planned to open in late March and I was debating about holding off on my Green Stripe test until we officially moved in. But the weeks kept going by, the other students were all catching up to my level and I was ready to test and move on. So, on March 10, 1998 (Tuesday) after leading a kids class, working out in the adults class for another hour, J tested me. This was one of my most enjoyable tests. After a brief verbal quiz on some Korean history and vocabulary, J tested my kicks and punches and then forms. Then, I got to break my first board with a hammer fist, receiving a good response from the onlooking students and after that, I got to spar Instructor J for several minutes. Out of breathe, aching muscles and confident that I passed, J ended the test with my self-defence learnings. I walked out of there with a blue stripe on my green belt (5th geup), a huge smile on my face, a little larger ego and a score of 99%!!! Though all of my classmates are doing well and each have accomplished wonderful things, I must give a shout out to Jennifer who was the first person in our school to get a 100% test on her yellow belt. I admit, I wanted to be the first to do that, but she really deserved this great accomplishment. "Way to go Jen... you da' bomb!!!" There... I swallowed my pride and gave recognition to where it belongs.... .

On March 26, 1998, the Tiger Claw school moved once again to a more permanent residence, to what would become the White Temple. The doors to the new DoJang opened at 4:30 when I arrived to move a few remaining boxes to the far corners. The new space, conveniently located behind Instructor J's studio, was huge in comparison, but the extra space was quickly diminished by the many moving boxes that lingered about for a good month. Nevertheless, all of us were very proud to finally have a home of our own and we managed to delicately workout around the obstacles. On May 9, we had our Grand Opening for the Martial Art School and Instructor J's Studio. Though the feature presentation was Grandma Luge from the US Virgin Island Olympic Team, the school as a whole stole the show with our 40 minute demonstration. Every student arrived in uniform and performed 100% for friends and family, it was a proud moment for all of us and the hard work that had previously went into preparing for night disipated with enthusiastic applauds, sincere congratulations and huge smiles all around. The White Temple, so named after a few of us students spent several long nights painting the original grey walls, has now become our home. After the hectic weeks of preparing for the Grand Opening had finally passed, I began concentrating on my next belt level. Attaining my blue belt was paramount to my original annual goal and I only had two months left. I started working out on Sundays with another student and constantly reviewed every block, kick, punch and stance I had learned. By the end of May, Instructor J invited me to test. Not being in a 100% emotional state of mind (ehem), I opted to wait till June 2 to actually test. As my anticipation built up through the kids class, I was so disappointed when nobody showed up for the adult class before my test. I took the opportunity to have a "private" lesson with Instructor J before test time and I was thankful that a few students and some of my friends arrived in time to see me test. The test was very similar to the previous tests, with the addition of two 1 1/2 minute sparring matches that lasted over 3 minutes each and I had to punch one board in half and side kick another board that had the state of Georgia drawn upon it. (sorry... a definite inside joke) At the end of the test, Instrustor J's only memerable comment was, "I'm gonna have to review the video tape before I grade this." Huh? Did I mess up? I pensively drove home that night, excited that I had survived and side kicked my "issues", but quite concerned on what Instructor J had seen. I watched the video twice and criticized everything... leaving me with an empty feeling as I went to bed. It wasn't till Thursday, as I stood in front of the kids class, that Instructor J announced that I had not only passed above the required 95% to obtain yet another yellow star for my DoBok... but I was the second student in the history of the school to receive a 100% test!!! And to think, the first 100% student had previously moved to Atlanta and didn't even see me obtain this great achievement... 'pischa'!!! This is not an exercise... it's a stretch!!! - This statement seemed to mock me as I began to learn my new requirements for my next level; the coveted Blue Belt with a sewn in Red Stripe. Had it been an uphill battle or a downhill slide, reaching this goal would have merely been an exercise. Not to say that an exercise would have been any more or less harder... but more of a regiment of learning, then repeating what was taught. No, getting to the Blue Stripe Level was definitely a stretch, for I had finally reached a plateau in my TKD journey. And the next plateau wasn't a trip to the valley and back up again... it was a stretch, from one plateau to another large peak somewhere in the distance. Somewhere lost in the clouds of contentment. After reaching my one year goal a month ahead of schedule, I truly felt that I could accomplish just about anything. I even did a hammer fist break through three practise boards to demonstrate my confidence and remind myself of this fact. But as the summer weeks slipped by, I found my motivation to move onward dwindling and falling closer to a sales term called "the Comfort Zone". "The Comfort Zone" is the point in which a sales person reaches his personal goal and commission level to live comfortablly without any extra effort and loses the desire and need to sell anymore. And as the school gained more new students, I found it more fun to teach the stuff I knew than to learn the techniques and kicks I didn't know. The realization of my slacking off set in when I was invited to test in early October. I knew the form and I understood the kicks, but I was less than pleased with my ability to effectively and properly execute each with the finesse for the level at which I was testing. And I quickly discovered that I wasn't able to break a practise board with a back hook. Panic began setting in as the test date came closer and I desperately practised every spare moment I had. I opted to postpone the test one more week to mentally prepare myself. October 27, 1998 came and I knew that my wandering as a Blue Belt was about to end. In reflection, I don't really think more time would have made much of a difference... it was time to end this exercise and stretch across the valley of perfection to the next plateau. After a heavy workout during the kids class and last minute reviews during the adult class, I soon found myself gasping for air in front of Instructor J as he made me perform the plethra of kicks I knew in my arsenal. After a series of one-step sparring exercises and self-defence techniques, Instructor J had me do several forms from previous tests. Those didn't give me too much trouble, but as I headed into my new form worn out and again out of breathe, I had to redo it three times before getting it right. (Thank God for the "do over" button!!!) I then took my time preparing myself for the two 2.5 minute sparring matches with J and our other Black Belt, Julie. I actually felt confident with this portion of the test, until J asked me to try and bring my kicks above his waist. Three minutes later I was wishing that I could just raise my legs off the ground and J stopped the first match. I sat down for a couple of minutes, regaining my breathe and composure, then J matched me up with Black Belt Julie for my second spar of the night. Luckily for me, Julie is much shorter than J and I didn't have to lift my leg any higher than I can to hit her on her chest guards. An added bonus, Julie immediately went on the offensive allowing me to block and defend, but appearing that I was really sparring. J caught on after 1.5 minutes and had Julie back off... that was when I knew the last stretch was going to be difficult. I gave it my best, but the air on this new plateau is much thinner and I was exhausted. After afew short minutes of wheezing, J brought out the last stretch of my test, three peices of wood for me to break. I decided to use a back hook kick, knife hand chop and a simple ax kick for the last break. As we set up classmates to hold the wood, J prominently held up the peice of wood for my back hook kick. It was a knot ridden peice of #2 pine with the words "you can't break me" scrawled across the front. The sound of my heart pounding was silenced as I threw my heal against my Goliath. The distinct "pop" of bone against wood echoed throughout the dojang as I reset for a second try. Again, the eery sound of wood not breaking could be heard beneath the gasps of my classmates. Determined, I tried a third time... and still nothing!!! I turned and sliced through the second peice with the knife hand chop and the third peice of wood crumpled beneath my ax kick. As the onlookers clapped, I refaced the 1st peice one last time... and still nothing. I was unable to break the #2 pine with my back hook kick. Though I lost a couple of points from my grade, I was still happy that I had reached the next plateau. But, it was more like I was hanging on the ledge trying to pull myself up, because I still had the "you can't break me" board taunting me. As a punishment, I had to carry the wood slate with me everywhere I went, until I conquered it. After the kids class the Thursday after, I regained my confidence (and breathe) and tried again, using a back kick option instead. I was feeling a little cocky until the third try and I decided that I was tired of carrying this knot ridden board around with me to business meetings. So... on my final (fourth) try... the last of my stretch was completed and I finally earned the coveted Blue Belt with the sewn in Red Stripe.

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April 23, 1999 - The ladder to my Black Belt has become steeper since I climbed atop of the Blue Stripe rung on October 27, 1998. Whereas previously each level was accomplished at a steady pace, the rungs are now spaced farther and farther apart, slightly out of reach towards my ultimate goal. Gone are the days of demonstrating the simple mechanics of every kick, punch, block and form and set before me is the task of perfecting all that I know, right down to tieing my Dobok. Only through persistant redundancy of the basics would I be able to grasp a finger hold of the next level called Red Belt. It has been said that the Taekwondo Journey towards the Black Belt is similiar to that of an individual quest to conquer a mountain. Whereas the adventure begins at the foothills leading to the cascading rock and earth. And only a few actually reach the real climb up the mountain, only to find that each successful plateau leads to a more difficult climb. The Red Belt Level is a dichotomy of viewing the beauty of the valley and foothills behind and encountering the cliffs ahead. For most, the latter site would be enough to smile and return home, satisfied of ones own accomplishments. For others, the desire to follow in the footsteps of only a few before would be shear excitement to continue forth. But for this adventurer, the path is no more clearly marked than that preceeding to this point. This vrgin mountain has not been tamed, no paths to follow, and the only guide is an unfinished map that solely states; "you are here". Atop of the burden of spiritfully blazing the trail for others behind and striving to reach the top as an individual goal, the challenge becomes arduous while overcoming physical limitations as well. A bird with one wing will solely hobble around in the grass until it is eatten by a cat, but a fly in the same predictament will continue trying until it tires from exhaustion or is swatted dead from making to much noice. Thus, with all of the expectatious burdens, individual goals and physical challanges, this adventurer continues with not less than even one tenth of spirit, attitude and desire to continue than the day he first started the journey. The weeks preceeding the day of my Red Belt test seemed noneventful, less a few momentous events. In Novemeber, Instructor J and 1st Dan Julie both tested for their new belt levels. The new year brought on many new students and a third class was added to accomodate the extra children. And in March, I twisted my ankle during a snow storm, postponing my test for a few more weeks. Strangely, when the day arrived for my big day, I wasn't nervous about testing. My only major concern was if I was going to be able to endure the hour long test. That afternoon, I reviewed my terminology, Student Creed and scanned the History of Taekwondo. I went in during the second class and practised my forms and took it easy through the adult workout before my test. When test time arrived, I was mentally and physically ready to get it done. The Dojang filled with friends and fellow students by 6:30; I was ecstatic over the turnout and support. As usual, the test began with a brief quiz on Korean Terminology, punches and kicks. It went well until I tried to rush through my back kick and continually lost my balance. We then moved on to one step sparring, starting with the first ones in the Senior White Belt level all the way through my new two step sparring excersises. I felt pretty confident with my one steps as well as the self defense we did afterwards. I then went through the seven Taeguk forms and reaching the half way mark after completing my weapon form. Surprisingly, I was still breathing and I knew at that point that I was going to make it through. I suited up for my three 3 minute sparring matches, which began with Instructor J. I then sparred 2nd Dan Julie and ended the bout with Blue Belt Corey. By the time I was sparring Corey, I could hardly lift my legs and would dance around avoiding his kicks and punches. With the final stretch done, I ended my test with three brieaks: a back hook kick, elbow break and back kick. I took me three tries on each of the kicks to actually break the wood, but my elbow break went clean through. I was just glad to be done and I smiled as I looked around at all my friends clapping for me. Though I wanted to get a 100% on the test, I reviewed the video afterwards and realized where I needed to perfect my basics. Obviously, my back kick needs improving as well as my tornado and flying side kick and my deep front stances in my forms need to be better defined. My forms are totally memorized, but I could use some minor adjusting of hand placement and adding pizzaz to the demonstration of each form. I am comfortable with my self defense, one steps and terminology, so for my next test I will only have to practise the new words and review the previos ones. But most importantly, I will need to build up my endurance for the last two tests as the sparring will become more difficult and longer. December 23, 1999 [written a long time after the fact] A few of those who have been following my journey on this web page and in real life have asked me, "why didn't you finish your journey?" Well, the truth is, as I write this now, I have gone on and now I'm going to try and play catch up. But, the real fact of the matter is this: Receiving the first Red Belt for our school was very exciting and it looked really cool with our new Jong Bong Black Uniforms. And though the next Belt level did not seem that far away, it looked a lot farther than it was. Literally!!! In August, about 2 months before my next test, I went in for major eye surgery as my juvenile diabetes had caused my retinas to bleed and I was unable to see through the blood spots stuck on my vitrious (this goopy stuff in the center of your eye that holds the shape of the eye). The time leading up to this point had been pretty easy as I had quickly learned my new Taeguk form and new Jong Bong form. The new kicks, Jumping Back Kick and Spinning Crescent Kick were variations of kicks I already knew. The Self Defense were moves we've practised and created in previous classes and the new two steps were three that I had created on my own. So, what seemed to be an easy jump to the very cool Red Belt with the sleek Black through the middle, turned out to be a small squablle with life and prayers that my sight would be normal. Though I missed several weeks of class, I spent the time playing Donkey Kong and visualizing my forms in my mind during my recovery. By September, I returned to class, without the blessings of my doctor, and took it gently and very slowly. The classes passed and my right eyed healed nicely. Soon I was sparring again with new head gear that Master J had purchased for me with a face guard to protect my head from being jolted by students with extreme flexibility, including Ms. Jennifer, who had returned from Atlanta. As my confidence grew and hopes to test were drawing near, my doctor informed me that another surgery would be preformed on my left eye in January, 2000. This news excellerated the need to test soon. As my busy work scheduled slowed down, we got together once again on December 23 for a quick little Senior Red Belt test. This test was a lot easier, because due to my recent surgery, Master J waived the sparring part of my test. But he did inform me that I would have to spar twice as much on my next test!!! Knowing that I didn't have to conserve my energy for the sparring part of the test, I gave my all for the Taeguk Forms and Jong Bong forms. I did have problems with the jumping Back Kick... as put on my test paper, "I wasn't jumping". And I made a few minor mistakes, but overall, I passed with a 97.4% and I'm now on to the second part of the journey... the beginning!!!

Now I must return to my "hurdler" stretches, forms, sparring and all the other cool things I've learned to get ready for the 2nd part of my journey.... The Black Belt!!! "Pil Soon!!!"