Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Succeeding

A  B&W Wednesday  post:
TKD focus dec 2010 TKDdec 2010 TKD
Beginning training month four:
It may not be a quick progression through the rainbow of belts, but this girl is perfecting her efforts exactly the way she should.  I am so very proud of her focus, determination, and perseverance.

Somedays it is hard for her to get through class.  She's tired. Getting up at 6 a.m. can really take a toll on a young one. 

She's studious.  Chi is working hard to become a "brick kid," so she's obsessed with grades and is frustrated when subjects seem difficult initially.

And Master N seems to have a more critical eye for Chi's errors than he does for other kids.  I don't know why he's picked her, but she's analyzed and scrutinized intensely.  By the end of class, her voice is failing from hollering Ki-hop at the top of her lungs.  She has to compensate for the softer voices of her fellow white belt (no tip) classmates who are younger.  She's repeating the same forms over and over because someone always messes up something, and even when she gets it perfect, there is always a requirement of push ups or some such penalty for something. 

When the first belt cycle began, I spent one class in tears watching my baby try to hold her own tears back as Master attacked her, kept her in push up position for minutes at a time, and then forced her to demonstrate her form solo while she gasped and squelched her sobs.  She's a trooper, and recovered well, but I've since tried hard not to miss another class lest she become his target that severely again.

3 comments:

Ashley Sisk said...

She clearly has a lot of potential - that's why he's so tough on her. I know you're proud.

satakieli said...

Love the post processing on these photos :)

Erika B said...

Love the focus and determination. Great action shots.

Erika B