Life is a series of journeys. Most people do not realize that until they along in years. I realized that back when started to re-examine my faith and life. That being said, I currently have several different journeys that I am on. Some of which are going to be interesting because I do not know what is coming next, such as father of 2 daughters one of which is a pre-teen. Some of which I know where I am going and what I am doing for the next few years, these include my job and a couple of others. And finally there are 2 that I am on that continue to bring me greater enjoyment and enlightenment each and every day. Those are my journeys as both a student of martial arts (Tae Kwon Do) and as a teacher of the same.
Most of the time these journeys run their separate course however there are times when one or more will overlap and sometimes become interwoven with each other. This past weekend was one of those times. This weekend, I had a rank test as a TKD student, I judged testing of other students and both my daughters also had rank testings. So you see that I had a full and eventful weekend. As a student I had a very successful but challenging test, that I am happy to say I passed. As an Instructor I was able to see my students stand up and show what they have learned and I am happy to say that those testings went very well. Finally I was a father who had his 2 girls testing for rank. The oldest one was testing for her 3rd Degree Black belt and the younger one for her 1st Degree level 4. Both important for all the same reasons, however the older one was a major testing, not many students make it all the way to Black belt, much less all the way to 3rd Degree Black. I am happy to say that both girls passed their tests. The older one is now one of only maybe 20 or so 3rd Degree Black Belts at our academy, yet she still wants to continue her training, compared to some who when they have reached a certain rank have simply stopped. Those sort of decisions make the journey that much more enjoyable..
