Black Belt Overnighter

At our Taekwondo studio, we have a 6-month preparatory period preceding our annual black belt test, which takes place in January. We call it the "testing cycle" and each year we kickoff the cycle with the Black Belt Overnighter.

I've had the opportunity attend the Overnighter many times, both as a coach and as a testing candidate. Though we do generally the same things each time, I thought this year was especially enjoyable! That's partially because I'm a candidate this year (I always find it more fun to be testing, personally!) and partially because I'm testing with James! (James is testing for his 3rd Degree, and I'm testing for 4th.)

We started at 2:00pm last Friday afternoon. After a brief welcome from our master instructor, Master Sorenson, we launched right into our conditioning requirements. For our black belt test, we have six endurance drills that we are required to perform:

1. Roundhouse Kicks in 1 minute.  (100 minimum)
2. Knuckle pushups without pause. (10 minimum)
3. Banana [lay flat on the floor, lift feet, shoulder blades and arms ~6 inches off the floor] (60 seconds minimum)
4. Buddha [squat with thighs parallel to the floor] (60 seconds minimum)
5. Leg lifts in 1 minute. [laying on floor, lift straight legs vertical and back] (20 minimum)
6. Mile run (12 minute maximum)

I was anxious about meeting the conditioning requirements. Though the minimum requirements are not overly challenging (we set a base at the Overnighter, and then have to beat our scores about once a month until Black Belt Testing), my overall fitness is still recovering from having a baby three months ago. So, overall, I was fairly pleased with what I achieved at the Overnighter:

Roundhouse Kicks in 1 minute: I got 127 (James got 137)
Knuckle pushups: I got 21 (James got 40)
Banana: I got 1:05, which was the top time of our group (James 1:04)
Buddha: I got :54, so not quite the minimum required. (James got 1:44, the top time)
Leg lifts: I got 28 (James 34)
Mile run: I ran in 11:41 (James 7:25)

This gave us a baseline to work from. I'm excited to see how much I can progress as my body continues to recover, and I work hard over the next six months!

After the conditioning requirements, we did some housekeeping things, then I got to give a presentation on Meditation, to help everyone prepare for our meditation the following day (more on that below). I thought the presentation went well, though it's hard to tell how much the young guys absorbed. (Our youngest candidates this year are 10 years old.)

From there we went to the ropes course! This is always a highlight of the overnighter. We go to CLAS Ropes in Provo and do the high ropes. Not only is it a blast, but it also serves as a metaphor for overcoming fears/challenges, and working as a team.

James climbing to new heights!

Valerie on the zipline

Joel hanging out at the ropes course

This year, I got to do the giant swing, the zipline, and we all finished with an activity called Eskimo Blanket (see the video!)

We left the ropes course at 9pm and headed back the studio. I settled Joel down for the night, then we stayed up playing games for awhile (I continued my personal tradition of teaching everyone to play Blackjack). James and I went to bed around 1am, but some of the kids stayed up until 3 or so.

Master Page woke us all at 5am. We grabbed a "trail breakfast" and headed up Provo Canyon for our traditional sunrise hike to Stewart Falls. I wore Joel on the way up to the falls, which wasn't too bad, except for a couple of rocky bits where my balance was questionable. Once there, we each crossed under the waterfall in a metaphor of becoming a black belt. Then we settled down to meditate. The kids testing for 1st degree meditated for half an hour, 2nd degree for an hour, James for an hour and a half, and I got to meditate for two hours. The first hour or so wasn't super productive for me, because of the baby. (Note to self: leave babies behind for future meditations!) But he fell asleep in my arms, which thankfully allowed me to get into the mode. Once James was done, he came and stole the baby, and hiked down with Joel while I finished.

No, not sleeping. James eases his back during his one-and-a-half hour meditation.

Stewart Falls

Valerie during meditation

After the hike, we headed back to the studio, had brunch, then started working on our self defense demonstrations. James and I are super excited about our SD demo this year, not least because we get to be on a team together (with Mara and Molly!) These demos are one of the best parts of Black Belt Testing, and definitely the part that I have learned the most from, in the past.

And that was it! It was a great kickoff for testing. James and I are totally stoked to be testing together, and look forward to this exciting journey we have before us!