He did it! Jonas finally earned his black belt in tae kwon do! From the beginning, he was determined to get his black belt. This wasn't just a casual commitment for him. He has worked hard for this, especially recently. He has had to attend additional classes each week for up to 2 more hours as he learned different forms and self-defense techniques. There were several other black belt candidates that were in his class that didn't get to move on quite yet because they weren't ready, but Jonas was! He was able to earn his senior red belt a few weeks ago (which was a red belt with a black stripe) and continue to work towards the black belt.
As a part of his black belt training, he needed to come up with his own personal form in addition to learning and memorizing four other forms (this is the "art" portion of martial arts). He chose the bo staff as his weapon for his form. He practiced each of the forms every morning on top of all the class practices. On Thursday, October 2nd, he had his black belt test. This was a private class where just the candidates attended. Each candidate was adjudicated by a judge on different forms and self-defense techniques. It was definitely a more rigorous test. Jonas was a bit nervous, but he was well prepared. He sailed through the belt test with flying colors! He was so elated when he finished. He came flying out of the dojo and excitedly reported that he used so much force and intensity during his personal weapons form that he actually broke the tip off of his bo staff. Yikes! Friday, October 10th, Jonas (and the other candidates) got to showcase their skills for friends and family. I think the highlight of the evening was when Jonas performed his personal weapons form (and he thankfully didn't break his staff again). Each candidate set their form to music. Jonas chose an instrumental version of Thunderstruck for his form. At the end of the night, each candidate was finally awarded their black belt. Jonas was beaming! He had every right to feel proud of himself in that moment...we all did too! Congrats buddy!
