Dan went to his first Tae Kwon Do competition today. He competed in breaking and assisted as a ref. Placed third in his event, by breaking 3 boards, elbow, punch and kick. Fun to watch, he had a great time.

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Dan and I spent some time this afternoon at Mu Han Total Martial Arts with his instructors taking photos. Dan joined Mu Han back in 2011 and it is a huge part of his life. He earned his 1st degree Black Belt last fall, is about to start training to be an assistant instructor in Franklin and continues to learn from the Masters and Instructors. Joining the Mu Han family is one of the best decisions we have made for Dan. Master Kang, Master Oh, Master Jae Lee and Instructor Jake were all there to demo moves for me to photograph… and in between photos they reminded Dan where he can get with practice and focus and that he should respond “Yes Sir” even when I ask him to do something.

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Continuing the Black Belt celebration for Dan, figured we could work it into #toywednesday. I get asked how I pose some of these, so I figured I would add a behind the scenes shots. Wedge a tooth pick over a piece of paper, into the crease of a table and you got  a jumping man.

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The passion this kid has for Taekwondo is remarkable. He has played soccer, baseball, basketball, football, none of them came close to mattering. And in a world where the jocks rule the schools and community is driven by sports, not fitting into one of those 4, well, can be noticeable. We had taken Dan to a few free classes at different Martial Art studios, never going past the trial period.  It was not until our friends the Johnsons suggested trying Mu Han in Franklin, that I ever thought all we were doing was collecting free white scrubs. The first week there I knew we would be sticking around.  He was ready and this was the right place. He has been prepared for each belt test he was eligible for. Always practicing and earning the requirements so he could advance one step closer to Black. A broken leg set him back 6 months and he never let it stop him. The day the cast came off he asked when his next class was. He loves to help the younger kids when he assists as an instructor in training. This week he earned the Black Belt topping it off with a ceremony where he and other deserving students graduated with family and friends standing by. I could not be more proud, I gave him a hug and told him so, and as soon as I said “You did it!” he answered with “I need to start on my next degree”.

Thank you to all his instructors over the last few years, Master Kang, Master Oh, Master Lee, Instructor Jake, Instructor Christian, Instructor Thomas, Instructor Joe, Instructor Joshua, Instructor John and all the others over the years.

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