Me and Tae Kwon Do
My Tae Kwon Do years were real fun. I meet my first male best friend in my Tae Kwon Do class. His name is Jay. We always exercise and practice together. When I get kick badly by my classmates, I would tell him and he would kick them for me. We only became gym-mates for 6 months because my work sent me to Cebu City, a nice city in Visayas.
Highlights
In 1991 I started as white belt. After 2 months, I took the promotion test and accelerated to high yellow, bypassing the low yellow belt.
After another 2 months, I took another promotion test and accelerated to high blue, bypassing the low blue belt. It was my first time to spar with someone I don't know. I was so excited especially when my classmates shouted and cheered for me. My sparring partner fell on the floor within less than 3 seconds from the start of the fight with my first punch kick.
After another 2 months, I took another promotion test and got a low red. My sparring partner was a lot bigger than me and has a higher belt color. I got so afraid so I just kicked and attacked her. The fight had to be stopped 2 times and I made her cry. She was badly beaten by me.
~~~~~ Cebu ~~~~~ I continued to practice TKD in Cebu and met my female best friend there, also in my TKD class. Her name is Karen. It took so many months before I took my next promotion. I was having the time of my life just going to the gym 6 days a week and playing and practicing with my friends. I stayed in Cebu for 14 months before I moved again because of my work assignment.
Highlights I took my next promotion and accelerated to low brown. My sparring partner was a young boy in his teens. No beatings, just sparring to display our skills. I broke a 2" x 2" wood with an axe kick and a board with a side kick.
~~~~~ Cagayan De Oro ~~~~~ In Cagayan De Oro city in Mindanao, I still pursued TKD but I did not meet any new best friends there. After several more months, I took another promotion and finally got my black belt. I stayed in Cagayan De Oro for 13 months before I moved again to work in Davao City, also in Mindanao
Highlights I sparred with 2 brown belts at the same time. I broke a hollow block with a punch and a board with a flying kick over 7 people laying on the floor.
~~~~~ Davao ~~~~~ I still do TKD in Davao and Jay was once again my classmate. He’s originally from Davao City who just studied college in Manila. We trained for tournaments and went to Manila to join team competitions. Sadly though, we did not get any medals or trophies.
Highlights We went to Manila twice to compete. I got drunk for the first time in my life after a drinking spree with my teammates.
~~~~~ Manila ~~~~~ After 8 months, I had to go back to Manila and work again at the head office. I went back to my first gym in Manila. It’s still the same but the fun and exciting atmosphere was gone. My classmates were no longer there. No more competitions and no more higher levels to aim for. Then I attended the referee and instructor’s training. When I finished the training, I got my license to teach as assistant instructor. I also got the chance to experience being a referee in a tournament. After co-teaching for a while, I opened my own TKD class in one of the private gyms here in Manila. I had few students but it didn’t matter to me. I like what I was doing. Also, I only teach after my office which means I don’t really need the money I’m getting from teaching. Then my interest switched to computer programming. I wanted to explore the I.T. world more than TKD. That was the end of my TKD life.