Now what?

When I play "catch up" with people and they ask me how my Taekwondo is going, I tell them about how my daughter and I got our black belts last November. They inevitably always ask the question "So, are you still doing it?"

Very valid question. The stats I've heard in class are that only 1 in 100 people who start a martial art eventually get their black belt. Only 1 in 1000 attain a sec degree black belt.

For my daughter, she is currently not continuing. Part of being a kid is trying all kinds of activities to see what you love. She's currently on a basketball kick. That doesn't mean she won't come back to it. She might eventually but for now she needs something different.

As for me, the answer is yes, I'm continuing. My first step on this path is in May when I do my first "Tip Test".  The tip test is part of the normal black belt test weekend and we do the same tests with the sparring, meditation, running, kicking techniques and curriculum. There are four areas of the curriculum that I'll be tested on: kicking combinations, forms, weapons, and one-step sparring. The only difference is that the curriculum is a combination of new stuff and review of curriculum we've already learned. I've already learned all the new curriculum. I'm just perfecting my technique until then. I have to do a "Tip Test" every 6 months as I progress toward my second degree.

I'm also training to become an instructor. On that same black belt test weekend, there is a test on Friday night where I can test to become a "junior instructor" (aka "junior kyosa"). Before that time, I have to assist the instructors in 25 different classes and also be well versed in the curriculum for every belt level. I have to show an aptitude for teaching as well. I can't become a full certified instructor until I am a certified second degree black belt in 2 and 1/2 years.