Tae Kwon Do rocks!

Fair warning: this will smack of shameless pride in T-man’s hard work and success.  He’s been studying for years, and the extra work he put in to earn his deputy black belt was intense.  Watching him demonstrate his skills on Saturday was thrilling and nerve-wracking all at once…

We’ve loved watching T-man doing his Poom Sae for every belt level.  He is grace and power and incredible skill.  It’s amazing!

T-man had a great self-defense partner who put in extra hours with him to prepare for the test.  He was awesome.

And self-defense #5, the one that had us holding our breath…

That’s the smile that said, “YES!  I nailed it!!”

T-man also had to do 2 on 1 sparring before performing his creative board break.  He designed a routine of kicks and punches to break five boards in under 60 seconds.

He also did a power break, busting his way through three boards.

When T-man sat down after his power break the grin spread over his face as he realized he’d really done it, he’d earned his black belt.  I love seeing this smile.  This is pure joy.