Alright, I have been trying to wait and post this after catching up with my Dad to get pictures of these events, but I will just have to post the pictures in the third and final part of this story.

O.k., where was I? Oh yeah, my Dad was in my tae kwon do class in his 35 year old judo uniform. I now was on a mission! My Dad was on one too. He decided that this was as good a time to break out that uniform as any. So after class, I told my Dad that in tae kwon do in the 1990′s, we wear pants down to our ankles and sleeves to our wrists, but the sleeves could be rolled back to mid forearm. I went out and got my Dad a uniform, and he looked great in it.

Our tae kwon do classes became a bonding session for Dad and I. Dad came to class like clockwork every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday without fail. He didn’t let weather or anything else get in the way. Being an ex-Navy guy, he was like clockwork. I mean his arrival time was ALWAYS within a minute, barring traffic issues. My Dad, drove thirty five miles one way to get to his regular tae kwon do classes. Starting tae kwon do as a 59 year old, he worked hard to get in shape. In fact, he was just downright motivated to get a regular workout in with us.

Once Dad got heavily into a training routine, we began to notice one thing that he needed to change in his routine. You see, once classes ended, my Dad who had been smoking since his teens, would go out in front of the studio about a half hour after class, and he would light up his pipe. Often, he would stand right out in front and light up. My memory tells me that he would light up even in uniform, but then again something about that memory just doesn’t seem right. Well you know, Dad realized that there was something wrong with this picture.

Dad had something to share with my brothers and me. He informed us shortly before his 60th birthday (after we had shared that it might not look to good for the business to stand out in front of the dojang and smoke) that he would stop smoking on his 60th birthday. Dad quit cold turkey on that day, and has never looked back. It is great to know that my tkd hobby eventually helped influence my Dad’s decision to quit smoking after a lifetime of doing so. There was a lesson to be learned in that for me as well. If I put my mind to something, even if it is addictive, I can accomplish my goal.

You know, one of the biggest things that Dad and I had to overcome was my Dad’s need to continue to be Dad. When I would instruct class, my Dad’s natural instinct was to help me instruct, which often lead to his taking over the instruction. You see, when it came to punching, my Dad knew what he was talking about. After all, he had been a Golden Gloves boxer in the 1950′s and had a successful career. He was a pretty boy who didn’t want to mess up his face, so he retired from boxing before breaking up his nose and face. Anyway, it took my brother who himself was a red belt (and would earn his first dan black belt under me) to come in and help my Dad to understand that I was the instructor no matter what. I had a difficult time setting my father straight with this. I guess the respect factor for him being my dad was stronger than my need to speak up. But we did fix this issue, and this was another turning point in our relationship.

Well over time, Dad hit several milestones. My father would continue training in tkd without missing a beat. And after several years of training, he eventually reached his goal and helped me fulfill my mission. That’s right, the mission that I had been on for two and a half years. The mission to help Dad earn his black belt. On this festive occasion, my Dad was presented with his black belt by our Grand Master, Young Il Kong 9th Dan. I wish I could tell you the date. (I promise to show you the pictures in the next post.)

Well, since I mentioned a third part, you know this isn’t the end of the story. In my next post, you’ll learn how my Dad earned a picture in Black Belt Times Magazine. As many years as I had been practicing and competing, and I never had one in the magazine :-) ! Oh and you will also learn how tkd saved his life.

So stay tuned and I will get those pictures.

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