27.12.2023 / Black belts promotions

Four guys at degree promotions

It is already a pre-Christmas ritual of many taekwondists in our country to meet in mid-December at a national seminar and then to finish the weekend with Dan's exams.

It was the same this year, and this time we had four sonkalers at the winter trials.

Because two of my direct students attended the exams, and because the Faltins are also close to my heart, I stayed in Moravia and attended the exams despite the pre-Christmas laziness. I enjoyed the Saturday evening with chatting over dinner, as there is usually little time to talk between practices. Ondra arranged nice accommodation for us in Velká Meziříčí, in the evening on arrival the view did not do the name of Panarama hotel honor, but in the morning it was beautiful.

I enjoyed these trials very much, in recent years I have been critical especially of the red belts, that even the young ones do not have enough effort and do not show the strength and dash adequate to their age and also the meaning of the red belt - danger. This time, however, I already liked the adepts for I. Dan, of course I saw the mistakes, but I see them in everyone, even in myself. But they practiced with passion, intensity, with heart. Both those of junior age and those a generation older.

On the second day, among other things, father and son - Jirka and Ondra Faltin - have already started. They practiced beautifully not only what we expected from them (routines), but also the often problematic tando matsogi. Jirka Faltin passed the information that he is a veteran and that special techniques are not part of his exam with silence and he did well enough even for a taekwondo player a generation younger.

At the IV. Dan was joined by Honza Dvoracek and Jirka Novak. Both of them trained even higher, especially in self-defense, tando matsogi and wiroku. Just as it should be - higher Dan is not just about the expected time, but about a deeper understanding of taekwondo and one's own body not only theoretically, but also practically. And because all four mentioned above train honestly and without excuses, they showed it in practice.

Jirka Novak even got the highest score from Grand Master Hwang - 67 points.

When I saw the boys, successful athletes even internationally, practicing, I thought about the disciplines of sport taekwondo, about the division into sport and traditional. Of course, it is true that one can specialize in only one discipline, that there are those who do not practice sport disciplines at all or, on the contrary, they practice self-defense and tando matsogi only for a while before the exams to "pass".

But I believe that taekwondo is only one thing and if my goal is to advance to the next technical level, I prepare well and it is a beauty to behold. And then when it's time for the European Championships again, I'll immerse myself in the sport training, but it will still be one taekwondo. And this alternation of attention, but still on the same path, can be part of a lifelong motivation to practice our beautiful taekwondo and deepen my knowledge and skill.

Our 4 Sonkal boys showed this in practice.