Ch 27 The Final Test

Alice, Jennifer, and I hung back as they asked for black belts to hold boards for the First Dan test. The last thing we needed was to get hurt seconds before our test. As they punched out, we got in a few last second stretches and then we all got up on our feet.

Sharon and Rolf were sitting next to each other along the wall, holding hands. They each gave us a thumbs up with their free hand. Linda quietly whispered, "Good Luck."

"Alice Loopy!" Master Taylor called. "Yes sir," Alice ran to the front. I was happy that Alice would be the first to line up. It meant I wouldn't be in the lead position, and Alice knew all of the forms the best.

"Natalie Quinn!" "Yes sir," I ran to the front where Jr. Master Jones stood waiting.

"Jennifer Bigelow!" "Yes sir!"

"Ray Harris" "Yes sir"

"Jamie Mallory" "Yes sir"

"Amanda Kelly" "Yes sir"

"Bob Peters" "Yes sir"

Master Taylor directed Jr. Master Jones to arrange Alice, me, and Jennifer in the front row with the other four in the second row. We punched in, did a few legs swings, and then some basic kicks. We went through several forms as a group, and then Master Garrett requested that we each do a different form simultaneously. Oh no! This was one of the things I was dreading. As long as someone else was performing the same form, I knew that if I forgot a move I could catch up in a split second. If my mind went blank now, I would be stuck in the middle of the form alone.

Luckily, Jr. Master Jones assigned me Pal Gwe Saw Chang – a form I knew well and liked. I concentrated on my form only, and tried to ignore what he assigned to everyone else. I made it through the form with no errors, while everyone else did their respective forms.

"Amanda?" Mr. Jones asked after we had completed our forms. "What form did I ask you to do?"

"Uh…uh… the first half of Pal Gwe Yuk Chang… followed by …the second half …of Tae Guek Chil Chang?...sir," Amanda answered hesitantly. Funny, I don't remember him assigning any mixed forms.

I heard a few chuckles from the black belts seated against the wall. "I'm pretty sure I just assigned you Pal Gwe Yuk Chang," Mr. Jones replied with an understanding grin.

"Oh," Amanda replied quietly. I felt bad for her. I had the same habit of accidentally switching forms in the middle.

"Fighting!" Master Lee commanded. The other black belts quickly jumped up to spar. Sharon stood in front of me, Linda in front of Jennifer, and Rolf in front of Alice.

"Free fighting, no contact," Jr. Master Jones commanded. "Si Jak!"

We sparred for what felt like ten minutes straight. Sharon wasn't going to let me off easily. She moved quickly and kicked high. With her height advantage, I had to move in to kick toward her and then move back quickly. Linda, on the other hand, was holding back on Jennifer. From the corner of my eye, I could see them laughing and smiling.

All of the other black belts were sent back to sit down, and we were told to stand in horseriding stance. While we held the position, the masters took turns asking questions.

"Alice," Master Emgrit said. "You talk about a group of friends in your paper. Coincidently, Jennifer and Natalie talk about the same thing. Did you guys get together to write your papers?"

"No, sir," Alice smiled. "Although we did all read each other's papers after they were complete."

"Jennifer," Master Barstow looked Jen's way. "In your paper, you say that you have gained many tips for helping you work on your stances. Can you give us an example?"

"Uh, yes…sir," Jen thought for a few seconds. "Well, like to help practice back stance, I stand in back stance in the shower… while I'm washing my hair." A giggle worked around the room.

"So, you should be pretty good at back stance then?"

"Uh, yes sir. I should," Jen replied. I was staring straight ahead, but I imagined she had a smirk on her face. Master Barstow nodded his head to Jr. Master Jones.

"Everyone, arae sonnal maki dwui koobi," Jr. Master Jones commanded. We all moved to back stance with a low knife hand block. It was somewhat of a relief just to change positions. The masters continued asking questions, asking a few to those in the second row before they came back to me.

"Natalie," Master Taylor addressed me. "Like Alice, your paper talks a lot about friendships you have made in Tae Kwon Do. But you go on to talk about some other people too."

"Yes sir."

"How do you think your Tae Kwon Do experience has changed due to Justin and Dustin Smart?" Master Taylor wanted to know.

I hadn't been prepared for this question, so I took a few seconds to think before I tried to answer. "Well, sir… I think it is… better since I met them. I think they have both taught me a lot about who I am… and hopefully I have taught them something as well." I thought of Dustin's progression through the belt ranks, and how I was proud of him.

"I think it has given me someone, besides myself, to look out for." I thought of the lessons I had learned about myself, about how I jumped to conclusions incorrectly. I hoped I would learn to change. Tears welled up in my eyes as I thought that I had almost let Justin slip away.

"They have completed my life, sir," I finally stated. My right leg starting shaking slightly.

Next, we broke boards. We only had to complete two breaks, but a total of five boards. We got to choose our own kicks. I choose an axe kick for two boards and a side kick for three boards. I broke them each on the first try, but my ankle scraped against the edge of the boards on the side kick. It stung a little.

"Sparring black tip," Master Lee announced. Jr. Master Jones called the black tips up to the front. He put Justin in front of me and Dustin in front of Alice.

"Justin?" Master Lee asked.

"Yes sir?" Justin turned to the front table.

"You don't hurt Natalie.""No sir."

"You understand?" Master Lee nodded toward Justin.

"Yes sir. I understand completely," Justin replied. Master Lee winked at Justin, and Justin turned back to face me. He smiled at me sweetly, and on command dropped his right foot back to fighting stance. His kihap probably sounded like a yell to everyone else, but to me it was a short melody.

The sparring lasted only about a minute. Justin moved in and out, but was less aggressive than Sharon. His plump lips and deep blue eyes distracted me most of the time.

"Everyone turn to front," Master Lee instructed us. He then nodded to Master Taylor.

"Justin, I think that your paper is kind of interesting. Especially in light of what Natalie has said," Master Taylor explained. I had not gotten a chance to read Justin's paper. He kept telling me that it wasn't just right until it was too late. I wondered what was so interesting about it.

I looked around to see what Alice and Jennifer might be thinking, but they were looking straight ahead to Master Lee. Jack Matthews was over in the corner organizing the boards as usual. He was getting a few ready for the next round of board breaking.

"I would like you to read an excerpt from your paper Justin, if that's all right," Master Taylor continued. I wondered if Justin would refuse. He had been so protective of the paper, would he now be willing to share it with everyone in the room?

"Yes sir," Justin agreed. He walked to the table and Master Taylor handed him the paper turned to a specific page. Justin turned to face us, and looked down to the paper.

Justin cleared his throat and began reading, "If it hadn't been for Natalie Quinn I never would have joined Tae Kwon Do. I'm not sure if Dustin would have continued taking class if it had not been for Natalie's encouragement. Although the lessons I have learned in class are invaluable, the single greatest gift I have gained is the love of my life." Justin paused to clear his throat again.

"Master Lee has always told us that family is the most important thing. He has noted that if we need to be with our family, it is okay if we need to miss class. And if given a choice I would chose my family over Tae Kwon Do. Thankfully, for me, that is not necessary as we can come to class together. Natalie is a part of our family. I love her with all my heart, and the fact that she loves my son just makes me love her even more. I want to spend the rest of my life, in and out of Tae Kwon Do, with Natalie." The tears which had formed were now sliding down my cheeks.

"I just hope that Natalie feels the same as I do, and wants to spend her life with me."

Justin leaned toward the master's table, and Master Taylor handed him a small box. Justin opened the box to reveal a diamond ring, and knelt down on one knee.

"Natalie, you are everything to me. Will you marry me?" Justin's blood shot eyes bored into me, and I was breathless. I sucked in a deep breath before I could answer.

"Yes," I choked. Applause broke out around the dojang.

"Natalie," Master Lee said. "If you want to marry Justin, you must break this board right now." He motioned for Mr. Matthews to bring over a single board. Mr. Matthews and Jr. Master Jones held the board. Before they were even set in place, I pulled back my right hand and slammed my palm through the board. It broke easily, and I rushed to throw my arms around Justin's neck and kiss his sweet lips. Applause traveled around the dojang again, along with laughter.

The rest of the test was a blur as we punched out and bowed to the masters. As I sat along the wall, watching the Fourth and Fifth Dan tests, I realized how lucky I was. Not only were Justin and Dustin beside me, but so were my four best friends. I now realized that Alice and Jennifer had been willing to endure my anger to help Justin make me happy. They knew that if they didn't force me to resolve my issues quickly, then my happy ending might have been jeopardized.

One of the things I had learned in Tae Kwon Do was that sometimes you had to force yourself to do the work. Even though you didn't necessarily savor the grueling workouts, in the end the hard work paid off. The same was true in life and relationships. Sometimes the true friends are those willing to complete the difficult task that they know you need, even though you and they don't like it. And in the end, your friendship grows because of it.

The End