A Message from a Son from Mother Upon Receiving His Black Belt (Great parallels to TaeKwonDo meaning
We are here to let our son, Andrew Xavier, know how proud we are that he is receiving his black belt in Tae Kwon Do today at Johnson's Tae Kwon Do Academy.
Tae Kwon Do -- the words literally translated are "Foot Hand Art". So, I'll use those terms to summarize how we feel about his achievement.
Foot: Andrew has taken great leaps forward in his self-confidence and strength.
I am glad that he was not immediately able to go through ALL of his belt tests and pass each one on the first try.
Instead, he had to learn to develop his strength and skills to go beyond a "No Pass" score
and feel how great it is to pass a difficult and challenging test.
Each belt test that he passed was made sweeter knowing that it was not an easy achievement.
Hand: Through the encouragement of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, Andrew has learned that providing a helping hand to others is important and satisfying.
Helping others (like other students or even in volunteer projects for the community), has made him less inward-focused.
Also, his biggest challenge in passing each belt-test has been board-breaking.
But, with the skills he has been taught and the self-confidence he's developed, he can break his orange board with his bare hands, just as effortlessly as his first board.
Art: It takes some soft-skills to balance the many activities you are doing successfully, Andrew, with a winning season in soccer and passing your piano exams and doing well in school.
We are proud of the self-discipline and perseverance you have developed here from the martial arts taught by the great instructors at Johnson's Tae Kwon Do.
And, we truly appreciate how Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have designed and maintained the school
to promote positive psychological behavior in students, as well as develop their physical talents.
Andrew, once again, I'll say,
"Good work, son. You're doing great and we are proud of you".
