Jung Su Won training: the impossible is possible!

( This is not me in the picture, nor is it my picture, but I thought it would make for great illustration).

I was just told that all I am posting is 20 plus years old, and that has actually been true so far. But I felt like I can't just tell you about me and my training without giving you a little background first.

Maybe this background is getting a bit too long?

Anyhow, I'll jump forward in time a little bit, to the time in California, and will dwell on one of my most memorable testings at Jung SuWon.

You see, I have always been very afraid of heights. As in, VEEEERY! Even stepping on a short step ladder would bring beads of sweat to my forehead.

Even I was a proud blue belt at the time, and was testing for my brown belt, I was not prepared for what was to come. The thing is, testings at Jung SuWon are just not predictable. There are very few "set rules" at a testing. Sure, you need to know your forms, you need to do some breaking (although you may not end up doing what you were planning to do) and its a good bet that there is some sparring involved. Beyond that, well, just be mentally ready for whatever.

So I was done with all the forms, sparring and breaking and I thought I was pretty much all done. Not so. Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim asked some senior belts to lower the ropes. At the time, we had ropes suspended from the ceiling, and they were connected with each other via a rope across the ceiling. The goal being to climb up one rope, shimmy across and come down on the other rope.

I had until then never been able to do this, and from my first attempts it didn't look like I would do it that day either. I gave it a few half hearted tries and was ready to write it off as "I am too heavy" (I wasn't), or "I am too old" or "I am too clumsy" or whatever.

After several attempts Grandmaster took me into her office - stopping the testing - and sat me down. She said, "I know this is hard for you. But I also know you can do it. If you can do this today, you can do anything you set your mind to. Now lets go out and do it!"

The rest I don't remember too clearly, but I am told that I marched out of the office, and with new determination approached the rope, climbed up, went across and came down, to the thunderous applause of everyone. At the bottom of the rope Grandmaster Kim was waiting for me, with a big hug.

I will never forget this proud moment!