Important Family News From the Front

Rocking up on Fair Haven Martial Arts (FHMA) this past Saturday night was, as it’s been hundreds of times before, as routine as a bowl of oatmeal. Small, flat red brick building sitting a few doors down from an Acme. Strip-mall paradise! No big deal.

We walk in at 6PM and there are 20 kids finishing up at a birthday party. (The place often gets used that way on Saturdays. It’s been a favorite place for the community for more than a decade.)  Kids file out and Morgan sees her way through the crowd of noisy boys and girls saying goodbye to their friends.

The place soon falls silent. The contrast from only moments earlier is striking. After five years of hard work and dedication, Morgan takes a few moments to quietly reflect on the biggest day of her life. This day is all about her black belt in karate and at this moment she is in her small, red brick cathedral. She’s trying to get her head around the fact that she is the only female in 10 years — girl or woman — to have come this close to FHMA’s ultimate reward.

I don’t know who was sweating more at first, Morgan, or me and her mom. After the three-and-a-half hour test, it’s abundantly clear she gave up everything to the floor of the dojo.  It was so grueling that one of our best friends, who is an Army Ranger, said it was absolutely comparable to boot camp.  First, one hour of drills, stretches, and a cardio-boosting warmup. We, all her friends and family, watched nervously as her face settled from wide-eyed anticipation to a knife-sharp focus. Next, 150 sidekicks in 90 seconds proved to be a formidable obstacle, but one she overcame with six seconds to spare.

A quick water break was the only thing between her and one hour of sparring. With a face of fearless determination nestled inside a helmet of yellow foam, Morgan cycled through opponents twice her size and skill level without a flinch. Quick blocks and big kicks were dished out like it was her job. By this point, however, it had been two-and-a-half hours, and you could tell. Morgan pulled her helmet off and pushed handfuls of wet hair away from what was now a radish red face, panting and puffing. She was clearly hoping that her cathedral would lift her up and give her the nourishment she needed to finish.

In great contrast to the sparring, the Kata was up next; a choreographed procession of more than 60 elegant moves requiring deep concentration and flawless execution. The room was hushed as family and friends watched with eagerness and deep-seated nerves. After one practice run and a pointer or two from Sensei Jim, Morgan ran it again and nailed it, flawlessly. Naturally, the small triumph was short-lived.

“Time for the perseverance test,” Jim announced with an apologetic smile. Morgan put her hands on her hips and stood still for a moment as she digested what was about to come for the next 30 minutes. Push-ups, crunches, burpees, planks and more hit Morgan like a ton of bricks, in what felt like an endless cycle of repetition. We all groaned and squirmed, bashfully admitting we wouldn’t be able to keep up. Our bewilderment grew each time a new set of exercises was requested.

Morgan made it. But it took her close to the edge. Many back-belt contenders have a hard time coming back from this point. Next up, the reading of her report on what a black belt means to her.  Immediately following that: the breaking of boards! The realization that she had reached her last obstacle completely juiced her. She perked up with optimism as 10-year-olds do, and cracked each board with ease, a spectacle of showmanship that received heated applause and unbridled relief for the end of her saga.

The three-and-a-half hour odyssey came to a conclusion with the three Senseis disappearing to the back room without a word. They returned with the coveted black belts, one for her and one for the other Morgan being tested, who is three years older.

Jim stood in front of the two girls kneeling, wide-eyed with a beaming smile, relentlessly gushing about flawless attitudes and mind-blowing dedication, toughness, and tenacity.  Morgan, in particular, was lauded for her fearlessness in sparring, physical strength, and work ethic in a speech that warmed my heart, and everyone else’s, I’m sure.

To see our little girl formally achieve the expert level was astonishing. Sensei Jim pointed out, “Here forward, you will never say I have a black belt, you will always say I am a black belt.”

Hey Morgan, no big deal!