Post by alisonzmom on Dec 16, 2007 20:36:21 GMT -5
As some of you know my 11 yr old daughter Sarah takes Tae Kwon Do, well last night I took her to see some of her friends test for their black belts. When we got there, Sarah noticed that one of the people testing who was from a different location than where she takes classes was a young man who had DS. He was one of the last group of people to test, and his face just fell everytime someone elses name was called and he'd make a gesture that king of said "Hey, what about me?". When it was finally his turn, I'll tell ya, he did the most awesome job - it was incredible to watch him!!! Sarah kept poking me in the ribs with her elbow ( yes, I've got bruises from that sharp pointy little elbow!!!) and saying "Mom, he's doing great!!! Did you see how he did (fill in the blnk with some Korean term or another)!!!" Sure he was a bit slower than the others on the mat at the same time and there was someone there give him little hints when you could see that he wasn't quite sure what the next move was, but I'll tell you guys he needed VERY few prompts!!! And the audience's response when he finished was overwhelming!!! Everybody in the place, including the instructors, Masters, and fellow students was on their feet clapping and cheering for this young man!!! It was truely a magical moment!!!
Me being me, I absolutely had rivers of tears streaming down my face as did Sarah. One of Alison's teachers was also there as her neice was testing and when I turned and saw her she too had tears on her face. Alison's teacher came over to me, gave me a big hug and said "That'll be our Alison too!!!" Later I went over to congratulate this young man and asked him how long he had been taking classes. He told me that he had started in April of 2001. I said how impressed I was and that even though I didn't know him how proud of him I was. I also spoke with his Dad briefly and told him about Alison. Dad said that the most important thing that he felt he had ever taught his son was that if he tried long enough and hard enough he could accomplish almost anything. He said that he and his wife seldom held their son back when he wanted to try something new and different.
I came away last night so full of hope and inspiration after seeing what this young man had accomplished!!! And to think, I was dreading having to sit through 3 hours of Tae Kwon Do black belt testing!!!
Barb
Me being me, I absolutely had rivers of tears streaming down my face as did Sarah. One of Alison's teachers was also there as her neice was testing and when I turned and saw her she too had tears on her face. Alison's teacher came over to me, gave me a big hug and said "That'll be our Alison too!!!" Later I went over to congratulate this young man and asked him how long he had been taking classes. He told me that he had started in April of 2001. I said how impressed I was and that even though I didn't know him how proud of him I was. I also spoke with his Dad briefly and told him about Alison. Dad said that the most important thing that he felt he had ever taught his son was that if he tried long enough and hard enough he could accomplish almost anything. He said that he and his wife seldom held their son back when he wanted to try something new and different.
I came away last night so full of hope and inspiration after seeing what this young man had accomplished!!! And to think, I was dreading having to sit through 3 hours of Tae Kwon Do black belt testing!!!
Barb
