Documentation

Documenting my journey.

Before doing this blog I would have probably thought about "documentation" as being a copy of certification.  Now I think it is about pictures and video and "snapshots in time" detailing the thoughts, ideas and emotions of the moment.

When I look back at my testings for documentation, I can come up with the certificates, but very little else. Some of this is due to the flood of 2010 of course, but even so - I've just never been very good at all that.

There are very few pictures or videos of the earlier parts of my martial arts journey - even mental pictures! While I have vivid memories of my 1st Dan testing, my 5th, 6th, and 7th Dan testing - there seems to be a hole in my memory where my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Dan memories should be.  I've got the certificates and I know that I did them... All my tests up through 4th were with my first (and only) TKD instructor, Master Shin. All his black belt certifications were done through the Kukkiwon and I have all that certification.  It bothers me though that other than my 1st Dan testing, which I remember vividly (mental scarring will do that I hear) I have little to nothing to draw on when talking about my 2nd, 3rd and 4th Dan testing memories.

My 5th test was memorable for many reasons. It was held in the gym where I was teaching TKD at the time and facilitated by Pete Feyas whose instructor in New Jersey put the Kukkiwon paperwork through on my behalf.

My 6th and 7th Dan tests were with/through the AAU TKD program.  6th was done here in Nashville as part of a larger testing with Kimberly Cerami who was the AAU Southeastern TKD Sports Director at that time, and my 7th was held during the week of the 2007 AAU TKD Nationals in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Looking back, I find myself wishing that I had taken more pictures and/or videos and written down my thoughts or kept a journal about my TKD life.  The years have flown by so quickly.  On the other hand, I was busy living that life and it was not as easy to capture things digitally as it is today.

"Back in my day..."

Seriously, that is what I imagine I will appreciate most about this testing.  The documentation that I am creating right now.  The capturing of these moments - these thoughts.  It is true that they pass too quickly and are gone before we even notice.

I remember thinking as I started this that I would keep this blog private and not let anyone know I was even doing writing these posts, except for a few people here and there, like my testing board and my family.

But I've come to believe that documentation of the present and the past, like memories, is probably most valuable when shared, with others who want to read it and as a "gift" to my future self who I hope will really appreciate this attempt to capture and retain a portion of this moment in time in my Tae Kwon Do journey.

Respectfully,
Kathy Wiz