A 16 year old 2nd Degree Decided Black Belt set up her board breaks for testing. She had practiced them over and over, and always broke them the on the first try. She broke her elbow smash first, easy, first attempt. Then she went to her flying side kick, easy again, first attempt. Then she went to her spin side kick, and she knew it was going to break. Then she heard the THUNK. That thunk meant she had to hit it again, and for that Black Belt, it was the beginning of the end. She had NEVER gone to second attempt on a board. So she took a deep breath, set it up again, bowed in, and threw her kick. Before she heard the second thunk, she said it was a bad kick. The center judge for her boards told her to stop thinking and hit the board, she knew she could do this. So the 16 year old who had never struggled with Board Breaking set up her 3rd and final attempt on that spin side kick. But by this time, she was in her head. When she hit the board that third time, and heard that THUNK, she knew she had beat herself.
2 months later, she tested again, and broke those boards on the first try. 15 years later, that same black belt tested for her 6th Degree, in February of 2021. She got to her 3rd attempt on boards, on guess what… that same spin side kick. This time, she took a deep breath, and threw everything she had at the board, breaking it successfully. While she had earned a no change at that testing for forms and sparring, she was determined the boards wouldn't get her again.
That 16 year old Black Belt was me. The sting of those boards not breaking hurts bad, but the feeling of overcoming that challenge feels sooo much better. To those who didn't break their boards this testing, we know how bad it hurts. We also know that you are fully capable of breaking them, just like Mrs. O was, when she heard that THUNK.