hapkido – Jan Orga

Today was a great day! Beautiful and sunny outside…warm enough for just a light sweater. Even greater was the opportunity to observe our son, Alex, as he participated in one of HIS passions…hapkido.
The school where Alex studies Hapkido was holding a testing today for higher level black belts. He was asked to participate in the testing as a “throwing partner” or “uki” (not sure that is spelled correctly). He was asked at random times to demonstrate a particular technique himself. Richard and I dropped by the gym to see him in action and were as usual, smiling and proud parents on the sidelines.
For many years, I was the Mom-taxi that drove Meg and Alex both to their various activities. Large segments of our family life revolved around ballet and hapkido. I can remember many years of dropping Meg off at the Nashville School of Ballet, rushing to get Alex to his hapkido class, staying and watching hapkido and then rushing back to ballet to pick up Meg…and then dinner and homework, etc, etc…. Other days, it was only Meg with a class and Alex and I would both stay and watch ballet class….NOT his favorite thing to do, but often the duty of the younger brother.
I cherish the memories of those hectic Mom-taxi days. It was nice to drop in to the hapkido gym/school and see many familiar faces; adults and children alike who have trained with Alex through the years. It was a comforting feeling to sit on the familiar couch along the side wall and watch Alex “do his thing” on the mat. It was pleasing to see how much Alex has progressed and how comfortable he is in his own skin. The progression for him is more than just physical capabilities, it’s also very much a mental thing. He’s learning at a very young age the importance of paying forward lessons he has learned, sometimes the hard way. How nice to see the teacher in him naturally finding it’s way.
I’m very thankful we made the conscious decision to spend some cherished hours with Alex in his world. It’s always a good thing! See the pictures I snapped with my iPhone in the photo gallery uploaded earlier!