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Review content:
My name is Robert A.M.Obong. I have been part of the White Tiger family for over six years. When I started out as a White Belt at seven years old, I had no idea how much my life was going to be impacted by lessons to come and the level of commitment within me that was to flourish. Looking back, I thoroughly enjoyed attending my classes twice a week. I made many new friends while absorbing the positive teachings of the Black Belt Life Skills taught by the Masters of White Tiger. These character-building traits are patience, concentration, integrity, aspirations, cooperation, self control, perseverance, attitude, confidence and respect. Eventually, I bargained with my parents to allow me to attend classes every day. This negotiation required that I maintained academic excellence consistently for the remainder of the school year. I was very determined because earning this was the very first goal I had learned to set for myself along with trying to maintain the discipline to stay committed to White Tiger Taekwondo. With a lot of work and many late nights, I accomplished this challenge and had earned to attend classes on a daily basis.\r
In the beginning, attending the lower belt rank classes as a small child was very exciting for many reasons. I learned how to do kicks properly, worked on my balance and coordination, learned the beautiful art of the Poomsay, learned how to kee-yap as loud as I could, wore a uniform called a doe-boke and made new friends daily. A Poomsay is a choreographed combination of kicks, punches and blocks organized into a single form for each belt rank. Committing these movements to memory and performing it flawlessly during testing is required for each belt rank promotion. At the beginning of every class, the Masters of White Tiger discussed the discipline of the week and explained the importance of understanding its meaning and its application. I was very young then but gradually, I learned how to apply these black Belt Life Skills to daily life.\r
As the years passed, I experienced so much growth and change on a personal level. My path has not been without challenges. There are so many distractions that ranged from social interaction and acceptance through peers to maintaining focused on priorities. I credit my parents for their nurturing and patient spirit and the Masters of White Tiger for their consistent efforts through their teachings and constant reinforcement of the Black Belt Life skills.\r
Since then, I have had aspirations of achieving my third degree Black Belt in Taekwondo. That is my new goal and what I have been preparing for all these years and more intensely during the last several months. On May 18, I will be participating in the Black Belt Testing at White Tiger Taekwondo and Martial Arts. I feel very fortunate to be an intricate part of the White Tiger family.
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