Reluctant Hero

Recently I was in the locker room changing for an adult tae kwon do class.

There were two girls doing the same, having just finished the last kids tae kwon do class of the day. I knew the girls because I have taught them both from time to time. But one young lady in particular happens to go to school with my youngest son; they're in the same grade.

I noticed she was staring at me, which is not necessarily unusual for kids in a locker room. I smiled at her and she decided to talk to me.

“Are you DJ's mom?”

"Yes," I responded.

She waited a few moments and I thought that might be the end of our discussion, when suddenly she said,

"He's really lucky."

Now, she had my curiosity peaked. My sons don't say much about what goes on at school. I think it’s a guy thing. So I figured she knew some juicy tidbit that a mother would want to know.

"Why is he lucky?" I couldn't help but ask.

"He's lucky his mom is so strong."

It took me a moment to process what she was saying. You see, this girl had been at my 3rd dan black belt test last October. She witnessed my break test where I was the only woman in our school to break 2 concrete paving blocks standing on end like dominoes, no one holding them. It was a pretty amazing thing that I practiced with pads for weeks in advance. I didn't try the real thing until the moment of my test, so even I didn't know if I could pull it off until it happened.

This girl had been at the same test, as a bodan student earning her first black belt, a momentous occasion for anyone at any age. But she was looking at me like I could walk on water.

And for just a moment I think I could have.

I am a reluctant hero. It both pleases and embarrasses me when people praise my tae kwon do techniques. Yet when I think back to my childhood, there were very few female athletes that I could look up to.

Girls need role models. So for that reason, I’m humbled but willing to suffer a little hero worship.

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