Becoming a student again

Being innovative and ingenious, Masters Houman and Neshat soon started offering taekwondo classes in-person inside a local parking deck. With students safely distanced and donning masks, we trained together in the heat of summer and cold of winter in that parking deck, and we were happier for it. For many of us, this was our only contact with people that was not through a screen of some sort, so even socially-distanced conversations through a mask in a hot or cold parking deck was a welcome break from the monotony of self-isolation. Thank Ms. Neshat and Master Houman!

My son and I progressed through the early belts while training in the parking deck, but we all celebrated the opening of an official dojang for Elite Fire Taekwondo in late 2022. After adjusting to dojang life compared to the parking deck, my son and I settled into the grind of working through the middle belts. My daughter, Isa, joined us in the dojang as an Elite Ember, the taekwondo class for children 3-5 years old. The influence of taekwondo on Isa’s confidence was immediately evident. Master Houman’s amazing instructional style drew Isa out of her shy shell so successfully that her preschool teacher took notice and now recommends taekwondo to her children’s parents as a great way to build confidence and focus. I watched my son gain the same benefits as I did through my martial arts career, and it was enriching as a parent to see my daughter do the same as well.

Over 36 years after I first started martial arts, I tested for my first-degree black belt in taekwondo with my son, and we both passed! Achieving that goal with my son by my side was well worth the long wait. When you add the pride I felt and seeing my son’s tremendous growth through process, I know that achieving this goal as a father was the right path for me. With my daughter on her way to red belt, I look forward to sharing a black belt journey with her too.