In January 2016 I accompanied my best friend to a kickboxing test training at a sports school. I never thought myself to be particularly athletic, but she didn’t dare to go on her own, so I came with them.
I first trained in the local fitness group and only switched to kickboxing a year and a half later, in mid-2017.
To be honest, it was a huge challenge for me. The average age in the group is 25 years. I’m 15 years older, but I wanted more.
Incidentally, I already lost 28 kg during this time, until I lost sight of my goals at the end of 2017 due to some family setbacks.
Until then, I never really understood the importance of mental training. Because my head wasn’t feeling well, I only exercised sporadically and ate a lot for emotional reasons.
So I soon had the pounds that I had lost back on my hips.
In spring 2019 it clicked. The trigger was, among other things, Mark’s podcast with Marc Pletzer. I started to deal more with mental techniques and changed my point of view in many ways.
Last but not least, my eleven year old son gave me a kick in the ass. He’s been training for five years and just started training for the brown belt exam.
“Hey, mom, it would be really cool if you did a belt exam too,” he said. Me: “Yes, yes, someday.”
Since then I can’t get rid of the thought. But at first I didn’t really dare and I was quite creative in making up excuses: “You have been out for so long and are not fit enough again”, “You have to lose weight first” and so on.
When a friend fell seriously ill last fall, I realized that I shouldn’t put it off any longer.
I started exercising regularly again and decided to take a belt exam on the day of my son’s exam. When my trainer told me I was fit for the green belt, that really motivated me.
So I took action and signed up a week before the exam. I was really excited and didn’t tell anyone about my project. The only confidante was my son.
On the day of the exam, the whole family and best friends came to support my son. They were surprised because I wasn’t there. But then they discovered me on the training area.
My exam lasted two and a half hours. After that I was totally exhausted, but also overjoyed that I had tried. The results will not be announced until the end of the exam day, but now, as a mom, I could cheer my son along.
After the exams are over, it will be exciting.
Now everyone is introducing themselves Participants on the mat and the examiners call out those who pass. Whether my son, would I be there?
It seems to take an infinitely long time, but then the redemption: I hear my name … and then that of my son – we both passed!
Comment from my examiner: “Very good – get off the sofa, up on the training area!”
And the best thing is to experience your own son’s pride in his mother. He kept telling me how his mom pulled through the exam and then passed it!
Now we’re working towards a common goal: in three years, when he’s 14 years old is old, my son and I take the black belt exam (1st Dan) together.
