CHAPTER 3
KICK GONE WRONG

Master Kim stopped in front of me. “Ben, remember when I say cha-ryut, you have to put your arms at your sides.”

I looked around at the other students. They were all in cha-ryut position. They were also staring at me.

My face burned with embarrassment. “Oh, yeah,” I said. I quickly moved my arms to my sides.

It had been a few days since I’d started tae kwon do, and my skills had not improved. We had learned two new kicks. The first one was the roundhouse kick. It was tricky because we had to spin and kick at the same time. The second was the flying kick. It was even more difficult. We had to run, jump, and kick.

Most of the students, especially me, struggled with the two new kicks. Not Emilio, though. Master Kim called him up to the front of the class every day to demonstrate.

“You may relax,” Master Kim said. Everyone relaxed their shoulders. “Today, I want to teach you about the fourth tenet of tae kwon do.”

We had already learned about the second and third tenets. The second one was integrity—showing good character. The third was perseverance—not giving up when things get difficult.

“The fourth tenet is self-control,” Master Kim continued. “This means you are keeping your emotions in check. It’s about remaining calm and disciplined at all times. This will be especially useful today. You will be learning how to do a jab punch.”

“I’ve never done punches before,” Emilio whispered next to me.

Hope filled my chest. Emilio’s soccer experience probably helped with his kicking skills, but neither of us had done any punches.

Maybe I’ll be better at them than he is, I thought hopefully.

“Start by pushing your arm straight in front of you,” Master Kim explained. “Make sure to look forward, not at your arm.”

He showed us the punch a few more times. I was amazed at how strong and direct Master Kim’s punches were.

“Now try it on your own,” he said. “Make sure to put all your strength into it. I’ll come around to check on everyone.”

We began practicing. I recited the steps in my head as I did the movements. Punch with your arm straight. Look forward. Put all your strength into it.

When he got to me, Master Kim pulled my arm forward a little more. “There you go. Now you’ve got it,” he said. He moved on to Emilio next. “Excellent, Emilio!”

I frowned. Emilio was doing better than I was—again! I tried a few more punches, but what was the point? I would never be as good as Emilio, not even at something I should be good at.

I remembered what Master Kim said about self-control. I had to try to not let my frustrations get to me. But it wasn’t easy when my best friend was so much better.

“We will learn other types of punches in the next class. For now, let’s review our kicks,” Master Kim said. “You’ll each come to the front of the room and do a side kick, aiming for this target.” He held up a small cushion.

I groaned inwardly. A kick in front of the whole class? I was even worse at those! Butterflies immediately filled my stomach. I wanted to ask if I could go to the bathroom, but it was too late. Master Kim was already calling kids up to the front.

Emilio was first. He kicked right on the target. It made a loud smack. Everyone clapped.

“Very impressive, Emilio,” Master Kim said.

The next student stepped forward, and I tugged nervously on my belt. Each second that went by made me even more nervous. Was it too late to bolt out of the room?

Finally, it was my turn. “Ben, come on up,” Master Kim said.

I slowly walked to the front of the room. I could feel all eyes on me. I took a few deep breaths.

Please let me do well, I thought.

“Ready?” Master Kim asked, holding out the target.

NO! I wanted to yell. But everyone else had already gone. Just kick hard, I told myself.

I got into ready position, then kicked as hard as I could. But I was so focused on kicking hard that I forgot to steady myself with my other leg. My standing foot wobbled underneath me, making me lose my balance and…

BAM! My entire body hit the mat on the floor.

Before I had time to understand what had happened, I heard snickers. I lay there, unable to move. I couldn’t believe it. I had just fallen in front of the entire class—and now they were all laughing at me!

“Enough,” Master Kim snapped, silencing the class. “This is new for everyone. That’s why we practice.”

But it was too late. I jumped up and ran out of the room. I sat on a bench in the hallway and angrily swiped away tears with the sleeve of my robe.

“I hate tae kwon do!” I spat.

“Ben?” a familiar voice said.

I looked up to see Mr. Wiz, my school’s custodian, approaching. I sat up straight.

I’d had plenty of interactions with him at school, especially when all the weird stuff was happening with my lunch box. He always seemed to just… be around.

But I’d never seen Mr. Wiz outside of school—or out of his blue coveralls. Today he was wearing a white robe with a green belt tied around his waist. I caught a glimpse of the oval-shaped pendant he always seemed to have around his neck. It glowed bright yellow.

“Mr. Wiz?” I asked. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been taking adult classes here for the past few years,” Mr. Wiz explained. He looked me up and down. “Looks like you’re having a rough day.”

I covered my face with my hands. “I just fell on my butt in front of the whole class. I’m so embarrassed. I’ll never be good at tae kwon do.”

Mr. Wiz sat next to me. “It’s always hard when you learn something new,” he said. Then he tapped a finger on his chin. “Have you learned about the five tenets of tae kwon do yet?”

“Yes, Master Kim taught us four of them so far,” I replied.

“Good, good,” Mr. Wiz said, stroking his beard. “I think the fifth one is the most important of all—indomitable spirit. This means that you have a strong mind and courage.”

I nodded. I definitely had to work on some of those things.

Mr. Wiz put a hand on my shoulder. “The tenets take practice too, just like your tae kwon do skills,” he continued. “You can’t be good at everything from the start, but if you have an indomitable spirit and keep trying, you will get better in time.”

I sighed. It sounded a lot like what Dad had said. But I wanted to be good now.

“Well, I’d better get going,” Mr. Wiz said, standing up. “But Ben?” He flashed me a toothy grin. “Maybe you’ll learn this better if you learn it… differently.”

Now I was really confused. “What do you mean?” I asked.

But Mr. Wiz didn’t answer my question. He simply said, “I’ll see you around,” before turning and walking away.