The Magic Black Belt by Hanna Kim

Author:Hanna Kim [Kim, Hanna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Asian American; Korean; Korean American; Fantasy; Magical Realism; chapter books for boys; culture; diverse books; family stories; friendship stories; heritage; martial arts; own voices; SEL; social emotional learning; taekwondo; tae kwon do
Publisher: Capstone
Published: 2023-09-06T00:00:00+00:00

Things didn’t get much better between Emilio and I at the studio.

“Today we’re going to practice the different moves we’ve learned so far in camp,” Master Kim told us at the start of class. “Then we’ll work them into a group sequence for our demonstration. That way your friends and family can see how much you’ve learned.”

Master Kim walked us through all the different moves. The sequence would include a few side kicks, followed by a spinning roundhouse kick, and even a small flying kick. Then, we would move on to a mix of punches—a jab punch, an uppercut punch, and a cross punch. We would end with some ki-haps—shouts to show our energy and power.

“Okay, let’s get into pairs and start practicing,” Master Kim said.

Everyone started pairing up. Normally I would’ve practiced with Emilio, but things were awkward between us. Plus, I was wearing my magic belt under my uniform, and I didn’t want Emilio to be suspicious.

Instead, I walked over to the corner of the room. I was going to practice hard and win the mock match. I began working on my jab punches on the wall mat.

“Good form, Ben,” Master Kim said, complimenting me. “But don’t you want to practice with Emilio? Maybe you can start preparing for the sparring competition.”

I peeked at Emilio from the corner of my eye and saw him helping a few kids.

Hmph. He is such a show-off, I thought.

“I want to practice on my own today,” I replied.

Master Kim raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. He just nodded and walked over to another group of students.

I worked on my jab punches, then moved to the roundhouse kick. It was a tough skill. I had to move my hip sideways, kick out my leg, and then snap it back quickly. It would have been impossible without my magic black belt, but with it on, I did the kick easily.

After a few minutes, I decided to take a break.

“Can I get a drink of water?” I asked Master Kim.

“Of course,” he replied. “There’s a drinking fountain in the hallway.”

I walked past Emilio. He was cheering on another student who was practicing a kick. I ignored him and kept walking.

In the hallway, I leaned over to get a drink from the fountain. The cool water felt so refreshing. Standing upright, I wiped the sweat off my forehead.

“Ben!” I heard a voice say from behind.

I turned and saw Mr. Wiz standing there wearing his tae kwon do robe.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.