I am a 40 year old Black Belt

It started with my children (who are now 12 and 14 years old and second degree black belts) practicing Tae Kwon Do. I thought it was great....for them. They learned respect, discipline and focus. Their excelled in school and gained great self-esteem. They worked out hard and had an awesome sense of accomplishment. But never in a million years did I think I could do it.

I had watched my children break numerous boards with their hands and feet. They even broke concrete at their black belt test!
I cheered them on as the sparred with kids they didn't know at tournaments.
I kissed their bruises and rubbed their sore muscles after training.
And I had so many tears of pride when they finally reached their goal of black belt.

But, one day I did give in and tied a white belt around my waist for the first time. Wow, did I feel stupid. I didn't know what I was doing and I looked like a dork, but this was the beginning of my journey.

I realized very early off that there is so much involved with becoming a black belt and it all adds to the experience. I learned so many lessons. I had been humbled by a 9 year old, had to test for new belts in front of judges, compete in tournaments, and my boards rarely broke when I kicked them. I had to learn to overcome fears and that I was capable of anything I put my mind to. This was all rhetoric that I gave my children, but never thought it would pertain to me.

After my first promotion to yellow belt, I was determined to make this journey 100% about me. I was doing something completely for myself. Not my kids, not my husband-nobody but me. At this point in my life, my existence seemed to be just to serve other people. This martial arts experience brought me to the surface.

I decided that I was going to train hard and really push myself. I wanted to jump higher,run faster and kick harder than I had ever done before.
I was going to overcome my fears of the unknown and break through anything that was put in front of me.
I had to learn that even at age 40 I still have a lot to learn and that I can learn a lot from a child.

I trained for the next two years, made excellent life long friends, learned how to defend myself and kept promoting up the belt rank ladder up until I reached the esteemed black belt. On the day that I received my new belt, I had the tears of pride for myself this time! I had given everything I had into this belt and did it for nobody but myself. I was in the best physical condition of my life. And I had overcome all my fears and weaknesses. I was empowered.

Everything that I had hoped martial arts would do for my children, it in turn did for me.
I fully recommend any woman experiencing the effects of martial arts. Every woman and girl should know how to defend herself against an attacker. But aside from the self defense aspect of it, martial arts has been shown to increase flexibility,strengthen bones, lower stress, lower high blood pressure and help you lose inches everywhere. One of my favorite benefits comes from all the kicking; my butt is a couple inches higher than it used to be!

Now that I was empowered I decided to tackle a dream of mine that I have had, but was too afraid to act on. I am passionate about photography and have always wanted to sell my artwork. I have now started Lora Severson Photography which specializes in Nature, Floral and Martial Arts Photography Fine Art Prints, Unique Gifts and Stock Photography.

Along with offering beautiful scenic nature and floral photographs, I also have a collection of martial arts greeting cards, posters,embroidered warm up jackets, t-shirts, ornaments, tote bags and more! It is almost impossible to walk into a card store and purchase a martial arts themed card. So, I started my own line of customizable cards to congratulate a martial artist on earning a new belt rank color or on achieving their black belt. A martial artist puts a lot of hard work and perseverance into training for a new belt color and is so proud when the goal is attained. My new items help them celebrate their new belt colors.

I am having so much fun with my new business. I have adapted the same selfish attitude that I am doing it only for me and I am loving it.

After two years of being a first degree (1st Dan) black belt, I was eligible to test to second degree (2nd Dan). My husband tested with me (my children will be eligible for third degree -3rd Dan- next year). I was more mentally prepared for this test because I had been through the nervousness of the whole process in 2007. I had a lot more fun at this test. But, it still was physically challenging. Because I am that annoying Type A personality, I felt that I had to be perfect and be even better than I was the first time. I wanted to run faster, break all my boards and get through the test easier than the first time. Which was difficult because I am now 42 years old and have been through a couple injuries since the first test. However, I did achieve my goals. I ran the mile in a faster time (7 minutes 2 seconds), I did break all of my boards the first time and I felt great at the end of it all.
One of the requirements for 2nd Dan, is to perform a self defense scenario. My husband was my partner for this portion. We acted out a series of self defense moves in which I was the bad guy robber and he was the victim. It was loads of fun attacking him, rolling around and flipping him.
In the end, I have another bar of gold on my belt and a great feeling in my heart.

Because it is so difficult to find a Martial Arts card in a traditional card store, I designed my own collection of Martial Arts Cards at Lora Severson Photography. At Zazzle.com you can customize and personalize a martial arts card to create a congratulations card, birthday card, thank you card or holiday card. Customize it to suit your needs. The belt image used is a digitally enhanced photograph of my daughter's black belt. It has begun to fray around the edges. She is very proud of that because it represents all of her hours of training and hard work!

'Tis the season to buy Martial Arts Christmas Ornaments, Cards and Gifts for your martial artist. Commemorate the year that your martial artist became a black belt with a dated ornament. See the complete line of martial arts Christmas holiday products at Lora Severson Photography and Zazzle.com. Just added this year are Martial Arts Photo Cards. Add a photograph of your martial arts family to your Christmas card! All cards are fully customizable by the customer. Feel free to add your own personal message or change the text if desired.

On belt rank promotion testing day or at a black belt test, it is always nice to recognize the hard work of a martial artist with a gift reflecting the new belt that they worked so hard to achieve. Martial Artists are very proud of their belt rank. That's why these gifts are so perfect.
Zazzle.com now offers custom embroidered jackets, golf shirts and hoodies. Create your own special keepsake gift for your martial arts black belt when you add their name, team or school name to apparel or gifts at Lora Severson Photography.
You can also create custom martial arts gifts for birthdays or holidays. Personalize a martial arts tote bag, poster print, button, magnet, coffee mug, keychain or mousepad.

I am able to offer Martial Arts Inspirational Posters with the help of Zazzle.com. Through Zazzle.com I can provide high resolution digital images as high quality prints or posters. Images are original photography by Lora Severson Photography or are one of a kind abstract fractal art. Martial Arts Posters make a unique gift for a belt rank promotion test, birthday or holiday.