Against All Odds: My Story by Chuck Norris, Abraham Norris, Ken Chuck, Chuck Ken; Norris Abraham, Ken Abraham Read Free Book Online Page A

spot on the cold floor, where I sat for the next four hours, until the other students finished testing. I had already failed the examination, but to get up and leave before the others completed their test would be disrespectful and disobedient to the examiner's orders and would have effectively ended my martial arts career.
    I sat, fuming over my failure on the inside and freezing on the outside. Those four hours seemed like the longest four hours of my life.
    I was miserable on the drive back to the base. Over and over again I thought about the form I had forgotten. Still frustrated and angry with myself, I knew I had to put the failure out of my mind. If I continued to dwell on it, I would be setting myself up to fail again. I had to prepare to succeed, and I had to begin planting those seeds immediately.
    Mr. Shin said nothing about my failing the test. It was almost as if the exam never happened. He didn't scold or belittle me for my mental lapse. He simply plowed back into a vigorous training program. I trained for an additional three months before he said I was ready to take the exam again. By then I had put the first failure out of my mind and visualized myself doing perfectly any form that was requested. I played out in my mind the scenario for any exhibition the examiners might come up with. More importantly, I saw myself completing the test successfully.
    The test was just as grueling as the previous one, but this time I was ready when my name was called. I did my forms, some one-step punching and board breaking; then I free-sparred against a black belt. Everything went as I had visualized it in my mind.
    A few weeks later Mr. Shin took me aside after class. Smiling broadly, he told me, “You have passed the black belt exam.” He bowed formally and presented me with a new black belt with my name written on it in Korean, as well as a silver pin designating my black belt rank to be worn on my lapel. That pin was soon to take on a special significance for me.
    One night while I was walking in the village wearing my civvies, five slicky boys stopped me in an alley. I was about to take them on when they saw the pin on my lapel. Their eyes widened in fear, and they ran off. I felt like Clark Kent wearing his Superman costume!
    Earning my black belt changed my life in many ways. I had accomplished something difficult on my own. Being a shodan (first degree black belt) was like getting a college degree. Belt ranks are like school levels, starting with elementary school (white belt) and proceeding to different colors, depending on the marital arts style, similar to advancing through junior high, high school, and college.
    By the end of my tour of duty in the Air Force, I was a first-degree black belt in tang soo do , and a third-degree brown belt in judo. I had also been promoted to the rank of airman first class.
    The Air Force had provided the opportunity for me to learn much about the martial arts. Now the martial arts would help me learn much about life.

CHAPTER 7
    KARATE KICK-OFF

    I t's almost impossible for a civilian who has never served in the military to comprehend fully the toll that extended service to our country can take on a young married couple. Military life is tough enough on a family, even in the best of circumstances, and the strain is exacerbated when couples are separated by continents for long periods of time.
    Upon completing my tour of duty in Korea, I was reassigned to March Air Force Base in Riverside, California. I had a thirty-day leave before I needed to report, and I looked forward to getting reacquainted with my young wife. Dianne had rented a small apartment on the outskirts of the Air Force base when she had learned that I'd be coming home. She busied herself decorating and getting our home ready for us, while I made the transition from Korea, to Tokyo, to San Francisco.
    When I arrived in San Francisco, I was flat broke. I needed to call Dianne to let her know that I'd be landing in Los