Kicking and Screaming: A Memoir of Madness and Martial Arts
Melanie Gibson was an independent woman with a good job, multiple college degrees, and a condo in the trendy part of town. She also had a few mental illnesses, a minor substance abuse problem, and rotten relationship skills. She was a high-functioning crazy who needed a good kick in the pants, literally and metaphorically.

In early 2013, as a last desperate means to save her sanity, Melanie turned to a nearly forgotten childhood activity: the Korean martial art of taekwondo. As if the universe were listening, she discovered her West Texas childhood taekwondo instructors’ Grandmaster operated a taekwondo school a few miles from her home in Fort Worth, Texas—and she decided to start her training over as a white belt.

In taekwondo, Melanie felt like she had a fresh start in more ways than one. She found an inner peace she’d never known before, a sense of community, a newfound confidence, and a positive outlook on life. The kicking and screaming she was doing in class quieted the long-term kicking and screaming in her mind. Funny and frank, Kicking and Screaming: A Memoir of Madness and Martial Arts is the story of Melanie’s life-changing journey from troubled, lost soul to confident taekwondo black belt.
1137387452
Kicking and Screaming: A Memoir of Madness and Martial Arts
Melanie Gibson was an independent woman with a good job, multiple college degrees, and a condo in the trendy part of town. She also had a few mental illnesses, a minor substance abuse problem, and rotten relationship skills. She was a high-functioning crazy who needed a good kick in the pants, literally and metaphorically.

In early 2013, as a last desperate means to save her sanity, Melanie turned to a nearly forgotten childhood activity: the Korean martial art of taekwondo. As if the universe were listening, she discovered her West Texas childhood taekwondo instructors’ Grandmaster operated a taekwondo school a few miles from her home in Fort Worth, Texas—and she decided to start her training over as a white belt.

In taekwondo, Melanie felt like she had a fresh start in more ways than one. She found an inner peace she’d never known before, a sense of community, a newfound confidence, and a positive outlook on life. The kicking and screaming she was doing in class quieted the long-term kicking and screaming in her mind. Funny and frank, Kicking and Screaming: A Memoir of Madness and Martial Arts is the story of Melanie’s life-changing journey from troubled, lost soul to confident taekwondo black belt.
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Kicking and Screaming: A Memoir of Madness and Martial Arts

Kicking and Screaming: A Memoir of Madness and Martial Arts

by Melanie D Gibson
Kicking and Screaming: A Memoir of Madness and Martial Arts

Kicking and Screaming: A Memoir of Madness and Martial Arts

by Melanie D Gibson

eBook

$12.99 

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Overview

Melanie Gibson was an independent woman with a good job, multiple college degrees, and a condo in the trendy part of town. She also had a few mental illnesses, a minor substance abuse problem, and rotten relationship skills. She was a high-functioning crazy who needed a good kick in the pants, literally and metaphorically.

In early 2013, as a last desperate means to save her sanity, Melanie turned to a nearly forgotten childhood activity: the Korean martial art of taekwondo. As if the universe were listening, she discovered her West Texas childhood taekwondo instructors’ Grandmaster operated a taekwondo school a few miles from her home in Fort Worth, Texas—and she decided to start her training over as a white belt.

In taekwondo, Melanie felt like she had a fresh start in more ways than one. She found an inner peace she’d never known before, a sense of community, a newfound confidence, and a positive outlook on life. The kicking and screaming she was doing in class quieted the long-term kicking and screaming in her mind. Funny and frank, Kicking and Screaming: A Memoir of Madness and Martial Arts is the story of Melanie’s life-changing journey from troubled, lost soul to confident taekwondo black belt.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781647420291
Publisher: She Writes Press
Publication date: 04/20/2021
Sold by: SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format: eBook
Pages: 280
File size: 1 MB

About the Author

Melanie Gibson was raised in Snyder, Texas, where she began taekwondo training at age ten. She has a bachelor’s degree in English from Texas Woman’s University, a Master of Library Science from the University of North Texas, and an MBA from the University of Texas at Arlington. She has worked in the healthcare industry since 2004, with roles as a hospital librarian, corporate trainer, and learning designer. Melanie continues to pursue advanced taekwondo black belt degrees, writes about taekwondo on her blog Little Black Belt, and is a competitive board breaker. She lives in Fort Worth, Texas.

Table of Contents

Prologue Fear of Flying Kicks xi

Part 1 White Belt

Chapter 1 Obligatory Rock Bottom 3

Chapter 2 Kicking Up Dust in Snyder, Texas 8

Chapter 3 Child of Darkness 16

Chapter 4 Coming Out of the Crazy Closet 22

Chapter 5 Out of My Head, into the Dojang 29

Part 2 Yellow Belt (Sort Of)

Chapter 6 New Ventures 41

Chapter 7 Brunch and a Boyfriend 49

Chapter 8 Green Belt Test 57

Part 3 Green Belt and Green Belt / Blue Tip

Chapter 9 Splats and Sparring 65

Chapter 10 Didn't You Know the First Six Months Don't Count? 73

Chapter 11 Blue Tip Test 80

Chapter 12 The Click 84

Chapter 13 Goodbye … Just Kidding! 90

Chapter 14 Blue Belt Test 96

Part 4 Blue Belt and Blue Belt / Red Tip

Chapter 15 The Amazing Walking Uterus 103

Chapter 16 Home Life 109

Chapter 17 Getting Fat Shamed as a Size Four 113

Part 5 Red Belt and Red Belt / Black Tip

Chapter 18 Welcome to Red Belt Class 125

Chapter 19 Obligatory Nervous Breakdown 130

Chapter 20 Will This Be on the Test? 138

Chapter 21 Frustration and Resignation 145

Chapter 22 Conversations in the Jewelry Box 151

Chapter 23 Down but Not Out for the Count 157

Chapter 24 New Year's Reservations 163

Chapter 25 Sparring with Demons 169

Chapter 26 Adult Class 173

Chapter 27 Vices 178

Chapter 28 Black Belt Candidate 183

Part 6 Bo Dan to Black Belt

Chapter 29 Sucker Punched 193

Chapter 30 Aftermath 199

Chapter 31 I Hate Taekwondo … for a Day or So 203

Chapter 32 And Then We Had Cake 208

Chapter 33 Don't Let It Escalate 212

Chapter 34 Pain in the Ass 218

Chapter 35 Baby Got Piriformis 223

Chapter 36 Growth Spurt 229

Chapter 37 Exorcism 236

Chapter 38 Final Exam 243

Epilogue: The Beginning 251

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