Mrs. Jenny Lacy
Becoming Taekwondo America’s Newest 8th Degree Black Belt at the September 2018 National
In 1985, after sitting and watching her husband for countless classes, Mrs. Lacy decided to try her first taekwondo class. As she tells it “long ago, in a land far away called ‘Alabama’ I was recently married with a new baby, but I couldn’t keep my husband home at night – he was always off with his other love, Taekwondo. Now I am slightly competitive, so rather than joining him at the school where he taught I started driving a little further each night to workout at another school in the organization.”
When she started, her only goal was to be as good as Mr. Lacy and all his friends, but within the first month of her training she won her first (of many) gold medals and was hooked on taekwondo! Slowly Taekwondo became not just a way to spend more time with her husband, but something she was doing for herself. When she took her first classes she and Mr. Lacy only had one child and she didn’t yet fully appreciate how important it would be to take the time out from being a wife and mother to do something just for her. She hopes she can inspire other moms (and dads) to take time to do something healthy just for themselves, too.
Mrs. Lacy received her instructor certificate from the USTA in ’89, earned her 3rd degree in ’91 and was a founding member of Taekwondo America in ’93. (You can read more of the Lacy family taekwondo journey, across many miles and several states, in our article about Mr. Lacy earning his 9th Degree Black Belt.) Her most recent accomplishment was receiving her 7th degree at the 2011 National Black Belt Conference held in Las Vegas, NV.
Looking back on her Taekwondo career Mrs. Lacy says “I have a lot of rewarding moments for which I am thankful. I was supposed to get my 7th Degree last January in Orlando, but my mother unexpectedly passed away. When I did my demonstration and received my belt that May I knew she would be so proud of me. I know that without a doubt because of how proud I am of my three children who are all black belts. When Bobby tested for his black belt I had a story typed up and ready to send to the local paper about how amazing his accomplishment was at his young age; he didn’t pass. When Tiffany struggled with breaking boards I came to expect that she would be at the school at least 30 minutes after class practicing; still, she didn’t pass twice in a row at brown belt and again twice in a row at red belt. One time after not passing a testing Luke looked at us after testing and said ‘Well, I guess it is official – now I’m a Lacy since I didn’t break my boards’. Yet none of my kids let this be a stopping point in their journey.”
Mrs. Lacy is the owner/chief instructor and board-breaking whisperer of Valley Ranch Taekwondo. When she’s not at the school Mrs. Lacy loves cheering for the Alabama Crimson Tide and spending time with her favorite dog, Caesar. She likes spending time with her husband, Mr. Robby Lacy, three children, and two other dogs too.
At our September 2018 Taekwondo America Fall National Tournament and High Rank Testing Mrs. Jenny Lacy will earn her 8th Degree. And, yes, her mom would be so proud of her!
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