19/08/2026
Giving Up Is Not an Option
We had no electricity and no running water. We had barely begun to get a cell phone signal again. Our entire neighborhood was only at the beginning of a long, difficult recovery that would take more than a year.
But the date had already been set, and I knew I had to complete that chapter of my journey.
By the end of October 2017, I made the call to confirm my participation. Some people thought Hurricane Maria would stop me. It didn’t.
My flight was scheduled to leave Puerto Rico on December 9 at 7:00 PM, giving me enough time to arrive in Hartford, Connecticut, get some sleep, and prepare for several demanding hours of examination the following day.
But snowstorms delayed my flight.
Instead, I ended up leaving Puerto Rico at 1:00 AM on Sunday, December 10—the very day of my examination. I arrived in Hartford just in time to leave the airport and head directly to the location where more than a dozen black belts were waiting to test alongside me.
I had not slept that night. I had barely eaten breakfast. And I arrived carrying with me everything I had endured since Hurricane Maria struck in September, right up until the night before the examination.
Then the test began.
For more than four hours, I performed all 24 Tuls, 10 prearranged sparring sequences, board breaking, self-defense, and multiple rounds of free sparring—the final two rounds against two black belts simultaneously.
Several times, I felt as though I was about to pass out. I was exhausted, dehydrated, and mentally drained.
But I finished.
And I successfully passed my examination for 7th Dan.
Receiving my final technical rank from one of Taekwon-Do’s pioneers—one of the very few 9th Dans personally promoted by Taekwon-Do founder General Choi Hong Hi, and the first Korean to achieve 9th Dan—was an extraordinary privilege and honor.
The sacrifice was worth it.
Today, I look back on that day with pride, but also with humility. I now hold the rank of 9th Dan, and with it I feel an even greater sense of responsibility.
Never give up on your dreams and goals. Persevere. Work hard. Believe in yourself. But above all, trust in the One who placed within you what you need to succeed.
GM Jesús Alicea, 9th Dan
President & Founder
International ASAS Taekwon-Do Federation
