The crazy things we do when we turn 40

My daughter does Taekwondo and has for around 18 months. She really enjoys it and she is now a blue belt, so she is only 3 grades away from black belt. She's been asking me for months to do Taekwondo with her, but I always said no. Well, last month I caved and started going to classes with her. I wasn't the only adult there (there are four of us) but we did look pretty silly in a sea of 7 year olds. I discovered I can't do a push-up.
Three weeks after I started training, my instructor - a lady called Kathy who was on the 1992 British Olympic Team and is the highest graded woman in Great Britain - informed me that I was ready for my first grading. I passed, skipped a grade, and went straight to a yellow belt! I am really, really enjoying Taekwondo and I can feel myself getting stronger. Plus, there's a benefit in kicking the hell out of something (or sometimes someone!) to de-stress.
Georgia also spars competitively (see picture). Last weekend she lost for the first time, to a girl who happens to be British Junior Champion, and on the drive home she told me that she was scared of sparring again. I told her that there are lots of reasons to stop doing stuff, but fear isn't one of them, and if she quit because she was scared she'd probably regret it later. So she said, "You do it then, Mum! You start sparring because I know you're scared!" She's right. The thought of standing in a ring with someone, in full protective pads, trying to kick them before they can kick me, scares the crap out of me. I spar in class - in fact last night I was learning how to do defensive kicks - but I really am scared to do it competitively. But I can't say to my kid "Don't quit just because you're scared," and then not face that fear myself.
So on my 40th birthday, I'm going to get in the ring for the first time. Kathy and I talked about it at last night's class, and she said she can find someone "around my age" (because I'm not going up against some 18 year old who can kick my butt) and of a similar weight and grading between now and October. I've asked John for a full set of protective pads - head, body, arms, shins, hands and feet - for my 40th birthday. He's relieved I'm not asking for jewellery again!