Candidate Journals

This is it! The Final Countdown!  Let's get it!  Congratulations in advance!

One more day before THE BIG DAY!  I feel like I can't do anything but eat, drink and breathe Tae Kwon Do!  I am so excited!  I am using so many explanation marks!  This is unbelievable!  I'm going to remember EVERYTHING!  I should go to sleep.  Signing off.

    A big brown truck delivered our beautiful Japanese Boxwoods today.  The tree represents the innocent student in their early stages of development and with the right nurturing they can become strong trees. (Master Chelley Hartle).

Today, I decided to be mute because I knew I was going to LKN to help with Bags of Hope and I was going to want to talk.  I met KT's  Matthew B. and I really wanted to talk, but all I could do was give him the thumbs up and write a quick note.  I was successful until I got home and my dog met me at the door and I said HEY!  I realized that I goofed in that moment.  The rest of the day went fine.  I worked on requirements  and later realized I failed to enter my tracking on line for awhile, so I'm tapping away tonight.  

It was such a beautiful morning today.  The sky was a clear azure blue with dollops of fluffy white starched clouds.  Aqua Bella and I went to the tennis courts where I practiced my poomsae's and she practiced her speedy run arounds.  It was so convenient having so much space.  I didn't have to readjust my positions or step over Aqua the way I do in the limited space of my living room.   I went to King Tiger North Charlotte for my sparring class and had an awesome time.  We practiced a ton of kicks.  Thank you Max!  

Today was a blur.  i was sleepy, but started the day doing an at home cycling class and then worked on my requirements.  I made a weeks worth of dog food and also salads for dinner.  I knocked out a few assisted pull ups, attended the Adult class, got mentored, and met with my mentee.

This morning I ran around the track in Harrisburg.  When I first saw it, I said Whoa-ah!  When I looked up again, after running my mouth the whole time, we were finished with the two loops and then we kept going. Here's the new link for the Blooket Bo Cho Dan Test Study Guide. It also includes questions from the Pre-Test. The Flag page is not included. There are a few questions not included. Number 8 is not included. Please continue to study your notes. This link expires on March 16 at what time? 11:59 of course. https://play.blooket.com/play?hwId=65e6478ac1c9eaad7f8bcef7 Thank you Grand Master Evins for the Instructor Camp credits found on the BB FB page......SNOOPY DANCE!!!

I worked on requirements this morning and took a nice long drive back to Charlotte from Greenville.  My dog greeted me with a giant hop twist dance and insisted on going for a two-mile walk.   I attended my mom's Sunday School group call, our family group chat and later attended a Zoom surprise birthday party.  I ate dinner and practiced more Poomsae's and Self-defense.

I enjoyed spending time with the King Tiger family at the Instructors Camp.  This year we were trained on how to teach the different populations at our schools.  We also broke out into groups and learned the secret to knocking over a free standing kicking bag, tested our endurance, leadership, sparring, teamwork and a whole lot more.  If you didn't attend this year, you definitely don't want to miss the next camp. 

Day is done, gone the sun.  I feel like I drove all day today.  No human contact.  Tomorrow will be a very busy day.  Lots of human contact.  : )

If you've played Blooket at school, I created a Blooket game for the Bo Cho Dan test.  Here is the Blooket link: https://play.blooket.com/play?hwId=65e146b565eb894c2c62f2c8 The link will close on Sunday night.  I will refresh the link on Monday.    

Today was a fine, fine King Tiger day.  I completed all of my requirements this morning and later helped in the Junior Tigers class.  I attended High Belt and Black Belt classes this evening.  Did you know Wang Ho means King Tiger?

Did you know that Kyoru Gi (Sparring or Fighting) is a practical application of various forms against an actual opponent?

Wow, what a beautiful day today!  The flowers in my yard bloomed like crazy.  We walked what I thought was surely 2 1/2 miles, but it was only 1.6 miles.  FYI: Why do we wear different colored belts?  To symbolize an increase in knowledge with the darkness of color.

I worked more on front, side and back falls today since I am not very fond of falling.  My dog walked me a couple of miles and after, I prepped for an event for Sunday.   Later, I reluctantly watched a few episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender.  There was a scene in episode 2 where the female warriors were practicing Tessen Jutsu, a Japanese martial art that involves an iron fan.  The form is fascinating.  The scene was funny because the instructor was tough.  FYI: Which poomsae represents the sun or fire?  Tae Keuk Sam Chang (green).

I attended sparring and black belt class today.  I was very pleased with my poomsae's and self defense.  FYI: What part of the foot do we use for a front kick?  The ball of the foot.

Well, wow, other than working on my requirements, I didn't have a very productive day.  I went on a two-mile walk with my dog and... cricket sounds. FYI: The Korean National Flower is The Rose of Sharon.

Today I was quite the domestic engineer and that included making a Sunday dinner.  Although we love our instructors, we were very excited that Grand Master Lee was our Sun Bae Nim today.  I was one of the chosen to demonstrate with him.  We also got a chance to see Master Evins.  I came home, ate and worked on my splits, more kicks, poomsae's and self defense, again carefullllly.  FYI: We punch with the biggest two knuckles.

I missed class today and was not thrilled with that, but I had to rest today.  I worked on my poomsae's and self-defense slowwwly and carefullllly.  my knees will be happy tomorrow.  They were very angry today.  I am excited about seeing Grand Master Lee tomorrow.  

I went to Reedy Creek Park this morning.  I wanted to try out the NFL/Panthers obstacle course  before running with my friend.  We went through the course not really knowing what we were doing, but had fun anyway as it was a nice warm up before the run.  We ran three miles through the trails and the road.  I didn't keep up with  my friend because the knees were not at all happy today.  I took my dog for a walk when I returned home.  This evening I helped out with the smaller tigers and attended high belt and black belt classes.  Instructor Courtney from the LKN campus visited us today.  She was very helpful and patient with coaching me on my red belt self defense.  Thank you  Instructor Courtney!

Today was the day for my Hot Chocolate 5k.  I finished in 45:07.  During the week, I usually finish in thirty-two to thirty three minutes.  I was very happy to finish.  After the first mile and a half we received chocolate morsels and water.  There were lots of sneaky inclines.  The scenery of the city was, well, new...Charlotte built a whole new city within the city!  After the run, we received a metal, two cans of Bush's Baked Beans, water, electrolyte drinks and a "Mug Bowl" that included a cup of rich hot chocolate in the middle surrounded by cookies, marshmallows, rice krispy treats, nuts, melted chocolate and a banana.  There was a variety of whipped topping flavors.  Oh, we also received a nice warm hoodie to run in.  It was pretty windy when we started, no T-shirts for us!  We took pictures, jumped to the sound of the DJ and...

I went to sparring and did a better job than usual.  After sparring, I attended Black Belt class, had a mentoring session and dinner.  Declan asked me how I felt about the Black Belt cycle.  I told him that there are quite a lot of requirements to complete.  I said I was worried that I would forget my movements or not be able to kick high enough.   I also told him that I was concerned about falling incorrectly.  Declan advised me to practice rolls and falls on the thick black mat first and then use the thinner blue mat later.  Declan has "been here before" and always gives one something to ponder upon.  Thank you Declan!

Happy Valentines Day!  I ran this morning in preparation for the Hot Chocolate Run.  I didn't remember one of the hills we were running up, but my friend reminded me that I am usually talking when we approach the hill and may not have noticed it on the previous days run  : )   ; ).  I went to the school to work on my requirements and later arrived home to focus on Oh Chang and High Green Belt Self-Defense.

Today was another great day!  I helped in the Senior Tigers class, attended the Adult class and mentored my new mentee.  I went home and worked on my self-defense and poomsae's.  I finished Sam Chang extremely fast and realized I'd left out quite a few movements,  six to be exact : ).  There are 34 movements in Tae Geuk Sam Chang.  

High Belt class was great today.  We started with some kind of Crazy Floor Rolls that made me dizzy and we also practiced Kick Routines, Poomsae's and Self Defense.  In Black Belt class, we practiced Knife training.  I was able to find the only tutorial on You-Tube for Koryo Self-Defense since the one on this sight is no longer loading. The channel is: King Tiger Tae Kwon Do Bocho Dan Deputy Black Belt Self Defense by King Tiger Tae Kwon Do.  

Today at church, I was in the dining room uncovering the food.  I looked up to tell everyone to start fixing their plates and as I looked toward the far, far end of the room, I saw my husband (he was supposed to be in West Virginia).  I said, "HEY, THERE'S TROY!  Then I said, IS THAT HIM?  : ) I was surprised because I didn't expect to see him until Monday.  I didn't run today because my knees are the size of elephants knees.  I worked on my self defense,  poomsae's and other requirements, and watched the first few seconds of the Super Bowl and the half-time show.  I usually watch the last quarter, but I really needed to get some reading in.  I don't know anything about football, but I do know the importance of the last inning or quarter, whatever it is.  I'm from Cali, so of course...

I attended sparring class today.  We're working on splits and limbering up for higher kicks.  The rest of the day was a blur.  Requirements are coming along fine.  

I had a good jog today.  Lots of hills and thank God I have the gift of gab, because I ran my mouth throughout the whole run to get my mind off of the hills...much better than yesterday.  I'm happy to have someone to run with.  I'm really excited about the Hot Chocolate 5k we're training for.  Well, the social media algorithm stuck a MudGirl run into my feed today, I guess because I signed up for the HC 5k, so now I'm participating in the mud run...by myself, but I'll meet some people as I always do.  Black Belt class was successful for me.  We did rolls, falls, self-defense, poomsae's and my version of a split.  We ate pizza and fruit after which was in line with National Pizza Day today.  I went home, played with the dogs (separately) and worked on the remainder of my requirements.  Thank you Avery...

The morning weather was perfect for running, and run I did.  

Today I worked on more kicks than usual along with my other requirements.  A shipmate of mine called to see if I was still running in the Hot Chocolate 5k, but was worried that we were supposed to train close to a year earlier, as she was confused with training for a marathon.  I assured her that we could run the 5k.  We will run three miles in the morning using the Galloway method.  I'm really excited about the run.  

I spent a lot of time on my self-defense today, a lot of time like two to three hours, but that included a lot of pausing, rewinding and water.  I was very pleased with the outcome, but when I returned from class my brain bubble was empty.  : )  Class was great.  Aurora was a great partner to work with.  She remembers everything, she's very patient and respectful and a great coach!

This was another day that I felt like I didn't get much done, but realized I studied, swept, mopped, cleaned, washed dishes, washed clothes & dog beds, moved plants, walked the dog, rotated dogs every hour for free-ranging, completed TKD requirements, read a chapter of my book, filled in my calendar, attended a zoom meeting and ate...all without sugar today!  

Happy Sunday!  We went to church and my SIL visited and sang with my husband.  Everyone loved it and of course when church was over, my husband had little crowds around him as he showed his video of the previous days incident.  If you read yesterdays journal, my husband told me that per the doctor what I actually saw was his muscles moving back and forth, not the tendons.  That's how deep the gash is.  Whatever it was, I still can't fully watch the video, because what I saw was unbelievable.  After church we ate lunch at Hello, Sailor.  The rest of today is a blur, so I'll work on the rest of my physical requirements tomorrow.  I am almost finished with the Blooket game for the written test and I will read a little this evening.

This morning, I did everything I could to talk myself out of going to sparring class, but I ended up going...IT WAS AMAZING!  Later, I taught a cake decorating class and when I was finished, my husband called and asked me to bring gauze and alcohol home, stating that the dogs had a fight.  I came home to a macabre scene in all but two areas in my house.  Maya, the dog that is visiting me, the one who I cleaned my house for, attacked my dog and my husband got the worst of it whilst breaking them apart.  I saw his tendons, HIS ACTUAL REAL LIVE ARM TENDONS!  He wanted me to liquid stitch them, but I didn't think it was a good idea...later, in the emergency ward, he recorded his tendons moving back and forth before getting stitches.  I don't want to see the video.  I'm sure guy's will think this is...

I had a great workout this morning, focusing on my self defense.  I cleaned my house for my cousins dog(?)  She's staying with us for a week.  She's really mean to my dog because she's never been around other dogs. I went to my friends bakery to make a wedding cake and later went to Black Belt class.  Each BB candidate led a poomsae.  I must give a big shout out to Molly for helping me across the floor during a kicking exercise: MOLLY YOU ROCK!

Today was a good day for running outside.  My dog attracts a lot of attention, so I had to stop several times for people to pet her.  I'm not complaining though because I like the breaks, especially after running uphill.   I try to run around 3pm when it's warmer outside and I guess everyone else has the same idea of being outside too.  Class was good this evening.  I led the warm-up and was mentored.  When I got home, I ate and got ready to work on my self-defense, but my husband wanted me to watch a documentary called, "Toilet: A New Era."  It's interesting, but I had to work on my requirements.   

I got off to a slow start today.  I am a morning person, but lately I've been getting back into bed because I wake up an hour before the alarm.  I should stay up because I am wide awake at 05:45, but my bed feels betrayed and I feel obligated to get the eighth hour in, but then it ends up being several hours.  So, here I am, doing another late night workout.  Class was awesome today led by our very own Connor Foster.  Declan was an awesome partner and he did a great job correcting me.  I'm still working on splits, lots of self-defense and a few poomsae's.  I am creating a Blooket game for the black belt written test.  Blooket is similar to Kahoot! and Quizlet.

One day I will kick higher, I will have an amazing tornado kick and a fierce crescent kick.  I can't figure out why I can kick slightly higher when I'm kicking air, but I kick extremely lower when I'm kicking a person or an object.  I'll keep striving to kick higher, hit my target and jump higher.  If anyone could see me when I'm practicing by myself, I'm amazing,  I kick high, I fly through the air like Hong Kong Phooey!  I videotaped myself and in reality, my kicks are lowwww. : )   : )  

Louise!  Just because I can run a few miles, doesn't mean I can spar for three minutes!  : )  Man oh man!  I really need to practice more sparring, but I really do not enjoy it at all.  In Leadership Class, we discussed making a list of what we are good at and what we are not so good at.  I am not so good at sparring.  I do not like sparring and I definitely don't enjoy sparring with boys or men because they kick the daylights out of me, so therefore, I will not spar with them anymore.  I prefer Double Stick Fighting and the Bo Staff.  I did have another great "Super Saturday" starting with Sparring, practicing Poomsae's and kicking the bags before the next class, Family Class and Leadership Class.  My bones hurt.   'Twas a great day.

I woke up this morning, read my bible app and went outside to check the weather.  I started my workout this morning with Black Belt Samery on YouTube.  I completed a ten minute high kick routine, a ten minute stretch for higher kicks routine and six minutes of a ten minute jump rope routine.  I was supposed to get some Poomsaes in since I scheduled Poomsae's in the morning and running, self defense and exercises in the afternoon. This afternoon I completed my two-mile run with my dog.  It was our first time running outside since the rain and cold weather.  The weather was perfect to run in and being outside was a great change from the treadmill. This evening we practiced self-defense in our black belt class.  The higher we got, the worse I performed.  I realized that up to this point, I've been working on the same self defenses and had...

Yes!  I finally made it to class today.  I led the floor portion of today's warm-up.  As a White Belt today, I forgot to Ki Hap and pre-prep for the next movements.  I finally completed a few successful rolls without cracking my head and I made a little progress in my pull up (singular).  I'm looking forward to doing a full session of non-stop self defense tomorrow (hint-hint).  Rain, rain go away. 

Well, here I go again, another late night of training.  Alarm is set for 06:00.  Tomorrow's the day! 

I had a pretty good late night workout.  I'm really trying to get the workouts in early in the morning...preferably at 06:00.

I led the White Belts today.  I did a great job with the Poomsae's and Self-Defense, however, I could not get the words out of my mouth.  I remembered the  commands, Imagine me, speechless! :0

Another great class today.  Kicks, sticks, poomsae's, self defense and TACO'S!  I'm still attempting the pull-up, but I'm just hanging for now..."womp womp."

I wanted to run outside today, but it was too cold for my doggies paws to be on the pavement.   Later, much later, I remembered the old dusty treadmill in the garage under boxes of books.  I cleaned it, plugged it in and ran .25 miles...pitiful!  I also saw something jump across the garage, so I ran faster to make that one lap and  I got out of there!  I worked on poomsae's, planks and more earlier today.  I'll run longer tomorrow.

It is such a joy being a part of the Black Belt cycle!  I was happy to perform the crescent kick today without kicking my partner in the head.  I don't think I've ever kicked that high, although in my mind I think I kick higher than I actually kick in real life. 

 Poomsae testing with others puts my mind in a blur.  When I know what I know, it's awesome.  When I don't know what I should know, my mind is like, "What in the world, what just happened? 

When I attempted to perform a pull-up, it felt like a bat flew out of my deltoid. : )

A Pre-Test is a test to evaluate the preparedness of students for further study.  As I was "re-mastering" the first seven Poomsae's, I wondered what kept getting in the way of my daily practice?  What was I doing all of this time?  Why didn't I wait until the next cycle to get it all together?  I convinced myself that this was the perfect time because this is a pretest, and I won't remember what I don't remember. I knew what to expect, but I didn't know what to expect. If I don't do it now, I'll never be ready.   I'd probably still have something else to get me off schedule.  Since I was given grace, in the form of a pre-test or a dress rehearsal, I now have several opportunities to prepare myself for the big day when it comes. This time I will do what I was supposed to do; Stay Ready So I Don't Have...