Candidate Journals

It took a long time to get done what I did today. I really missed my workout with Inst. Randle too. It seems to go by much faster with a friend. I went running today, rather than walking, and will really need to pick up the pace. I am not even close to most of my physical targets yet and that is a little discouraging. I guess that's where the perseverance comes in. According to Benjamin Franklin, energy and persistence conquer all things. I could use some extra energy.

Had fun in Little Tigers today. I got to be Jimmy's family. Then after class I worked with Zack on balance and did some requirements. We worked on staff forms in black belt class today and poomsaes. After class Inst. Randle and I went for a walk. Thanks Connie! I went for another walk with my mother later. Jeremy's birthday is tomorrow. I hope it's a good day.

My parents are visiting for a long weekend. Today was a good day and it was really nice to spend time with them. Hopefully we will get outside and walk tomorrow afternoon. I doubt this will be a big catching up weekend. Luckily there are only a few things that I am behind in. I hope we have more little tigers in class tomorrow.

Need to get busy on several things, but it will be nice to spend some time with my parents this weekend. We might even have a little birthday party for Jeremy on Super Bowl Sunday. Maybe they will join me on some miles, or share some quiet time/meditation. I need to settle on a book and read it too, but not this weekend. I really enjoy the PMAA classes, but tonight it didn't click. Maybe next time it will.

Today went by fast and it seemed like I actually accomplished something at work. That's a good thing! After work, I helped with Jr. Tigers class. It was fun doing foot fives with the kids to help them work on their kicks. We even figured a way to do foot fives with roundhouse kicks. My cousin called tonight and she was doing her pushups while I was doing my sit-ups and kicks. She's a crew coach and was giving me some ways to work on my running. I'll need to try them out soon.

Got most of it done today. It was so nice outside when I got home from work that I got out for a mile before class. Found out the physical test is a month earlier than I thought. That's a lot less time to get ready, but at least it will be over sooner and out of the way, one way or the other. I'm still doing pushups 10 at a time or 15 and rarely 20, but I can do the 10 much faster than when I started. Progress, right? Need to get to 40. Worked with my mentor on specials and hapkido. These are some that it is much easier to practice with someone else. I feel like there is so much to learn. I guess that will never stop.

Today was a pretty good day. Getting up earlier in the morning to get a chuck of requirements has really helped me out a lot. I haven't felt exhausted at the end of every day when I go to bed. I need to get busy on my essays and get them out of the way. As long as I can consistently get a little done each day, it will all come together in the end. It would be nice to be enough ahead to not worry about getting behind at Instructor's Camp, but at least not being behind would be good too. I'm working on that. Actually got in a little more than a mile waiting for piano lessons to finish. Tomorrow is another day!

I am very happy to have the pretest successfully behind me. Now I need to start concentrating on other things, as well as continuing to work on color belt poomsaes and self defense. I had a very productive day today. Thank you Inst. Randle for letting me work out with you. It sure makes for a lot more fun and helps keep me motivated. It's also easier to work through a question than practice it wrong repeatedly. Thanks for getting me the miracle pull-up bungee cord too. That is a huge help. In past cycles I have had to work at the sparring rounds and jump rope because I let them get away from me. This is the first time I've had to do pull-ups. I am determined to not let that happen with them or any requirement. I am working on closing all the gaps. Can't wait until the weather...

Saturdays are harder for me. After Black Belt class and Sparring class it is hard to find the energy to finish all of my requirements. I'll have to figure something out, but I'm out of steam for today. I need to drink more water too. I finally found a mentee and I am excited about working with her.

Two weeks, or one fifth of ten weeks already complete. Wow! Time goes by whether we are ready for it or not. Let's all be ready! Today was a productive day for me as far as requirements go. Work was rather interesting due to the weather. Left a couple of hours early and came home to work from home. Off to get in a little more studying for the pretest tomorrow.

Today seemed like a long day even though the actual time certainly isn't any longer than any of the others. My eyes are burning. Did some requirements this morning, but got up a little later, so not as much time. Work has been really busy and that doesn't help focus on other things too. There is a lot going on all around. At this point I can honestly say that I am more tired from not enough sleep than from requirements. I guess that could be good or bad. I do have some areas that I need to catch-up on and pull-ups will be tough, especially if I can only do one at a time sometimes. Need to get on those, but I need to get some rest now.

I was able to do many requirements this morning before work, but not as much as I had hoped, so had more to do tonight. Helping with Jr. Tigers is fun, especially working with some of the students who started out in Little Tigers. It is very rewarding working with someone for a period of time and watching them grow. I was working on my new skill for a little while tonight and find that it is much like being a white belt. I feel very lost and my body does not want do what my mind tells it to do. It is definitely uncomfortable, if not entirely awkward. I definitely have a greater appreciation for the skills and hard work that is required to become proficient.

Woke up and got a lot of requirements done this morning. I don't know why it seems to take longer to finish up in the evening than it does in the morning. I did pushups in between self defense this morning and finished most of them before work, but I still didn't have enough left to do even one pull up tonight. If there's a trick to pull ups, please share. It would be nice to have time at work to take a break and go for a walk in the afternoon. I haven't had a chance to do that in a while. Hopefully soon.

Today was a lazy day that didn't work out the way I hoped it would. That is okay, but means that I didn't accomplish everything I wanted to. One thing I did work on that wasn't on the list was one of my essays. My library books are due and need to be returned. I did get outside for a little while and it was a beautiful day.

Week two started off much the same as most days last week, but today I was done with most of my requirements before class and then got some extra jump rope rounds and burpees done in class. After black belt class was sparring class. Master Kim kept us moving. It was nice to not feel pressured to work on requirements all day. I think week one was a great beginning! I need to study for the pretest this week and find a mentee.

This week has been challenging to fit in everything in that needed to be done. I didn't quite get everything done, but did make a lot of progress. I don't like playing catch-up, but need to before it gets out of hand. The perception of priorities is different for different people one of my priorities is to stay caught up on my pushups. I am determined to do at least the minimum each day. I started working on my new skill tonight and I get to spend time with my husband at the same, so it is a win-win for me. He's teaching me to play bass guitar and trying to point out patterns to make it easier. Just as I was as a white belt, very uncomfortable and lost, but the more I learn the more comfortable I will be. Sometimes comfortable might not be a good thing because I tend to...

Wow! What a black belt class! Thanks Master Evins for reminding us that even of we only have a little time, we can get a lot done if we don't waste the little time we have. I have only done as many burpies in as short a time at Boot Camp. I remember in past Black Belt cycles feeling much more sore than I feel now. It does usually take two days, right? I haven't been to PMAA class for a long time. Even though half the time I feel lost, I still enjoy it. I wish I had more time to continue PMAA after the cycle is complete. I have been focusing on what I need to know for the pretest and know I have a lot to learn. I hope I can keep from getting too stressed about it. I think tomorrow is another day

It seems that as much as we do, there is always so much more waiting. Time just slips by. The cycle just started, but already four days are past. Getting up early has been the best way for me to complete requirements. I need to drag myself out of bed just a little bit earlier to get just a few more requirements finished before work. It needs to be a routine. It was fun helping Inst. Randle with the Jr. Tigers class this evening. When I arrived at the class, the kids were practicing lining up and beginning class. It was really great to see them so excited about Tae Kwon Do. It is so awesome to watch kids grow and learn.

I have been getting up earlier than I usually do. I'm not a morning person, but I have been able to complete several requirements before going to work in the morning which makes the remaining requirements in the evening much less. I know balance is important and am trying to keep some level of balance. I'm not very good at imagining, so I tried doing my self defense in front of the vacuum cleaner. It's good that it doesn't fight back, but it gives me a point of reference and helps me imagine better. It's the little things, right? The website is really looking good and entering the completed requirements is so much easier than previously. Awesome job Inst. Uczen! We appreciate all of your efforts! Maybe I can get to bed early.

Wow! I don't know if I'm ready for this, but I better be ready by April. I got off to a pretty good start yesterday and had a very productive workout session with Inst. Randle today and accomplished much. Thanks Connie! It's so much more fun when you work out with a friend! There is still a long way to go. I have good intentions of getting up earlier to get a jumpstart on my days with some of the requirements. I will see how that goes. Tomorrow is another day. Wenona Dege