Candidate Journals

After black belt class today I was able to spend the rest of the day with my daughter who came home from college this weekend.  I'm taking her back to Greensboro tomorrow, so I'll miss the Mint Hill Park training with Master Dege and Master Burkhart.  I always look forward to that training.  Master Dege and I are really polishing up our creative form.  We're both really happy with how it turned out.  We just need to make sure we are spot on with timing and position.  

I wasn’t able to journal yesterday because the storm took out my internet.  That storm was pretty scary.  We almost evacuated part of the hospital.  On the bright side, no internet and no cable left plenty of time for requirements!

Today was just plain weird.  Almost every patient I touched today had serious issues that needed to be resolved.  I love being a nurse, but some days are exhausting.  I have a strange pain in my right hip that I feel mostly when I’m kicking with my left leg.  Makes me think my stance is off somehow when all my weight is on that base leg.  It started last night in class and hasn’t really gotten any better.  Might have to pass on kicks tonight.  

Up early for push-ups, sit ups and burpees.  Taking care of my journal entry now because I will not be home until around 10 PM tonight. Just works out better for me to head to class from work without coming home in between, so it’s going to be a long day.  Thank goodness for Master Dege!  She’s always just a text message away when I’m trying to sort out self-defense in my head and she never hesitates to help me!

I have officially completely paid for the Korea trip!  Now I just need to save up some spending money!  Today was a typical Monday at work, very busy.  I'm home now and about to get started on requirements.  I'm starting to get nervous about testing in front of Grandmaster Lee and his Korean colleagues who are so high up in the ranks at Kukkiwon.  I'm scared my mind will go blank and I'll just freeze.  I actually did go blank when I performed my creative form at the public exam when I tested for 4th Dan.  I just kept moving my staff until the music stopped.  I even looked at Master Chelley at one point and did jazz hands.  Not my best moment.  Thank goodness she laughed.  It was very obvious that I was not doing the same form I had done for the Masters during the private exam.  

It was a beautiful day today!  Took a 2 mile walk and worked on Poomsaes.  Ended the day getting all my self defenses jumbled.  Again.  I think I might be thinking about it too much.  Now I’m watching the Super Bowl even though I vowed never to watch football again after Luke Kuechly retired.

Today has been long but awesome. Helped in junior Tigers class, then helped in black belt class. Master Dege, Master Burkhart and I all took a section of the class and taught different things.  Then we went to help with the food drive for our community service project.  I had to come home and rest for a bit, but then I started working on requirements.  I have discovered that I need to say the belt level and the number of each self-defense out loud as I do them to help keep me focused on which belt level I’m actually doing.  Hopefully this will prevent them from swimming around in my head and getting all jumbled.

Well… I just entered a journal entry and evidently it has disappeared... so here I go again. I am very excited that it’s Friday. This was a long week. Tonight I’m going to go eat dinner with my friend Beth and then hopefully get some requirements in.  Did 40 push-ups this morning but that was it. It’s raining and cold! Fortunately, I bought a furnace today and my house is warming up!

Got home from Black Belt class at about 9:30 pm.  I was able to fit about 30 minutes of pushups, situps and burpees in, but I'm going to have to call it a night.  My furnace died of old age and I haven't had heat for the past 2 days.  I'm having a new furnace installed tomorrow for $3,500.00.  That's a very painful price.  I wasn't expecting it, but we never do expect those kinds of things.  We worked on Espada y Daga 1-4 in my Mentor session with Master Cavazos tonight, and Master Dege and I practiced our creative form.  Now I'm off to bed.  

Worked, ate dinner, and now I'm working on self defense- Bo Cho Dan all the way up to special self defense # 4.  I'm going to do it over and over and over to make sure it sticks.  Pushups, situps and burpees after each belt level self defense and then I'll finish with a few rounds of sparring combinations and jump rope.  

Long day today.   A beloved patient passed away and I found out that one of my colleagues has Cancer.  Life happens whether we are ready for it or not.  I crashed Master Cavazos's Mentor session tonight after class because I'm falling a little behind after missing class the day my son's car broke down.  Working on the Jidokwan staff forms makes me miss Grandmaster Jung.  It was amazing to be able to learn from him.  I'm having flight of ideas!  And, it's so late, I don't think I'm going to get any additional requirements done tonight.  

It's 8:00 pm and I haven't started working on requirements yet (except the mile walk which I did at lunch).  It's going to be a late night.  I was up early but couldn't do my usual pushups, situps and burpees because I had to be at work early, so that threw my routine out of whack.  I'll stay at work tomorrow until Black Belt Class because I just can't face the 45 min-1 hr drive home from work in traffic and then the 40 minute drive to class and then the 40 minute drive back home.  I know I complain about the drive a lot, but it's just no fun.    

It was another beautiful Sunday and another awesome training day with Master Dege and Master Burkhart at Mint Hill Park. We trained for three hours! Master Dege and I finished our creative form! Very exciting! I came home did sparring rounds and jump rope and finished off with push-ups and sit ups. Now it’s 3 PM and the day is almost over!  But what a great day!

Full day of training today- junior tigers, worked on creative poomsae with Master Dege, black belt class, mentor session, then home to do pushups on my Push Up Pump, more poomsaes and lots of self defense.  Now I need to make sure I know everything on the written exam.  Looking forward to meeting Master Dege and Master Burkhart at Mint Hill Park tomorrow.  

I have not been feeling well today, so I think I am going to pass on requirements. I will have to make it up sometime this weekend. It’s very inconvenient to be sick during the cycle. I hope that by getting rest tonight I will feel better by tomorrow.

Another long 45 minute drive home from class.  Staff forms in class and double stick 2 in my mentor session with Master Cavazos.  I'm definitely feeling better about double stick 2.  For some reason, my mind just wasn't grasping it.  I really focused on self defense today.  I just need to practice, practice, practice.  Still need to work on 3rd Dan one-step and special self defense #4 A LOT.  

I was sooooo hungry when I got home from work today so I took my son Ethan to DaeBak- the Korean restaurant that we went to when Grandmaster Lee was in town.  It was delicious and my son loved it.  Now I'm home and I'm getting started on requirements.  I was able to do 100 pushups this morning before work, but I didn't get in the situps and burpees like I usually do.  I also need to catch up on self defense because I'm running a little bit behind so I'll focus on those requirements tonight.  I have so much work to do, but I feel myself becoming stronger.  And, as an added bonus- I've lost 10 pounds since the cycle started.  I still have more to go, but that little bit of weight makes a huge difference in my training!

Just got home from Black Belt class.  We worked on single stick forms in class and then Staff forms and Special #2 Self Defense with Master Dege's mentees.  I don't think I'll get much done in the way of requirements tonight but at least I was able to fit in some requirements this morning.  I have a 7 am meeting tomorrow, so requirements will have to wait until tomorrow night.  

Today was long.  Monday's are always long.  I woke up at 5 am and worked on Poomsaes and Self Defense and then came home to continue requirements.  I've started doing my pushups on my pushup machine instead of on an incline.  The machine is called the "Pushup Pump" and it supports my upper body and doesn't stress my shoulder.  Hopefully the incline pushups have helped me develop some shoulder strength and will prevent me from injuring myself.  Speaking of pushups, I'm off to do my 200 right now.  

I'm surprised that today was so beautiful after all the rain last night.  Today I met Master Dege and Master Burkhart at Mint Hill Park and we trained for 2 1/2 hours!!  It's so helpful to train with people who can confirm that I'm not practicing incorrectly.  We worked on high belt poomsaes and stick and staff forms.  The only sticks form we didn't get to was Double Stick #2.  Master Dege and I were also able to work on high belt self defense, especially 3rd Dan 1-step.  The weekend was way too short!

Today has been great so far!  i helped in the Junior Tigers class this morning, then worked with Master Dege on our creative poomsae- we have lots of ideas!  Black Belt class was awesome!  We don't do falls very much in regular classes so it was really good to do them in class today.  It's not really something I 'practice', but I gave it my all in class!  I do need to get better at back-rolls.  I'm looking forward to meeting Master Dege and Master Burkhart at Mint Hill Memorial Park tomorrow at 12:30 pm for training.  If anyone wants to join, you are welcome to come!

Yesterday did not go as planned. My son’s car broke down in the middle of a busy 4 lane road yesterday during rush hour traffic. We had it towed last night and will have to figure out what is wrong with it today. I really hope the cost is minimal, but it’s an old car so I’m trying to prepare myself for the worst.  I was not able to make it to Black Belt class or to my mentor session last night. I am up early again today trying to get requirements done, but I’m feeling run down and tired and I’m not making much progress. 

Up early this morning for pushups, situps and burpees.  It'll be another busy day today- work, black belt class, then mentor session with Master Cavazos.  Master Cavazos will hopefully work with Master Dege and me on Double Stick 2 tonight.  I've done quite a bit of research for my essay about the Hwarangdo warriors.  The first Hwarangdo warriors were actually women!  Cool fact!

Long day today.  Woke up at 5 am- 100 pushups, 100 situps, 10 burpees.  I stayed at work after 5p instead of going home so that my drive to North Charlotte wouldn't be so long.  Now I'm just getting home after a great black belt class.  I was planning on doing a few more requirements but I think I'm done for the day.  I'll be back at it at 5 am tomorrow.  

Gloomy day.  Not really feeling it.  I did some modified pushups, some situps, poomsaes and self defense when I got home from work.  Now I need to psych myself up to do some burpees and kicks.  This is going to be a really busy week for me at work and I'm feeling stressed.  I'll have to work hard to get everything done.  

I woke up a little bit sore today to say the least, but I was still able to fit in requirements while I cleaned my house.  I'm doing pushups on an incline, but I am unable to bend my elbows very much without putting too much pressure on my right shoulder.  I'm getting nervous about testing in Korea.  I don't want to disappoint Master Evins or Grandmaster Lee, and I don't want to let myself down, either.  The best I can do is continue to practice, practice, practice.  

I.  Am.  Exhausted.  I trained harder today than I have in a long time.  I helped in Junior Tigers class, worked on requirements before black belt class, survived a very strenuous black belt class and then trained with Grandmaster Lee for 2 hours.  I made myself breathe and I pushed through, even when I thought I was going to pass out!!  I just kept thinking, "This is my black belt cycle.  It's supposed to be hard and I'm going to do it!"  I didn't log my requirements yesterday so I will add them to today's log.  I have to count up everything I did today, but I think it's going to be a pretty high number!!  Now I am in bed at 8:15 pm after taking more Advil and I could not be happier about it!  

Tomorrow is the pre-test!  Master Dege and I completed our physical pre-test at the beginning of our audit cycle, so tomorrow we will be helping with the morning classes.  We will definitely be in black belt class for the poomsae and self defense pre-test, though.  I've practiced my poomsae's and self defense so much that they sometimes run together in my mind.  Let's hope that doesn't happen tomorrow in front of Master Evins.  Good luck tomorrow, fellow candidates!

Long day.  Great poomsae review in black belt class tonight and we did tons of requirements!  After class I reviewed 3rd Dan 1-step self defense with Master Dege in our mentor session with Master Cavazos.  Just can’t get that one to stick in my brain! 

My body is so sore from doing all these requirements, but I just have to keep pushing through. I’ve been trying to get started on my essay, but so far I haven’t made much progress.  I definitely don’t want to wait until the last minute to get that done.  Seems like I have a million books about Korean culture and history as well as books about the origin of tae kwon do, so i have no excuse for putting it off.  

Just got home from black belt class. It was an awesome class, but all I had to eat today was two boiled eggs and half an apple. I didn’t really intend not to eat, I was just really busy at work and didn’t have time.  By the end of class I felt a little dizzy. I will not do that again.  I didn’t realize how sore my glutes are from the daily kicks I’m doing for requirements. By the end of class it was hard to hold my leg up! I also recognize how weak my right ankle is. I will have to go see my chiropractor to see if he can help with some ankle rehab.

I am standing in my kitchen doing poomsaes while my riced cauliflower steams in the microwave.  I have to take advantage of every spare minute.  Days like today make me want to come home, get in bed and just cover my head.  I know I can’t do that though.  Many requirements are waiting.

Awesome day today!  Started my day with a 3 mile walk around the lake in my neighborhood.  Worked mostly on poomsaes, self-defense and kicks. My rotator cuff is hurting a bit. I did not log requirements yesterday which means I will have to log yesterday and today in the same entry after I finish journaling. The weekends are never, ever long enough!

I’m sitting in a salon about to get my hair cut and all I can think about is how many requirements I have to do when I get home.  I feel guilty for taking yesterday off.  I’ll try to make up for it today and tomorrow.  I’m struggling with 3rd dan 1step SD.  It’s hard to do without Master Dege!!

Today was a very blue day for me.  I'm very tired of cold rain.  I have been unable to go back and log the requirements I did during the first week of the precycle, so I will be adding those numbers to my log today.  I haven't done any requirements at all today and I'm not feeling quite up to it, so I'll take a day of rest.  Tomorrow I have an appointment to have my federal ID made at the DMV.  I've been needing to get it done to make air travel easier, especially before we go to Korea.  

Today was a really busy work day, but I came home and got started on requirements which made me feel better.  I've done a great job keeping up with requirements so far!  I've created a routine of pushups, situps, burpees, poomsae's, self defense and then sparring rounds and jump rope.  Now I just need to maintain the workout.  

Happy New Year!!!  I started the year off on a great note!  I spent the day with my kids- both of them at the same time!  This is a very rare occurrence!  We shopped at the Premium Outlet Mall and the kids spent some of their Christmas money.  I call them kids but they’re actually 18y and 20y.  I woke up early and knocked out pushups, sit-ups and burpees.  After dinner I’ll work on Poomsaes and Self Defense.  I hope everyone had a great day!  It’s going to be an awesome year!

Hooray!  I am now able to track my requirements and journal, too!!  Perfect way to bring in the new decade!  Fellow candidates- full disclosure about my requirements... I have a rotator cuff injury which prevents me from doing typical pushups, so I am having to do them on an incline.  I am unable to run because of the injury I sustained to my right ankle during my 4th Dan test, so I am walking my miles.  I've cleared this with Master Evins, but I feel like I need to disclose that information to the rest of the candidates.  Even though those activities are modified, I will be logging them on the website.  Burpees are a bit easier (never thought I would say that) because I basically just jump up in the air and then throw my body on the ground.  LOL.  I count pushing myself up off the ground as the pushup.  Being an older student is tough during the cycle.  Any kind of...

I’m having trouble figuring out where to track my requirements. Hopefully if I continue to track on last cycles webpage it will count toward this current cycle. Tonight I trained at 9 Round with Master Dege and Master Burkhart. We were able to knock out a lot of requirements! Looking forward to many more training days at 9 Round.

Today is the first day of the black belt precycle!  I have planned out my training and I’m ready to go.  Being an older student makes it a little harder to recover from injury, so I’ll need to be really careful with my right shoulder and my right ankle.  Now I just need to find a mentee.

The black belt test is over, but I am going to continue my audit cycle until my official cycle starts in January. I have written out a training plan that I will do in addition to requirements. I will continue to build up my strength and improve my physical form. .I have a lot of work still to do.

This has been a crazy week. Haven’t journaled for the past two days and haven’t been able to get many requirements done. My audit cycle is almost over and I still have so much work to do. I’m looking forward to watching the private test Friday night.

i really overdid it yesterday.  I have been so sore today and Advil hasn’t even touched it.  I’ll be working on sit-ups, SD, Poomsaes, jump rope and sparring rounds tonight.  No pushups for me.  

I was so exhausted after working on requirements yesterday that I forgot to journal.   My shoulder is hurting so much now that I can’t do push-ups on the floor. My form is terrible. I will just have to keep modifying the way I do them.   I will probably give myself a break from push-ups after the black belt test on Saturday.   This is my audit cycle, so I will have to continue doing requirements until my test in April. 

Great black belt class today!  I’m exhausted, but it was great!  This whole weekend will be filled with requirements whether I’m exhausted or not.  I have so much to catch up on.  I’m modifying my pushups because of my shoulder pain, but I will continue to do them as best I can.  

I’m so glad the weekend is here!  My weekend will be filled with jump rope, sparring rounds, burpees and push-ups.  Today I realized that I only have 6 months left before I test in Korea.......  (gulp).

Up at 5 AM, worked all day, came home and fed the dog, then black belt class and a mentor session.  Finally home at 10 pm.  I was able to get some self defense done before work and before class.  Can’t do pushups right now because of my shoulder.  Will work on other things.  

 I went to the mountains with some friends after the stick seminar on Saturday. It was great to have a couple of days off. However, I did not do any requirements except walking. When I came home yesterday, I thought it was Sunday and didn’t realize I had black belt class, so I missed it! Back to the grind. I have some catching up to do.

I really enjoyed training with Master Melegrito this weekend.  I love sticks, staff and knife, just don’t get an opportunity for PMAA  training as often as I would like.  I need to focus on jump rope and sparring rounds this week.  I’m behind in pushups too, but my shoulder is still hurting so I’m trying to be careful.

I really wish this hot weather would go away. I am so ready for fall. I think I have officially trashed my right shoulder. It hurts pretty much all the time now. Still trying to do push-ups, but they aren’t very good ones.  I’ll be doing squat thrusts instead of burpees for a while.

Just got home from Black Belt class and it’s 10:10 pm.  Long drive home.  Practiced Tae Kwon forms and hapkido in class and in my mentor session after class.  Wasn’t able to work on many requirements today, but tomorrow is another day.  

My right shoulder is really hurting.  It could have been the pressure washing or it could have been the pushups.  Hard to tell.  I'll be doing pushups on my knees for a while to make sure I don't do any more damage.  Didn't get to very many requirements today but I hope to make up for it tomorrow.  

 This is the second time I have tried to publish this journal, somehow, my journal entries are being lost in cyberspace when I try to do it from my phone. I had a very busy weekend but it was great. I taught  hands only CPR at the American Heart Association heart walk on Saturday morning and then pressure washed my entire house by myself! I was able to do tons of requirements yesterday and today, and now I am exhausted.

I’ve been up since 5 am working on jump rope and sparring rounds and self defense.  I’m lagging behind in all of those as well as pushups. I’ll be doing pushups on my knees for a while to give my right shoulder a break.

Just got home from my business dinner and I’m working on requirements right now. I did do about 75 push-ups this morning and took my sweet little dog on a morning mile walk.. I’m feeling a little better.  I was feeling puny yesterday. My shoulder is starting to feel a little weak from doing push-ups. I will have to modify the push-ups so that I don’t injure my shoulder any further. I actually use a machine called a push-up pump. The push-up pump helps support your body and I love it! 

I’m not feeling very well today.  I was able to do 100 pushups throughout the day, but didn’t get anything else done.  I’m feeling really blah.  Also feeling guilty about having to miss black belt class tomorrow and this coming Saturday.  Hope to feel better tomorrow.

So much for sleeping in....  I woke up at 5:30 am and started cleaning my house.  It is completely clean, so I walked around looking at it for about half an hour- as soon as either one of my kids comes home, it will be trashed instantly.  I worked in requirements as I cleaned and now I'm exhausted.  I hope this week will be a little better at work than last week.  We will see.  I have a work dinner on Tuesday night so I won't be able to go to black belt class and I am teaching CPR at the American Heart Association Heart Walk in Charlotte on Saturday 9/21 during black belt class.  Thursday of next week will be my only class day.  

Very busy day today! Helped with junior tigers class, worked on requirements with Master Dege in between classes and then had a great black belt class. Today is my mother’s birthday so I’m headed to her house to celebrate with dinner.   My sister Drove over from Wilmington, so it will be a little family reunion.

Lots of kicks, poomsaes and SD in black belt Class tonight.  Unfortunately, my right ankle is starting to pop and make cracking noises and it hurts.  Not good.  This is the  ankle I destroyed during the black belt cycle while I was testing for 4th Dan. I’m going to have to be very careful moving forward.  

Today was a great Monday!  My patients behaved over the weekend, so no big urgencies to deal with today.  Just made the worst dinner I’ve probably ever made because I used a new recipe.  Now I’m going to start on requirements.  I only did 35 pushups this morning so I have a long way to go tonight to make up for being lazy this morning.

The weekends pass by so quickly!  I spent today cleaning, doing laundry, and somehow fitting in a good bit of requirements.  Finished a 2 mile walk early this morning when it wasn’t quite so hot.  Now I’m pooped and I’m going to bed early.

I was really nervous about the sparring classes this weekend but they were awesome and I didn’t break anything or die!!  Fun combinations, lots of kicks and lots of cardio.  The abdominal work at the end of class did almost kill me- not gonna lie! Before class, a group of us were able to do poomsaes and self defense.  Now I need to work on pushups and burpees.  But first I think I’ll rest a bit.  

Today I do not feel motivated.  About anything. What I really want to do is get in my pajamas, get under my covers, and do nothing. But I will make the right choice and take myself to class tonight. If I don’t work out in the mornings, requirements suffer because I just run out of time. By the time I get home from work it is after 6:00 pm.  Then I have to leave my house by at least 6:40 pm in order to make it to class by 7:30 pm.  After class ends, I will get back in my car and drive another 45 minutes home. When I have my mentor sessions I don’t get home until 10:00 pm. I take 485 Northbound all the way from Matthews to the Mallard Creek exit. I will go to class and then I will take 485 Southbound home the rest of the...

This has been a very busy week at work, but the weekend is almost here!  I’m home working on requirements now-focusing on pushups and burpees.    I’m working on the high belt curriculum that we don’t often have time to do in class with Master Cavazos in my mentor sessions and it has been a great review!  Now I need to keep practicing.

Up early doing pushups.  25 pushups then coffee break, 25 pushups then coffee break.  Have a great day everyone!

Very productive day today- cleaned my house and worked in pushups, sit-ups and burpees.  Back to the grind tomorrow.  

Master Dege and I trained for almost 3 hours today at the park.  Beautiful day!!!  Now I need a shower and a nap!

Master Dege and I are headed to the Mint Hill park again today.  It’s beautiful outside but I’m sure it’s going to be really hot so we’re meeting early.  Happy Holiday Weekend Everyone!

My work days are long.  I go to bed early because I wake up early and there just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day.  I did well with requirements today but I didn’t have much time for anything else after I got home from work.  Pushups are challenging, but I feel myself getting stronger.  

I’m way behind on my requirements.  It’s going to be difficult to catch up, but I’m going to have to do it.  

Great black belt class tonight!  We did seven rounds of sparring in class and prior to class I was able to do tons of self-defense. A few Burpee’s at work, a few push-ups in the morning, slowly ticking off requirements.

The pretest always humbles me.  We've been doing the new self defenses long enough now that I should remember them and not be confused.  I got a score of 3 on high yellow belt self defense.  That's a failing grade.  I'm glad I have this audit cycle AND my next cycle to practice.  I need as much time and practice as I can get.  

This has been a very long week.  My patients have been really sick- lots of abnormal heart rhythms and issues with their implanted devices.  My father is supposed to go home from the hospital Tuesday.  He will have been in the hospital for exactly 2 months.  He’s definitely a tough old ex-Marine.  Just finished some requirements and now heading to bed.  Big day tomorrow - pretest!!

I woke up at 5 am this morning to do requirements and focused on pushups, burpee’s and sit-ups.  The burpees take me a while and are a big challenge for me.  I’m also working on making the Tae Kwon forms stick in my memory.  For some reason those forms are my nemesis.  Just need to do them over and over and over again.

Long day at work.  The patient workload is essentially tripled on Mondays because of the weekend and I’ve been very whiney all day.  I need some motivation and energy!  I know I will feel better once I get started on requirements, just need to get started.

Today I met Master Dege at the Mint Hill Veterans Memorial Park and we trained for about 3 hours.  Lots of requirements done!  Came home and had to nap for an hour, then walked my dog for another 1/2 mile and finished the afternoon with more pushups, situps and 5 minutes of jumping rope.  As always, pushups and burpees are my biggest challenge.  I'll keep working on them.  

I wasn't able to stay for black belt class today.  Had to go to see my father in Rehab.  This is the 4th medical facility he has been in since his original heart catheterization on 6/20/19 and hopefully this will be the last.  He is starting to walk down the halls with assistance and do some routine daily activities, but most importantly, he appears to be in good spirits.  The past 2 months have been really stressful and I find that all I want to do when I come home from work is sit.  I'm in need of some motivation and Master Dege is going to help me out with that.  We are meeting at a park tomorrow morning to train hard, log some miles and whittle away on requirements.  Fortunately, my drive to north Charlotte is so long she agreed to meet me in the middle- 19 minute drive for...

My sweet coworkers, in their attempt to help me with requirements, will just randomly shout out “Burpee Break”!! When we hear this, we all have to get up and do five Burpee’s no matter where we are. My nursing team LOVES “Burpee Breaks because we all feel better after we do them, and bonus for me, I’m logging requirements! Having support at the dojang, at home, AND at work is a blessing for sure!  We met a new adult student in class tonight, Ms. Pam!  Such a friendly person!  I’m looking forward to training with her!

I'm at work on a Monday morning and just made my coworkers do Burpees with me.  My colleagues in high heels declined to join.  There is strength in numbers!! 

Great Black Belt class today.  I’m going be very sore from all the slow kicks, but I really needed those.  Slow kicks make you really pay attention to technique.  Now I’m off to visit my father in the hospital.  This is his 6th week as an inpatient. Next week if all goes well, he’ll transfer to a rehab facility.  

So, I realize I'm older than the typical tech savvy young person, but I just can't figure out how to change my rank on this website.  If anyone can give me a hint about how to do it, I would very much appreciate it!   Today was long.  This is the time when I could easily rationalize not doing any requirements, so with that said, I better start doing pushups.  

The Black Belt Retreat was incredible.  My favorite part of the weekend was training outside with Grandmaster Lee.  It was a beautiful day and the entire weekend was great.  My creative form has finally taken shape and now I just need to practice, practice, practice.  I can't believe the overnight test is in 2 days!!!!!

I have really been struggling with technology.  This is hopefully going to be my first successful journal in a few days.  My laptop has been down and for some reason I can no longer journal on my iPad.  Anyway, I've been working on my creative form every day.  I just can't seem to get it finished.  It's either home, or work, or something that gets in the way and I push the creative poomsae back down a few notches on the list and then the next day it seems to happen all over again.  I'm looking forward to the black belt retreat this weekend.  I'm sure we are all going to train hard!  

I have not been able to journal since October 9th!  I hope today's attempt is successful.  I wasn't able to go to class tonight at Elevation Church because I had an appointment.  Hope class went well!  My creative form is just not coming together like I had hoped.  This weekend is my last chance to finish it and practice, practice, practice.  

Great classes at North Charlotte tonight followed by a mentor session with Master Cavazos. We reviewed Espada y Daga and started working on the Double Stick 2 form. Lots to remember. Ankle is throbbing but getting better every day.

Boy, I really need to practice my black belt self defense- 1st Dan through 3rd Dan. I lost my mind tonight and totally went blank working with Master Randle. At least I know what I need to focus on other than my creative form. Ankle is still hurting and tender. I'm going to be very cautious for the next few weeks. No more injuries.

Busy day. Just got home. Only had time for push-ups and sit-ups. Registered for the HopeBuilders 5K today!

Busy Sunday. Housecleaning and requirements all day long. My abdominal muscles are pooped.

Physical test and written test done. Essays, recommendations and testing applicatin turned in. Now to focus on creative form, curriculum, working with mentors and REQUIREMENTS!

Had a late appointment tonight so wasn't able to make it to black belt class in time. Did make it to PMAA class and then worked with my mentor. The ankle is still sore but better everyday.

Today has been my best day with the ankle. I feel hopeful that it's going to be completely healed by the overnight test!

Push-ups and sit-ups done this morning before my appointment with Dr. Schuster. Dr. Schuster was concerned about my ankle because he expected it to be much less swollen after 3 weeks. He ordered an X-Ray and fortunately there are no fractures. I just need to rest as much as possible, elevate it, ice it and keep it wrapped. It hurts quite a bit at night after being on it all day. Now it's time to rest.

Push-ups and sit-ups done this morning before my appointment with Dr. Schuster. Dr. Schuster was concerned about my ankle because he expected it to be much less swollen after 3 weeks. He ordered an X-Ray and fortunately there are no fractures. I just need to rest as much as possible, elevate it, ice it and keep it wrapped. It hurts quite a bit at night after being on it all day. Now it's time to rest.

Push-ups and sit-ups done this morning before my appointment with Dr. Schuster. Dr. Schuster was concerned about my ankle because he expected it to be much less swollen after 3 weeks. He ordered an X-Ray and fortunately there are no fractures. I just need to rest as much as possible, elevate it, ice it and keep it wrapped. It hurts quite a bit at night after being on it all day. Now it's time to rest.

Great weekend training with Guru Melegrito at Myrtle Beach. My ankle held up better than I expected. Haven't made time for as many requirements as I had planned to do this weekend. The family came along this weekend and the weekend flew by. Back at it strong tomorrow.

Ankle is sore. I can still do push-ups using my Push-Up Pump. And of course sit-ups are no problem. I'm going through poomsaes and self defense very, very cautiously. No jump rope, running or sparring rounds for me, though. I'm still walking as much as possible and counting those miles. Essays are almost finalized and ready to turn in. The cycle is flying by.

My ankle is killing me today. I almost cried like a baby in class tonight. Came home, did push ups, sit-ups, walked through poomsaes and self defense, soaked in Epsom salts, iced the ankle again and now it's elevated. I'm going to skip class Thursday to rest up for the PMAA training camp this weekend. I have a lot of requirements left. Trying not to get discouraged.

My ankle is still mending but it's SO MUCH BETTER thanks to Dr. Schuster. Looking forward to some beach training this weekend!

The ankle is better, still swollen a bit and really sore, but better. I have to get back on top of requirements. Two weeks until the physical and written exam!