Candidate Journals

I was talking to some bo cho dans and their parents about the requirements for the cycle. Just a quick tip to you guys and for whoever does the cycle in the future. Understand that it is impossible to do 150 or 200 of a requirement all in one go unless you are into body building or invested in physical development. Parents and students as me how they can complete their requirements in a day and my two tips to them is simple: planning and commitment. This isn't my first cycle. I knew that in order to show that physical progress despite my hectic schedule, I need to plan accordingly and stick to it. I have school from 8am to 4pm every day and then taekwondo straight after. I break my requirements up into 3 sessions where I do 5 sets of 10 for each physical requirement (burpees, pushups, sit-ups). A...

Tiring class with Master Jean today! Excited to train with him tomorrow during the sparring seminar. If this is your first sparring seminar, be sure to be ready and bring lots of water! unlike saturday sparring classes, this one will be a bit more intense. 

Yesterday was eventful. After TKD class, I was supposed to go to the gym to knock out some requirements, but I had to go to school to redo an experiment with my Chem lab group. We were in the process of fermenting yeast and then using that solution to distill ethanol. Unknown to our knowledge, another chemistry class had switched out our solutions by accident with another solution. So when we began to heat up our fermented solution, it basically went KABOOM. Luckily our supervisor was present and we were wearing protective gear to begin with. Atleast now I can scratch off "Accidental chem lab experiment" off of my college bucket list! XD Spent my entire morning today to redo my fermentation experiment and then going back tonight after Black belt class to re-run my distillation experiment. Stay tuned tonight to find out if it blew up again!

Never really tried an ice bath before so thought id try it out today after a hard workout. Went straight to the gym after teaching and helping out with class. Worked out for a solid two hours and then took an ice bath at my schools rec center! Since your body is already heated from the workout, the ice bath hits hard and fast. After a while you just go numb and its relaxing! Studying for my GREs and my DATs all night though plus midterms coming up soon! Hope everyone is enjoying the cycle so far! CONGRATS TO THE NEW JR. INSTRUCTORS! 

Swelling in my arm has been going down! Still cannot extend my arm all the way though. Overall, its been a hectic day. Exam at 8 am and then another at 2:30. long and hard exams but over all went well! Excited for master knights grand opening tomorrow! hope to see everyone there!

not the best start to the morning.   Went to the gym with some friends. Today was chest day so a lot of pushups and bench pressing. Before ending my workout, I was knocking out 185 on the bench press. One of my friends thought it would be a nice joke to yank off a 45 off of the left end of the bar. Once he did, the right side of the bar came crashing down on my arm. Didn't break or tear anything, but in a lot of pain. Had to wear an arm brace for the entire day, even at TKD. Might be on it for a few more days too. If some of you remember Master Aurbach, he went through years of TKD with only one arm. So I didnt have any excuses to not come to class today. it was interesting to figure out how to change...

Last year of college and already I've been bombarded with exams and 15 page essays. Been at school since 7:30 am and just got home for the day. Next couple of weeks will be even more hectic with family and more exams. Despite it all, I have been able to keep up to date with my requirements, but journaling not so much. Nevertheless, that will change this week. Eager to get through this cycle with no trouble at all.

Finally got home from spending a night out with family and friends!   Had a great start to the morning. Since I didnt have class this morning, I was able to hit the gym early before the sun came out. Did mainly cardio to help my body wake up and survive the cold weather. Spent the rest of the day studying for my GREs and run errands for my mom. Went back to the gym to knock out a few more requirements and do some TKD work. Still need to work on my black belt self defenses. Over all it was a good night, but waking up early for my 8am class will be tough!    Hope everyone enjoyed their MLK day!

Since last Friday, I've been busy left and right. Senior year of college and also preparing for my EMS classes has resulted in many sleepless nights. Got food poisoning last friday and was bedridden for the entire weekend. Come the beginning of this week, school starts at 8am and ends at 4:45 and after that I went straight to TKD. and then the rest of my nights are left finishing hw until 2 and sometimes 3 am. For the students who are currently in elementary, middle, or high school, take advantage of this moment in your life. College is stressful just as much as it is fun! official cycle starts on saturday so gotta get ready to grind it out. 

School started this past Tuesday and it has already become stressful! Professors really do think that their students are free and having nothing else to do but homework. Since Tuesday, I've been coming straight to TKD after school and helping out with all the classes. Atleast it gives me a chance to kick out alot of my requirements, especially my leadership credits. Hopefully this semester and the cycle get easier down the line. Hope everyone is enjoying their day and their cycle!

Thursday: First mentor session with Master Cavazos! Lucky to have someone like him to be mentoring me. It will be hard and involve a lot of sweat, but thats what is required when going for a 4th dan!   Friday: Master Knight was feeling well so I taught the Junior Tiger class! All I can say is that teaching that class involves a lot more energy than taking sparring class! Other than that, I spent the rest of the day mainly out with friends and creating my meal plan   Saturday: Sparring in the morning and then black belt class afterwards! It was fun to get back into sparring class. I had forgotten what it felt like to sweat and then at the end lay on the mats all sore and in pain XD Black belt class was fun and actually got a lot of black belt curriculum done!   Sunday...

Excited and happy to be back in class! Actually missed the smell of rubber mats and the sweaty air. Green stripe today so knocked out a lot of my kicks in between classes. Excited for the new year and the new curriculum that we have planned! Went to the gym and knocked out a couple more of my physical requirements, but with college starting back up next week, im going to have to tweak my schedule just a bit.  Hope everyone has had a good start to their new year!

Happy New Year King Tiger Family!   After a late night with friends and slacking a bit these past few days, had to grind hard today. Woke up early to hit the gym and knocked out 4.5 miles before heading home to finish up my book essay. Trying out this new protein rich diet that target muscle growth/recovery so lets hope it works! Today is Tuesday, which means it was back and shoulders day. Focused a lot on my pushups and tried out different variations. Knuckle pushups, wide pushups, diamond pushups, etc.  overall, productive day. Can't wait to start class tomorrow!

Apologies for not posting for the last two days, but here is the run down of the last few days:   December 25th (Christmas day): Woke up early and opened up presents with my family. Before I could sit down and enjoy breakfast, my sister and I found a stray male pitfall roaming around the back yard. Couldn't have been more than a couple months old. I asked my neighbors if the puppy was theirs but they said no. I tried approaching the dog but it seem scared and would keep its distance. But it was totally harmless. It kept walking around the neighborhood so I decided to follow it and see if someone was looking for them. After an hour, he seemed to trust me and followed me back home. After coming up to me, I could see that it was covered in dirt and he had scars around his...

Hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas Eve!   Today was pretty eventful. Signed up for this personal workout schedule with some friends, where we workout twice a day for a minimum of 2 and a half hours. Woke up early this morning and completed 3.5 miles of running. I realized after 3 cycles that running at a zero incline doesn't really benefit me physically. Granted it helps me increase my stamina, but I also want to see actual growth. Today at the gym, I began increasing the incline on the treadmill and also increased the speed. Can honestly say that I can't feel my legs at all! But, I'm confident that by the end of the cycle, there will be some physical progress. Also knocked out half of my physical requirements and then went for a second workout at 6pm to complete the rest. For the new year, I want to...

Today was really busy since school ended for me. Makeup testing was this morning and we had a lot of junior tigers and wang ho students. Luckily for me, it gave me a chance to practice the curriculum and also knock out some physical requirements. Other than that, spent some time with friends at the Epicenter today enjoyed the night with family. Even though taekwondo is closed until the new year, I cant slack off at all. Hope everyone had a great day today!

Finally got access to the website! Which means this is my official first day of the cycle. Going for my 4th dan will be hectic and long but I guess thats an obstacle that I have to overcome. Today was a somewhat decent day at TKD charlotte school. Not many after school students so I was able to focus on doubling up on my requirements. Surprisingly, there were a lot of junior tigers in class today! Helped out with the white belts as usual so did a lot of fun workouts and kicking with them, which also helped me knock of some of my kicking requirements for the cycle.  Been back at TKD for 6 months now after taking a 4 year break for college and research, but it feels like nothing has changed. Same atmosphere as it's always been.  Looking forward to this long cycle with all of you!