Candidate Journals

I had family visit today and we had a great time although I ate too much, and I drank too much and now I'm feeling bloated and less than my best. My foot looks 95% better, but it's still very tender right above the middle toe where the bone had the little fracture and I there's a lump under the skin. I'm thinking about buying a full foot cover for sparring this week. I still need two classes. 

Went to sparring the other day but I only got through the first few line drills. My foot is still too tender to bounce up and down or kick anything.  I did, however, receive a sparring credit from the PMAA seminar, so I only need two sparring classes to finish up. 

As strikes and blocks flow together, we see that life, too, is a balance of forces. Harmony comes not by resisting every challenge, but by moving with wisdom through it. 

I can't believe we are going into week 11. What happened with the time? I feel pretty good for the most part, but I'm sloppy on a few things as well. I'm worried about sparring and take-downs because of the injuries I've had this cycle. 

Hunter S. Thompson once said that the intention of the King Tiger Black Belt cycle is that, at the end, you should "skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!" If he is correct, then I am right on schedule to arrive just as he stated.  

I had to take care of some home chores tonight, so I zipped down to the early class to grab some credit. I got home early after class, took care of what I needed to do and now I'm sitting on the couch working on essays. And journaling of course.  

I have a cracked bone in my foot from sparring last Thursday. We were doing paddle kicks in class tonight and I did fine with front and side kicks although I wasn't kicking hard with my injured foot. I did "air" kicks when it came to roundhouses. On one round, my toe barely hit the pad and a pain shot up through my foot.  I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do for sparring this week. I'm still three classes short. blah

Got some requirements done in the morning and then went to Poomsae class. I love what we’ve been doing with breaking down each step into two or more moves. Next instructors camp, make sure you sign up for the poomsae class with Master Natasha and Master Marcus. Caught up with other requirements in the afternoon and did some cleaning in the garage. I’m determined to get my mini do jang back in order! Now I’m sitting by the fire with the Oz Man, the great pup-a-doodle, waiting for Ceci and the boys to come home with a poke bowl dinner. 

The day started out with an awesome black belt class with Master Chelley (aka Queen Tiger); we covered a good mix of weapons, self-defense and poomsae.  Drove up to Harrisburg afterwards for the PMAA seminar. Huge shoutout to Master Knight and Master Foster for hosting. Harrisburg rocks!  I always enjoy the PMAA seminars and today was no exception. It was great to see some friends I hadn't seen in a while as well as make a few new ones. I met and trained with Abraham who is also on the cycle. I was supposed to stay for the afternoon session, but my foot was swelling pretty bad, so I decided it was best to go home and cover it in ice.  It was a tough choice, but I have to take care of the foot to get through the rest of the cycle. I did some requirements in the afternoon and will make...

Courage is not the absence of fear—it is the choice to continue despite it. Today, let courage guide your movements. Stand strong, even when uncertain.  

I didn’t go to class tonight because of an event with my wife. I did my requirements but no running. I’ll try and run again on Sunday. Hopefully the foot can take it tomorrow. It’s going to be a full day of classes and requirements. 

Had a roundhouse connect with an elbow tonight in sparring and it immediately bruised up. I’ve been icing it all evening. Right now it’s bruised, swollen and stiff. Might have broken one of those tiny bones in the top of the foot. It’s been a tough cycle for injuries. 

I wanted to go to Belmont for sparring tonight but didn’t make it. It’s all good though. I worked on some PMAA with Master Hartle, which I’ve been neglecting because of the cycle I’m loiling forward to the PMAA seminar this Saturday. I hope we get a good turnout of cycle people. 

I missed the 6pm class but can still make it to the 6:45 class if I leave in a few minutes.  Trouble is, there are so many unread emails, unpaid bills, maintenance tasks etc piling up.  I may just stay home to get caught up a bit and work on essays. Maybe even go to bed at a decent hour.  

Classes, requirements, aches and pains, tiredness and dread at not having enough time to fix everything I want to fix. 

Seems like we got a little taste of the blackbelt test this morning. No worries, though... we've got four weeks to tighten it all up. 

There will be days when the body feels weak, and the mind wavers. On those days, perseverance carries us forward. To keep going is itself a victory.

Slacking off on my no-sugar diet again for the past couple of days. I need to get back on track with that. Training is going well. Neck is feeling much better. Or it was before doing rolls and falls tonight and getting my neck cranked over and over during Hapkido. It's all good though. I'm going to take a muscle relaxer and go to bed. 

Enjoyed the zip lines, climbing wall and rope courses yesterday at White Water Center. Today was back to work. Everything is on track. 

I have most of my requirements done for the day and it feels great. My neck is much, much better now although I won't be training any spinning kicks today. Speaking of... Master Evins went over hurricane kicks this past Saturday and gave us an exercise for practicing those.  I couldn't do much that day, but I'm really looking forward to practicing this week. My diet suffered this past week. I'm going to blame it on the prednisone and, now that I'm finished with that, I have no excuse for getting back on track. The kids want to go back to White Water today so that's probably the agenda - after I cut the grass and send a few emails. Have a good day all.   

Poomsae class was awesome today. We did an exercise where each step was broken down into two counts. The first count was the prep and the second count was the finish. 

Week 8 – Respect We not only bow to our instructors and peers, but to life itself. Respect is the foundation of strength—it reminds us that we do not walk this path alone.

Journaled this morning when it felt like the world was against me, but tonight I'm feeling energized. Had to modify a bit in class tonight due to injury, but just being there and being around everyone training and feeling the love of the King Tiger family put things back into perspective for me. Have a good night, all. 

I can't believe it's Friday already. Between work, taking care of two young boys, dealing with injuries, cycle requirements, finding family time, waning support... I'm feeling overwhelmed. 

I'm feeling pretty good. My neck hurts if I move it certain ways, but it's much better and I've still been getting the work in although a few modifications here and there. Said goodbye and good luck to Matthew last night - he's off to school, but he'll be back before too long.  

Dropped the kids off for their first day of school this morning. I felt pretty energetic when I got back and had a nice run before knocking out my physical requirements. I still have to be careful of my neck, but I put the time in. We'll see how class goes tonight

neck is stiff. it hurts if I move my head towards the right or my ear towards my shoulder. I was able to get most of my requirements done today although more slowly than usual. I skipped burpees and jump rope. I'll have to modify some things this week.  

my head bounced off the map today while practicing hapkido 3 during BB class.  I went for a ruck after class and by the time I got back to the parking lot I couldn't move my neck. Urgent Care diagnosed whiplash and prescribed some meds. I'm chilling on the couch now and will probably take most of tomorrow off. The doctor said no TKD for four weeks. hahahaha 

The world is noisy, life is busy, but in the do jang, in the moment, there is only the breath, the strike, the step. Focus clears away distraction. With focus, every movement becomes truth.

Midnight tonight will mark the half-way point of the cycle. Are you where you need to be? Have you taken an honest assessment of all your requirements - poomsae, self-defense, weapons forms - and made notes on what you need to work on? The better everyone knows their stuff on testing night, the more sleep we'll get. Come prepared.   

Went to Belmont tonight for a couple of sparring classes. Meg and Dillion were there as well.  I thought I was going to be late due to the traffic, but I arrived with 30 seconds to spare.   The Belmont crew made us feel welcome and Master Shin definitely put us through a good workout during both classes. I rucked a bit over 2 miles this morning and the weather was so nice. I'm ready for fall y'all. 

I asked my end-of-cycle future self if I can take a day off and sleep for 24 hours. This is what he said: "Hell no you can't take a day off! This is short-term pain bro! (my future self likes to yell and say "bro" a lot) The cycle is shaping you into a different version of yourself! Growth happens when you push past the pain and what you thought was possible. Believe in yourself and write your own story of perseverance! Now get up and move bro! ... I can't live with that noise in my head, so I guess I have to keep pushing and forget about any extra sleep in the near future. <sigh> 

I finally got in bed and closed my eyes and thought, crap! I have to journal. So here I am. I’m sore from Saturday’s class so it was a battle to do physical requirements today but I felt pretty loose during class. Other thing I want to mention is that after four weeks, I messed up and had sugar yesterday and today. And some chips. It’s good in a way because it reminds me how much sugar negatively affects me, but it’s bad because it doesn’t take much to lose those bad habits. I need to get back on track tomorrow.   

I set my alarm for 7 this morning to give myself an extra hour sleep but ended up not getting out of bed until 10:10. It’s now 11 and I’m drinking coffee on the couch. Not only did I miss class but I’m four hours behind schedule which means requirements will cut into family time. My body hit a wall and needed some extra sleep. It happens. I will adjust the day and do what I need to do (which includes cutting my two foot neglected grass). And did I mention I’m sore today. 

Huge shout out to Grand Master Evins, Master Hartle, Master Chelley and Master Foster for a fantastic self defense seminar this afternoon.  I had a great partner with Matthew and I definitely tightened up a few things in my technique. It was awesome. Along with Black Belt class this morning it made for a great day of training   

I was thinking about my old training partner Joe today and how he always used to say "Happy Friyea" on Fridays. I hadn't seen him in a while, so I was happy when he walked in the door for BB class tonight.  I left work early today and rucked almost 4.5 miles with a 20 lb. pack. There wasn't enough time to nap before class, so I picked up my boys and then ran back home for a shower and a Ghost energy drink.  The Ghost woke me up but also left me hyper during class - too much caffeine. Class was great though; Master Natasya led us through several of the weapons forms. Now I'm crashing so it's off to bed. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's training and the self-defense seminar in the afternoon.   

Someone mentioned to me that they were nervous about the tea ceremony because they don't like the taste of tea! Well, for her and all the other Bochos, I say don't worry. Sure, it's not boba tea, but it will be plenty sweetened by the pride of your accomplishments. When you're tired and feeling beat up, dig deep and keep going. Check every box, complete every requirement and leave your blood, sweat and tears on the mat. If you do, I promise you will have no problem drinking that tea.   

It’s 10:30 pm. I got up at six to take my oldest to school and then worked all day. I got my requirements done in between meetings as usual. I had a session with my mentees in the evening. The mats were full so we went outside and worked through bolo in the parking lot. Afterwards, I worked on PMAA with big Matthew. I stopped at the grocery store, made dinner for the family and then started working. I’m taking a break to write this journal. This is a typical day, non-stop from the time I wake up until the time I get in bed. There are no rest days on the cycle. I want to slide into home plate at the end of the cycle exhausted, beat up and fulfilled. 

I've been having a tough time with the journal entries. On previous cycles I looked forward to writing my thoughts, but on this cycle I've already missed about half the days. I know it's because I'm working at night, but it only takes 5 minutes so I have to find a way to remember during the day. I'll set an alarm so that I will be prompted to login and journal. Other than that, we have to just keep putting the work in every day and then rest at the end of the cycle. 

yesterday was the first day in about 30 days where I didn't have any work-work. I've been working on four projects the past several years and they're all getting to crunch time all within the same few months. Anyway, I did blackbelt class, some mentoring work and ran my pre-test miles and then went home and finished everything else up. Then my wife and I took the kids to Lake Norman State Park. We didn't go in the water because of e-Coli warnings, but we got some football time in on the beach and then watched some baby deer eating along the tree line. (The dog seemed pretty excited about watching the deer) We ate an early dinner in Troutman and then stopped at Concetto's on the way home for some Italian Ice. At home we watched the first four episodes of 'Untamed' on Netflix - great series. There is a...

Work has been kicking my ass for the past several weeks. I’m getting my requirements in but I’m missing class time, mentoring time etc. I was ready to leave the house tonight at 5pm and got pulled into a last minute meeting. I didn’t get out the door until 5:30. Got to the do jang right when warmups were ending but I jumped in cold for poomsaes and weapons. Then I stayed after class to work on some self defense with Mr Tim. Then back home to more work. 

Been working a ton of hours so have missed a few classes but I’m getting all of my other requirements done at home between meetings. Hopefully the rest of the week slows down now that the bank is live in production. 

Started working Saturday morning after the black belt pre-test and didn’t stop until 8pm last night. Slept six hours and got up at 3:30 to start again. Missed poomsae class and any requirements yesterday so have to catch up this week. And somehow sleep. 

Woke up at 5:30 for the pretest, which went well although I fumbled on my poomsae. Master Evins said Sa, but I heard Sam.  I tried to start over and then got too close to Will and just totally lost it. All I could do was laugh at that point. I know my poomsaes so I’m not worried. Got an hour nap in and now I’m pulling an all nighter for a bank merger. Even when you’re bone tired, just keep moving forward. 

I’m excited for the pretest so I can get my benchmarks and crush them at the end of the cycle. I’m especially looking forward to getting my pull-ups back. Good luck everyone 

 I try to get all of my physical requirements done early morning before work, but it’s difficult to stay focused for work afterwards. The heat is draining my energy. I feel great working out but an hour later at my desk I’m dragging ass. That’s the hardest part of the cycle… showing up for the non-TKD, life requirements. 

Went to BB class this morning. Great class. I was feeling a little queasy and my muscles were cramping from being dehydrated but I powered through. I stopped and bought some electrolytes on the way home and felt fine the rest of the day. I missed the poomsae seminar because I had to go to Indian Hill. 

Good news is family arrived home today; bad news is I was stomach sick all afternoon. I did not finish requirements or make it to BB class. I have the alarm set for the morning. Hopefully I’m feeling refreshed in the morning 

I’m finishing up some of the exercises now before I go to bed. I wasnt able to finish everything during the day because of work. This’ll teach me not to hit the snooze button! 

Was getting ready to knock off work around 5pm when I got pulled into a client issue and ended up working until almost 8pm. Frustrating. Other than that, pretty good day. 

I haven't had any issues getting my requirements done even though work has been busy and I've got some house projects I'm wrapping up. However, once the family arrives home on Friday, it's going to become more hectic. The family knows what to expect with me being on the cycle, but there is still going to be a lot more demand for my time. Especially with school starting soon and end-of-summer events. I know there will be days where I'm bone tired and I won't feel like putting in the work. For me, the trick is to get as much done as possible first thing in the morning. If I put anything off to later in the day, it becomes four times as hard.  

Arrived home from California last night and got back on my normal routine this morning. Did my physical requirements in the am and then went to Poomsae class. The rest of the day was spent cleaning my house before the family returns from Peru on Friday. 

Went to the opening ceremonies at the tournament tonight. It was amazing to see all of the competitors grouped by state and country. After we paraded around, and listened to a few speeches, we watched the South Korean demo team perform. Great night. Tomorrow we fly home. 

Arrived in California today for the Hanmadang competition. We’ve got a good group of King Tigers here. Today was registration and tomorrow starts the competition. Wish we could post pictures here!

Went to Poomsae class this morning and got all my requirements in this afternoon in between chores around the house. My milage so far has been power walking with a 20lb ruck. I've been power rucking pretty consistently for the past month to try and work through shin splints and get my calves fired up.  I also did some planning and started on an essay so that I'm not scrambling towards the end of the cycle. I'm excited to be competing in California this coming week - I signed up for Poomsae and Power Breaking. 

I’m excited to start a new cycle  I’m looking forward to the challenges and shared accomplishments. Best of luck to everyone!