Fall 2024 Black Belt Cycle

Candidate Journals

King Tiger Tae Kwon Do Black Belt candidates blog daily about their journey: their thoughts and feelings, their struggles and successes; their pain and their encouragement. Follow along on their journey; words of encouragement are always welcome!

Ben Karki Day 80

I did decently on the final written and physical exam. Today, I woke up, went to school, and came home. After coming home, I got a mentee and mentor session done. After that, I finished my homework and realized that I still had one more journal to make, and that day 77 was not the last journal. This is the last journal I am writing. Prepare for the black belt test and I wish you all the best of luck. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 77

Today, we had a power outage caused by the tropical storm. During the power outage, I worked on requirements and studied for the written test. After the power came back, I logged my progress into the website. Then, I attended a weekend blackbelt class instructed by grandmaster Evins. Also, this is my last journal. It has been good journaling with you all. See you at the final physical and written exam.

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Ben Karki Day 74

Today, I woke up, went to robotics, did school, and came home. After I got back from school, I realized that there was a belt testing for today and tomorrow, so I am going to a different dojang for a mentor session tomorrow. I then completed my last essay about the book Atomic Habits. Also, this is my second to last journal entry for the black belt cycle. We are so close to being finished. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 72

Today, I worked on mainly essays instead of physical requirements. I finished my new skill essay about learning how to cook, I finished my second living hero profile essay about Martin Luther King Jr., and I finished my nutrition challenge essay. After that, I worked on my study guide. Now, I only have to write my atomic habits essay, which I have not finished reading yet. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 68-71

During the weekdays (Wednesday - Friday), I have been doing the same routine: wake up for robotics, do school, come home, do a mentor/mentee session, do homework, and work on essays and the study guide. Today, I have worked on finishing physical requirements that I did not have time to finish during the weekdays. I will also try to finish all of my essays this weekend and during the weekdays, as they are due next weekend. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 66-67

On Monday, I woke up for robotics and had school afterwards. After school, I came home and finished homework, and then I went to the end of a senior belt class and got a mentee session done. After the mentee session, I worked on my study guide. Today, I woke up for robotics and school. After school, I came home, did homework, and went to taekwondo for both a mentor session and a mentee session. After the sessions, I worked on my living profile essay. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 65

Today, I woke up and started working on physical requirements. I was pretty behind, so I worked out for quite a long time. After that, we had to go to a party. When we came back, I worked on my living hero profile essay. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 60-64

During the weekdays, I basically just woke up to go to robotics, did school, came home, did homework, and worked on essays and the written test. On Saturday, I caught up on all of my physical requirements that I had missed from the weekdays. Also, on Friday I completed my final weekend black belt class credit, though I will still be attending them, of course. Have a good afternoon.

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Ben Karki Day 59

Today, I woke up for robotics and school. After school, I got some requirements done, finished my homework, and worked on my white belt essay. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 58

Today, my dad left to go to California for a week because of a conference he needed to attend. After he left, I got my requirements done and ran for 3.25 miles, which is the most I've ever ran so far. Then, I got more requirements done, ate dinner, and finished the community service project essay. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 57

Today, I got my requirements done in the morning and went to the kick-a-thon. I got around 1,000 kicks in, which was very tiring. After that, we bought a boxwood shrub and went home. At home, I got more requirements done. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 54-56

On Wednesday, I had to wake up early for robotics and went to school. After school, I got a mentee session done and finished homework and requirements. On Thursday, I woke up early for robotics and went to school. After school, I ran for 2 miles, did homework, and finished requirements. On Friday, I went to school as usual. after school, I attended a weekend black belt class and did some requirements. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 52-53

On Monday, I caught up on my requirements and finished my digital detox essay. On Tuesday, I did my requirements and went to school. After school, I helped out a senior tiger class and got a mentee session done. I am extremely behind on those, so I will try to mentor as many people as possible. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 49-51

On Friday, I woke up, got requirements done, and went to school. After school, I attended a weekend black belt class and sparring class. On Saturday, we went to Pilot Mountain to go camping with our friends. There, I did my digital detox challenge. We had a good time. On Sunday, we had to pack up and leave early because of the rain. After that, I could finally use electronics again, which was nice. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 48

Today, I woke up for robotics and went to school. After school, I finished my requirements and ran for 2 miles. Also, I am going camping for Labor Day weekend. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 47

Today, I woke up, did my requirements, and went to school. After school, I finished my homework, assisted a junior class, attended a black belt class, and got a mentor session done. After the classes, I went home and got other requirements done. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 46

Today, I had to wake up earlier than usual to go to robotics. I normally get my requirements done in the morning, but I woke up to late today. After school, I did homework, did my requirements, and ran for 2 miles. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 45

Today, I woke up, did my requirements, and went to school. After school, I wore my white belt and assisted a junior tiger class and attended a weekday black belt class. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 44

Today, I woke up and went to Frank Laskie Park for a 2-mile run. After that, I finished my requirements and worked on my living hero profile essay a little, and the rest of the day was mostly uneventful. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 42-43

On Friday, I did my requirements and went to school. After school, I attended a Saturday black belt class. After the class, I went to Harrisburg Park and ran for 1.6 miles. On Saturday, I went to sparring and helped out a junior tiger class in the morning. After that, I finished my requirements, ate dinner, and went to bed. I am starting my white belt challenge from tomorrow. Have a good night. 

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Ben Karki Day 40-42

On Tuesday, I woke up, finished my requirements, and went to school. After school, I did my homework and ran for 2 miles. On Wednesday, I woke up to late and went to school. Then, I spent a very long time doing homework. I was also not feeling very well, so I couldn't complete my other requirements except for running 1.5 miles. Today, I felt better and woke up at the usual time. After school, I caught up on all of my missed requirements from Wednesday. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 38

Today, I woke up, got some requirements done, and went to school. After school, I attended a black belt class for my last weekday black belt class credit that was required. Of course, I will still try to attend all of them. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 36-37

On Saturday, I woke up and went to sparring class. Then, I assisted a junior tiger class. After the classes, I went home and finished my requirements, then I had to go to a party. On Sunday, I had no classes. I finished my requirements and only ran 1.15 miles in the evening because it started to rain. I also started my nutrition challenge of at least 2 fruits a day and at least 2 cups of milk a day. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 35

Today, I woke up, did my requirements, and went to school. After school, I attended my black belt class. I decided not to go to sparring today, as I was a little ahead on my sparring credits. I then ran for 2 miles and ate dinner. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 34

Today, I woke up, got my requirements done, and went to school as usual. After school, I assisted a senior tiger class and got a mentee session in. After the class, I ran one mile, ate dinner, and went to bed. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 33

Today, I woke up early to finish my requirements before school. Today was my second day, so thankfully there was not much work. After school, I assisted a junior class and attended my black belt class, in which I led the warmups. After class, I got a mentor session in. Then, I ran for 2 miles, ate dinner, and went to bed. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 31-32

On Monday, I finished my requirements in the morning. Then, I assisted a senior tiger class and attended my black belt class. Tuesday was my first day of school. I had to wake up very early to get my requirements done. After school, I assisted a senior tiger class and finished my Taekwondo application to life essay. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 29-30

On Saturday, I went to sparring class and assisted a junior tiger class in the morning. I then finished my requirements after lunch. On Sunday, I finished my requirements after lunch and worked on my Taekwondo application to life essay. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 28

Today, I finished my requirements after lunch. Then, I went to my Saturday blackbelt class. After that class, I did my sparring class. After the classes, I went home and ate dinner. Then, I ran outside for 2 miles. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 27

Today, there was a storm with hard rain for almost the entire day. There were no classes for me today. I finished my requirements after lunch. After that, I ran outside for 2.2 miles after the storm. Then, I ate dinner and went to bed. I will see you on Friday.

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Ben Karki Day 25-26

On Tuesday, I woke up and completed my requirements after lunch. I then assisted a senior tiger class. After assisting the class, I ate dinner and ran for 2 miles. On Wednesday, I woke up early at 7:00 to begin getting used to waking up early. I also got all of my requirements done in the morning. Then, I ate lunch and went to my open house. I am not exited for 7th grade. Afterwards, I attended my black belt class. Finally, I ate dinner and finished my role model essay. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 24

Today, I finished my requirements after lunch. Then, I assisted a senior tiger class, had a mentor session, and attended my black belt class. After class, I ate dinner and went to bed. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 22-23

On Saturday, I went to sparring class in the morning and assisted a junior tiger class. Then, I did all of my requirements and had to go to a party. On Sunday, I did not have any classes. I finished my requirements after lunch. I then ran for 2 miles and ate dinner. I will see you on Monday.

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Ben Karki Day 21

Today, I did all of my requirements after eating lunch. Then, I attended my Saturday black belt class and my advanced sparring class. After the classes, I ran for 1 mile. I will try to run for 2 miles next week. I will see you tomorrow.

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Ben Karki Day 20

Today, I finished my requirements after lunch. Then, I assisted a senior tiger class and lead the warmups there. After the class, I ate dinner and ran 1.5 miles. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 19

Today, I went to my sister's last eye appointment in the morning. Then, I ate lunch and finished all of my requirements. I then went to assist a senior class, had a mentor session, and attended my black belt class, which I lead. After the classes, I ate dinner and ran for 1.5 miles. Have a good night.

  54 Hits

Ben Karki Day 18

Good evening. Today, I completed my requirements after lunch. Then, I went to assist a senior tiger class, in which I lead the ground warmups. After assisting the class, I ate dinner and went to bed. I will see you in tomorrow's black belt class. 

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Ben Karki Day 17

Today, I finished all of my requirements before assisting the senior tiger class. I then did my mentee and mentor session before my black belt class, in which I lead the warmups. After the class, I ate dinner and ran for 1 mile. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 16

Today was uneventful, and I had no classes. I finished all of my requirements after lunch. Then, I went outside and ran for 1.5 miles. After the run, I ate dinner and went to bed. I will see you on Monday.

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Ben Karki Day 15

Today, I went to sparring class in the morning. After sparring, we went to the park for a 1.5-mile run. When we came home from the run, I finished all of my requirements and helped my dad cut the grass. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 14

Today, I watched the Olympic games ceremony at 1:30. Then, I finished my requirements and went to my black belt class and advanced sparring class. After the class, I rested and ran for one mile. I will see you on Saturday.

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Ben Karki Day 13

Today, I finished my requirements before assisting a high belt class. I got both a leadership credit and a class assistance credit. After the class, I ate dinner and ran outside for 1.5 miles. I am considering running outside in the morning instead of the evening. I will see you on Friday.

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Ben Karki Day 12

Today, I finished all of my requirements after lunch. Then, I attended my black belt class and had my first mentor session. After the class, I ate dinner and ran for 1.5 miles. Have a good night.

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Ben Karki Day 11

Today, I went to my sister's eye checkup in the morning. After the checkup, I ate lunch and completed my requirements. I then assisted a junior tiger class and attended a senior tiger class. After the classes, I ran for one mile and created a rough draft of my role model essay. Have a good evening.

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Ben Karki Day 10

Today, I finished all of my requirements before attending my black belt class. At the class, I lead the kicks for a leadership credit. After the class, I ate dinner and ran outside for 1.3 miles. I will try to assist a class tomorrow. Have a good evening.

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Ben Karki Day 9

Today was mostly uneventful and relaxing. I did, however, finally buy a pull up bar and posted the video of me hanging on it for as long as I could. I completed all of my requirements except for running, for it was raining outside all day. I will try to start working on my role model essay tomorrow. Have a good evening.

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Ben Karki Day 8

Today was the pre-test for the black belt cycle. I believe that I had done decently on my poomsaes and physical exam, though I will need to do much more practice on them. I had done very poorly on my written exam, for I had studied the study guide of a different school on a separate website. Also, I had no clue of what to expect on the written exam. After the pre-test, I finished all of my requirements and slept early since I had not gotten enough sleep the previous night. I will see you on Monday.

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Ben Karki Day 7

Today, we skipped summer camp due to my sister's eye injury. I completed my requirements early so that I would have more time to prepare for the pre-test. I went to my Friday black belt class and practiced all of the poomsaes and self-defenses I knew so far, as well as the new ones that I had just learned. After class, I practiced the poomsaes and self-defenses once again, then studied for the written test and went to bed.

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Ben Karki Day 6

Today, my sister got poked in the eye by accident at summer camp. We left early so she could get a checkup. The doctor told us that her eye would heal on its own in a few days. After the checkup, I assisted a junior tiger class while my dad went to buy a jump rope. He did not find any pull up bars at the store. Afterwards, I completed all of my requirements and ran outside for 1.5 miles. I will see you on Friday.

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Ben Karki Day 5

Today I went to my YMCA summer camp, as usual. When I came back home, me and my sister went to our Wednesday swimming class. After that, I completed all of my requirements and ran outside for one mile. I was still getting used to running, so I was very tired when I came back inside. I will make sure to buy a jump rope and a pull up bar tomorrow so I can complete those requirements. Have a good evening.

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Ben Karki Day 4 Journal

Today I  went on a field trip in my YMCA summer camp to a bowling alley. I did not have a Tae Kwon Doe class. I will try to sign up for more classes in the future. I have completed all of my requirements and have run one mile on my treadmill, for it was raining outside. I will try to run for more miles this week and complete the seven mile total that is required. I still do not own a pull up bar or a jump rope, and I am hoping to buy them soon to complete those requirements. See you on Thursday!

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Ben Karki Day 1-3 Journal

Good evening, My name is Ben Karki. I am a Bo Cho Dan and  I am trying to become a 1st Dan Black Belt. This is my first black belt cycle.  On my first day, I went to my Saturday sparring class in the morning. This was my first required class for the black belt cycle. Afterwards, I completed my requirements at home. I did not yet own a jump rope or a pull up bar, and thus I could not complete those requirements. On my  second day, I did not have any Tae Kwon Doe classes. I completed all of my requirements at home (except for the jump rope and pull ups, as I still did not own them). On my third day, I went to my YMCA summer camp from 8am to 4pm. In the evening, I went to my first weekday black belt class. After my class, I...

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