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!

10/3/2024

Hi King Tiger Family... it is the night before testing... I keep reviewing things through in my mind and ensure I remember things. I feel like I have prepped, but it never feels like you have done enough. I plan to practice a little tomorrow and just stay healthy. Eat and get energy up!!! Get ready to show all you learned and have some fun too. It is okay to enjoy this but take it seriously too. Have a great night. Get some rest.

  80 Hits

9/28/2024

Hi King Tiger Family, Today was a good day. Got a bunch of items finished and have some more to do tomorrow. Loaded all the essays to dropbox. Good to go. Now to finish requirements and get ready for Friday!!! Stay healthy and keep practicing. Take care.

  64 Hits

9/27/2024

Hi King Tiger Family... last week of cycle. Here we go!!! Good luck everyone tomorrow on physical and written tests... then onto the GAME. Practice and be confident. Take care.

  48 Hits

9/26/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. I hope you are well. Good night at class tonight and sparring. Got to work on some requirements and worked on Double Stick forms 1 and 2 with Master Marcus. I enjoyed my evening and I need to finish a few items. Then off to bed. Take care. 

  54 Hits

9/24/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. Next to last week of cycle. Still have some things to work on, but feeling better. Got Double stick pretty good, now refining it. My creative is pretty memorized, but now to refine and clean it up. Looking forward to next Friday. Keep up the great work and have a great night. 

  56 Hits

9/21/2024

King Tiger Family, I hope everyone is doing well. It was a good. Did a bunch of requirements. Double stick 2 and my creative are coming along. Still got some essays to finish this weekend. Looking forward to tomorrow. Have a great night. Take care. 

  88 Hits

9/18/2024

Hi King Tiger Family, I have some work to do and many requirements. I am also studying for the test and working on creative. Getting it done. Take care. 

  53 Hits

9/16/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. it is Monday! Great evening classes. Learned a bunch of things for testing and getting better. Got a bunch of requirements complete. More to do but feeling good. Got our trees. Posted pics yesterday. I got a Lime tree and Nate got a Lemon tree. We will which does better. Good day. Another one tomorrow. Take care. Carl  

  63 Hits

9/14/2024

Hi King Tiger Family, I hope everyone had a good day. Nate had a great cross country meet today! He rocked it! So very proud. Will get a couple requirements done. Tomorrow will need to be a very productive day. Take care. 

  55 Hits

9/12/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. It is Thursday!!! I am pretty behind on requirements and will work to make up this weekend. I can do it. I also need to work on my creative. I have the moves, but need to practice and perfect lt. I also need to learn double stick 2… watching videos but need to see if I can replicate right. Thanks for listening. Take care. 

  53 Hits

9/11/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. Today is 9/11. Please do not forget and remember all those whom were lost due to the tragedy against our great nation. Remember how our nation came together in that time of crisis and just helped and Loved each other. Do we really need a tragedy to do that! Think about all the opportunities we have to love, help and lift up people. Take the opportunity and act on it. Make the change! Take care. 

  58 Hits

9/10/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. Tonight was pretty good evening. Got a run in and some requirements. Yummy dinner that mY wife got us and taking care of watering our yard that was air rated and seeded. Adulting things! Have a great night. Take care. 

  71 Hits

9/10/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. Great classes tonight. Reviewed a bunch of items and got Mentor session in. We got some requirements. More to do. All good. Have a great night. Take care

  49 Hits

9/8/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. It is Sunday! Great day. Did a bunch of requirements and got another run in, so finished running for the week. I worked on creative. It is coming along. I like it, but we shall see. Take care. 

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9/7/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. Good day today! Nate crushed it at cross country today. I will let him tell the story, but he got 6th place with over 600 runners from all over the place. I am so proud of this kid. He Is amazing. I am ready to get done sleep and tomorrow is requirement day!!! Take care. 

  52 Hits

9/6/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. It has been a day. All good. Got very little done in requirements so will be working hard this weekend. Need to work  learning creative and double stick 2… getting ready! Take care, 

  63 Hits

9/5/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. Hope everyone is doing well. It was a good day. Got some requirements done in the morning. Still got a bunch to do tonight. Going to Sparring class tonight. Need the credit and class time. Excited to potentially do a mentor session with Master Marcus. Need some work on some items. Have a great night. Take care.

  66 Hits

9/4/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. I hope everyone is doing well. It was a good day. Still have requirements to do but got some done earlier. Work has been pretty good. I am looking forward to Sparring tomorrow. Have a great night. Take care. 

  54 Hits

9/3/2024

Good Morning King Tiger Family, writing this early today. I have missed a few times and I thought about it this morning, so figured I would complete this journal early. I hope everyone is doing well. Time is ticking down. I did get a chance to work on my creative poomsaes and I mapped it out with all the forms. I need to practice it and tweak it. I need to make sure it is uniform and makes sense. I am pretty happy with it. Need to work on some other items, especially double stick form II. Kepp up the great work and know you are in the home stretch. Refine and make sure you practice as if you are testing. Have a great day and week. Take care. 

  63 Hits

9/2/2024

Hi King Tiger Family, Happy Labor Day. I hope everyone is enjoying the day. Working on my creative today and catching up on some requirements. Been a productive day so far. Enjoy the weather. It is a little warm, but not back in the shade. Keep studying and getting ready. About a month left. Need to push on and prepared. Looking forward to the week. Take care.

  53 Hits

9/1/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. Well … it is September. Wow! I got work to do. All good. I will get it done but not as ready as I want to be. It will get done. Did get my thoughts on creative started. Tomorrow is the day. Plus, did digital detox part one today. Making progress. No class tomorrow which is bummer… but will get requirements done. See you this week. Enjoy your Labor Day. Take care,  

  62 Hits

8/31/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. Last day of August!!! Time is flying. I still have a ton to do to be ready for testing… but this is the push!!!  We will get it done. This weekend goal… requirements and creative! Keeping the goal real. I will let you know how it goes. Have a great long weekend. Use the time wisely! Take care. 

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8/29/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. It was a good day. Made it to sparring and got done requirements done. Came home to a great meal and recharged. I really need to do more requirements but exhausted. I need to get some energy! Have a great evening. Take care. Carl

  49 Hits

8/28/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. It was a pretty good day. Got a good run in. I will be running a 10K In a few weeks. My first one. I have done a bunch of 5K, so we shall see. Running with my daughter (Lexi), so I am not alone. She will push me! I am excited. Got some requirements done and now writing this. Have a great night. Take care

  64 Hits

8/26/2024

Hi King Tiger Family, great classes tonight. Got a chance to help instruct. I got a chance to work with two yellow belts were just fantastic to work with. They both were eager to learn and just get better. They listened very well and picked on some minor tweaks quickly. It was an absolute pleasure to work with them. Got a mentee session in and got some requirements done. Still a little behind but will catch up.Good day.  Take care 

  45 Hits

8/25/2024

Hi King Tiger Family, I hope you are all doing well. It is Sunday. We had a good morning at church and good message from one of our pastors. Basically, the message was that we all need to make time for our Lord. In prayer, scripture and worship. After church we came home and ate late lunch. Then Nate and I worked on some requirements and still working to catch up. Then I was working on a few items around the house. Now I am writing this. Ready to do some more requirements. Have a great rest of the week. Take care.  

  55 Hits

8/24/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. It has been a few days. Missed a couple journals. Busy but good. Nate had first cross country meet today and he crushed it. I’ll let him tell the story. Day went well. Got requirements to do. Have a great night and weekend. 

  65 Hits

8/19/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. I hope everyone is doing well. Not a bad Monday. Work was a little pile on but all good. Will catch up. I am still a little behind requirements but will fix it this week. I am still working on essays but have studied a bunch for the written test. I need to work on creative. I have ideas but need to solidify it. Let’s go! Have a great week. Take care. 

  56 Hits

8/17/2024

Hi King Tiger family. It was a good Saturday. We have black belt class this morning. Another great class working on our kicks and self defense. Then we went to airport to greet our new foreign. Exchange student whom will be with us for a year. She is Laia and from Barcelona, Spain. She will be at Hopewell High with Nate. We are so very excited for her. Then we did a bunch of requirements. In pretty good shape. Nate and I also went for run. Let’s be clear… we started at same time… I did not stick with him for too long. Great day today. Ready got some rest. Take care. 

  62 Hits

8/16/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. It was a good day today. Long but good. Work went pretty well. Got a few key items done. More to come! Got a chance to got to TKD before BB class and got a bunch of requirements done. BB class was good and then did a mentor session with Master Marcus. All in, good day. Got home and had a good dinner. Now ready to end this good day. Take care. 

  59 Hits

8/15/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. I got to instruct with a family class today. It was good. We worked on color belt Poomsaes. I always find instructing helps me refine my own Poomsaes. When you have to teach it, you have to break down each move and explain it in words. It is a great way to refine. I actually do that sometimes when I am just practicing or doing requirements. I just say it aloud as I do it. I found sparring tonight very good. I got to spar Master Marcus. It reminded me how out of shape I am. I used to be much faster and better at sparring. I got work to do!!! Have a great night. Take care. 

  53 Hits

8/14/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. I hope everyone is doing well. It has been a good week, but a little crazy. I am looking forward to sparring tomorrow. I am a little behind on requirements but will catch up. Should be a slower weekend so will have a little time to catch up if needed. Time is ticking. Take care. 

  62 Hits

8/12/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. I hope you all had a good Monday. Great day today. Work was not too bad. Then onto class and instructing. I really like working with the kids. I got a red belt today that just wanted to learn and was working hard on his poomsae. It was great to see kids learning and pushing themselves. It is always a pleasure to help out. Take care. 

  57 Hits

8/11/2024

Good Afternoon King Tiger Family, I hope everyone is having a great Sunday. Early in the day but wanted to just say how grateful and thankful I am for our TKD family and friends. It is a pleasure to be part of this organization. It is an honor to train and instruct next to all of you. I truly appreciate you all. Enjoy the day and make sure you rest up for the remainder of the week. Take care.

  59 Hits

8/10/2024

Hi King Tiger Family, I hope everyone had a great Saturday. Started today with a great BB class. Got to work! Then took a little break and then went to the PMAA knife class. I will say that was one of the best classes I have taken. I learned a ton and even better I got to do it with Nate. We both thoroughly enjoyed it. Looking forward to tomorrow! Have a great night and rest of your weekend. Take care. 

  68 Hits

8/9/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. I hope everyone is doing well. I had a pretty good day. Work went well. Got LKN to do some rolls and falls, and then BB class. It was good to work on Poomsaes and some self-defense. Then we did a mentor session and worked on some 3rd dan items. Then we came home to eat. All in was a good TKD day. Looking forward to the PMAA class tomorrow. Nate and I both signed up. See you then. Take care. 

  55 Hits

8/8/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. I hope everyone is doing well. I was able to get to TKD today and help with a class and also take Sparring. My work schedule was a little if-y today, so not sure I was going to be able to step away. It worked out. I might have to start tomorrow morning a little earlier to make it up. My requirements are pretty good today... still need some physical items, so will try to do that shortly. Great classes today. I really like instructing classes. Teaching is the best way to validate your knowledge and keep it fresh in your head. I worked with some red belts today so it was great. Excited to see what tomorrow brings. Have a great night. Take care.

  64 Hits

8/7/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. It was a good day. Got most of what I was trying to get done. Need to work on creative. Looking forward to sparring. Take care. 

  60 Hits

8/6/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. A pretty good day. Normal work day. Left work and came home to head to run with Nate. Got a good run in and did some requirements. Then came home. My wife cooked us a fantastic dinner. So yummy. Then onto a few more requirements. Finished some stuff and now writing this. Looking forward to tomorrow. Weeks are moving by. Still have a bunch to do. Take care.

  65 Hits

8/5/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. Happy Monday! Pretty good day all in all. Did not start as early as I wanted but still got off pretty well. Work went well and the home then off to TKD. Helped with class and then took a class. Great to practice Hopkido. Worked on some stick. Now just finished some physical requirements. How to head to bed soon. Have a great evening. Take care. 

  64 Hits

8/3/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. I hope everyone enjoyed their Saturday. Nate and I went to Latta this afternoon and got some requirements done. It was a great to get most of what I needed done early. I just finished some kicks and now writing this. I am working on one of my essays. It is going pretty well, but I need to keep adjusting it. It is coming. Well, I hope everyone enjoys the rest of today. Take care. 

  63 Hits

8/2/2024

Hi King Tiger Family! It is Friday. Good work day and then a great BB class. Working on sticks and staff… alway can use practice on that. Got home from class and did a bunch of requirements. Pretty ready for tomorrow. Looking forward to class in the morning. See you all then. Take care. 

  62 Hits

8/1/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. I am home. Got back from NYC this afternoon. Did not make it home in time for TKD sparring, so I will need to make up a class. No problem. Did some requirements tonight. Tomorrow will be a make up day. I am looking forward to the weekend. Come on Friday. Ready for it. Have a great night. Take care.

  73 Hits

8/1/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. I am in NYC. I don’t feel great but I am trying to complete requirements. I do not want to get behind. Keep it up! Keep encouraging each other. This is the King Tiger way. Keep up the great work. Take care.

  64 Hits

7/28/2024

Hi King Tiger Family, I hope everyone is having a good Sunday. Great morning service at Church. Ate lunch. Did some things around the house and will be heading to do some requirements. I leave for NYC tomorrow for work. I have four days in NYC. My goal is to try to do requirements in the mornings before my day starts. They will be long work days. Ready for the challenge. See you all on Thursday. Take care.

  56 Hits

7/27/2027

Hi King Tiger Family. It is Saturday. Great morning BB class. Worked on a bunch of items, especially sticks. Always could use practice with those. Then we stayed and helped with class. I really like instructing the lower belts and help them get ready for the next belt. It is fun to watch them learn and get it. Then when they accomplish it, it is amazing to see their faces. To see that they can do it and they are capable. I think that for TKD there is a bunch is having confidence that you can do it. The rest is practicing the skills and leveraging them in different ways, but once you overcome the fear and see you can do it, then it becomes easier. It was great to see all the BB this morning. Many are testing and working hard on the cycle. Have a great Saturday. Take care. 

  63 Hits

7/26/2024

Hi King Tiger. Good day today. Work was interesting as usual but got some hiring items in the pipeline. Basically, I need to hire a new group of leaders to help with some Transformation work. I am excited about that. I got my car to the auto body shop for appraisal. Please pray that it can be repaired. Heading back to NYC next week for work. Doing some requirements in the NYC. Great BB class today. Working on belt level items which was awesome. Looking forward to the weekend. Have a great weekend and take care. 

  67 Hits

7/25/2024

Interesting day! Work was not bad but a ton to do. Especially getting back from time off. Trying to get a crown tooth fix today and they need to replace. And someone hit my car in way home today. All is good and everyone was okay. So trials are what make us stronger. I did miss Sparring so will need to figure that out now. Going to do some requirements and move on. Tomorrow is a new day. Take care. 

  65 Hits

7/24/2024

Hi King Tiger. Have been away in NY. Missed a few journals but doing one today. The weather is great and getting good runs in with my daughter (Lexi) and Nate. The elevation is not terrible but we found a few crazy hills. I think we are going hiking today as well. Love NY this time of year. Back to NC tomorrow. Take care.

  74 Hits

7/21/2024

Hi King Tiger. At the airport. Heading to NY for a few days. Visiting family. Book is in the bag and will be working on requirements. Yesterday was good inspiration and ready for cycle. Plan to work on essays as well. Have a great Sunday! Take care. 

  64 Hits

7/20/2024

Hi King Tiger... Today was Pre-Test. It showed me how much work I still got to do and reminded me that I need to keep pushing myself. Had a god run and physical was not too bad. Need to work on some things. Always need to work on poomsaes. However, I am working hard on my stances and preps. Still got work there. I am excited for this testing and most of all, I get to test with my son Nate and get to spend some time with him. As he gets older, he needs me less, so I enjoy these moments. Have a great day and weekend. Take care.

  59 Hits

7/17/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. Definitely late but good day. I got some requirements done today and basically caught up so I am feeling better. I am ready for sparring tomorrow night. Excited. It has been a while so will need to work back into the groove. I am still pretty sore but pushups were easier this morning so that was good. I had a pretty good day at work. I am going to head to bed soon but first I am going to read some bible. I like doing that before bed and also pray. I find prayer helps me get to the right place before bed. I hope you all have a great night. Take care. 

  69 Hits

7/16/2024

Good Evening King Tiger. It was a good day. Did not get everything done that i wanted to, but did get a good run in. I have more time tomorrow night and will make it up. Looking forward to the upcoming classes. I am interested to see how the coming weeks are. The first couple weeks are the hardest, but then it becomes a groove.  Have a great night. Take care. 

  68 Hits

7/15/2024

This is day three. I am just going to say it... I am sore. That is a good thing... means I am doing something right. :-) I went to LKN school today and instructed in class. I just like instructing the students. Especially the kids just starting. I like to teach with practicality. I want them to think about why they are doing something, not just the what. It helps me remember and hopeful will help them as well. Some of the best instructors have shown me the practicality of what we do and that always sticks with me. I am excited for this cycle and working hard. I started putting some thought into my creative. Need to work on that this weekend.  Have a great night. 

  74 Hits

7/14/2024

This is the second cycle for Nate and I as we are working on our 4th Dan. Today is day two, so working to get back into the cycle. Not there yet... just figuring out the timing for everything and what classes we will be attending and instructing at, etc. We are planners, so we will prep as much as we can. I definitely took too much time off in between the two cycles, so going to need to crash course on everything to catch back up. It is all in my brain, just need to get it back to the front. :-)  I am excited and ready to get going.

  66 Hits

3/20/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. Well... I finished all my requirements today. Although Nate and I are only auditing, I feel like this cycle has been a great way to get back into the swing of things. Now, I need to maintain until the next cycle where we test. I wish everyone luck on Friday and Saturday. Breathe, Relax, Enjoy the moment, and just show what you worked so hard to do. It is an incredible experience. Take care. 

  122 Hits

3/17/2024

Hi King Tiger Family, Today was a typically Sunday with church. Nate and I worked hard on some catch-up of requirements to make sure we are good this week. Only have 1 mentee and 1 mentor session left that we will complete this week and almost done all the physical items. Although we are auditing, we are feeling really good on our stuff. Only need help on double stick form 2. Getting ready for the test. Take care.

  127 Hits

3/12/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. I hope you are all well and getting ready for testing. Final weeks to get ready. We are moving through the remaining requirements and practicing some of our skills. Nate and I are only on auditing but we both agreed to try to get as ready as possible like we are testing. Then it will keep us ready for next cycle for our actual testing. We are perfecting our 3rd Dan items. Getting there. I hope everyone has a great night and great week. Take care.

  103 Hits

3/11/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. Interesting day. We are having some foundation work done today at our house and as they were digging they hit the power line even though they where marked by power company. They were marked wrong, so that was fun. But the power company came right out and fixed it. All good now. Then they found a bunch of concrete that shouldn't be there which is causing a problem, so probably more work. Otherwise a good day. Nate and I went to LKN King Tiger and got a bunch of requirements done, then came home, ate and finished a few remaining items. Now I am writing this. Ready to go to bed soon. Have a great night. Take care.  

  112 Hits

3/10/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. Today was a good day. Went to church and really enjoyed the service. God wants us to worship is so many different ways. I will make it simple -- spend time with him in prayer, reading scriptures, and just being kind and show love to everyone... that is right, even the people that we dislike. It is easy to love someone we like, but that is not his way. Nate and I did run on the Greenway. It was a good run. Then requirements. Had some catching up to do. Not done, but got a bunch finished. Had some great meals that my wife cooked us. Fantastic food. I am so very grateful. I just got back walking the dogs and writing this now. Take care. 

  110 Hits

3/9/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. This morning we went to Black Belt class and got to work on some 3rd Dan Self Defense and Specials. It was great as Nate and I are just starting to learn it and great we got to work with the Masters on it. Then we helped with the next class. I am learning that I truly enjoy instructing and missed it. I like showing the kids the practical side of what they are learning. I know that not everyone likes that but I have found it helps we remember things when I understand "the why"... I think something that is lost with many people (including myself sometimes) is knowing your distance. How far do I need to be to kick or punch someone. We were working on that today. Then we helped with the Bags of Hope service project and got to help put together all...

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  110 Hits

3/8/2024 (Keep Up The PACE)

Hello King Tiger Family. I hope everyone is doing well and getting ready for the Physical and Written tests.  Although I am on auditing cycle, I am praying and supporting all our testers for tomorrow. Please get rest and get yourself in the right mental state. Tomorrow will be challenging but not something you cannot get through. Do your best and if you have been focusing the prior weeks on getting better at the Physical exercises and taking the time to study for the Written test, then this is your moment to shine. Show off what you can do. Push yourself just a little further than you might have in the past. The extra push up or sit up, the extra few seconds off your mile run -- all show progress and shows your willingness to give it your all.  A friend of mine provided me this statement... "Keep Up The...

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  119 Hits

3/6/2024

Hello King Tiger Family. It is Wednesday. It was a good day, but a little frustrating work wise, but nothing I cannot overcome. I just got home. My incredible wife had a great meal ready and we ate. It was yummy. I am just chilling a little and then my goal is to hit a few requirements. Then I hope for an early bed. We will see. Have a great evening and day tomorrow. Take care. 

  112 Hits

3/5/2024

Hello King Tiger Family. I hope everyone is doing well today. Unfortunately, Nate is not feeling well. We think he has a stomach bug. He did not have school today so that sort of worked out except he really did not enjoy the day at all. He is resting. I did go to work as my wife stayed home with him. Work was work, but got to leave at a decent hour and got some requirements done. I went for a run as well. Weather is perfect for running. Not looking forward to running in the summer for our testing cycle (as this is our auditing cycle). I am getting hungry so finish a few things around the house and then food. Have a great night. Take care. 

  112 Hits

3/4/2024

Hi King Tiger Family, I hope all is well. Not a terrible day. Lots of things at work happening but all good. Helped with a class at TKD and got a mentor session with Marcus where we learned Staff Form 5 which was not bad. Did some more requirements and ate dinner. Now, ready for the next day. Have a great night. Take care. 

  116 Hits

3/3/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. Yesterday was Instructor's Camp in Greenville NC at Grandmaster Lee's school. It was an incredible experience and I was so happy we went. Nate and I both agreed it was one of the best Instructor's camp we have attended. There was so much great new knowledge gained yesterday. Great day. I am so very grateful for all the people who made it happen. Today was also very good. Church was also great. A tremendous message from our Pastor. Then onto lunch, requirements, and some house stuff. Getting ready for tomorrow. Have a great evening. Take care. 

  104 Hits

3/1/2024

Hello King Tiger Family, It is Friday!!! I got up as normal. Normal day. Working from home today. Got a run in during lunch, and did some requirements this morning. Looking forward to Black Belt Class tonight, and then Instructors Camp tomorrow. I am excited. It will be a long day but worth it. Looking forward to seeing everyone there. Take care.  

  125 Hits

2/28/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. It is Wednesday night and all is well!!! Pretty good day at work, normal crazy farm, but not terrible. I came home, ran between the rain drops :-) and did some requirements. I did eat in there somewhere and now I am writing this. Plan now is to finish a few things around the house and walk the dogs. Try to get the bed at a decent hour, but that is what I say every night. Have a great one. Take care.

  121 Hits

2/27/2024

Hello King Tiger Family. It was a pretty good day. Very busy at work. Pretty much back to back meetings and I think tomorrow will be similar. I have a few key things to work on this week, but all good. I got home a little later than expected, so I did not run. I will have to do extra the rest of the week. Tuesdays are usually a good run day for me. I did do other requirements with Nate, and now onto getting ready for bed. I already walked our dogs. We have two pups... Jax (~100 lb German Shepherd) and Koda (~60 lbs Beagle/Pitt mix). Both are good dogs and they get along pretty well. Well onto doing some stretching and heading to bed. Take care.  

  140 Hits

2/26/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. Monday was pretty good. Not a bad day at work. Productive and though provoking. I got home. Picked up dogs from daycare, and then Nate and I went to class to help instruct. Nate went to work out and I did some requirements. Just finished and getting ready to eat something and prep food for my wife and Nate when the get home. Then probably some more requirements, walk dogs, and get ready for bed. We will see. Have a great night. Take care.

  113 Hits

2/25/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. Went to church this morning. It is important for us to understand that God wants us to bring things to him and his love is so great that we cannot understand it. It was a good way to start the day. I did a bunch of things around the house. I have requirements to do and I need to get to it tonight. Have a great night. Take care.

  116 Hits

2/23/2024

Hello King Tiger Family. Today was not a fun day at work, but it is now over. Nate and I did go for a run which was good. Then Black Belt Class where we worked on some self defenses. It was a great class, then a good mentor session. Then we came home, finished some requirements and ate dinner. Now we are starting to wind down. I am ready for bed. Have a great night. Take care. 

  127 Hits

2/21/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. Still in Tampa. Heading back tomorrow. It was a late work night so I did not get a chance to run tonight. I will have to make it up at some point. I did get some requirements done at the hotel, so that is good. Tomorrow is another day and I will keep at it. I hope you all have a great evening and a great day tomorrow. Take care. 

  131 Hits

2/20/2024

Hello King Tiger Family. I am in Tampa FL today for work. Visited our office down here and got a chance to spend some time with fellow team mates. Good day. Weather was good. I stayed a little late at work trying to finish some things. Then I went to hotel, got settled, and went for a run. Then I did some requirements. I grabbed some food and then finished some more requirements. Now I am going to get ready for bed. Have a great evening and day tomorrow. Take care. 

  133 Hits

2/19/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. Happy President's Day!!! I know that the origin of President's days was actually to celebrate the accomplishments of George Washington. Crazy that it has been around so long. There are so many figures at varying levels in government that have made dramatic differences in the shape of this country. I say we use this day to remember all those who have served at different levels in government to help drive this country. Although the President's role is extremely important and should be recognized, there are so many nameless officials and staff members that help run this country that is truly takes a "village" to make things happen. I appreciate everyone that works so diligently for our freedom and rights. This is truly the most incredible country to live in. I am not saying we don't have our problems, but I am proud to be an American. I hope...

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  122 Hits

2/18/2024

Hello King Tiger Family. It was a good day today. Started the day with Church. Then had a bunch of things to do around the house, including requirements for TKD. Got almost everything done I was hoping to do today. Still feel like the day went real quick. Now I am sitting and writing this. I still need to figure out the coming weeks to make sure we are good on all our classes and requirements. I need to work on another essay. Maybe this coming weekend. Take care.

  153 Hits

2/14/2024

Hi King Tiger Family, Happy Valentine's Day. Pretty good day. Got up, did normal routine and went to work. Work was normal and productive, however dealing with some performance issues with people. Always interesting. I did go to church for Men's Bible Study. Great message on making time for scripture each day. I can usually make time at time, but mornings is sometimes difficult if there are extra things to do, but I need to work to make the time. I got home, took care of somethings and now writing this. I need to do some requirements but not sure I am going to get to them. We will see. I will get it done. Take care. 

  135 Hits

2/12/2024

HI King Tiger Family. I hope you are well tonight. Nate and I did not have a chance to get to class tonight. We are having painting done in the house and we had to do some other things during the same time. However, we got a bunch of requirements done and now I am writing this. Looking forward to tomorrow. Have a great night. Take care.

  118 Hits

2/11/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. I hope everyone is doing well. We are at the mid point... and making great progress. This is where we should be starting to refine your black belt level skills and use your mentor sessions to ask questions. It is was a great Sunday. Got up like normal, went to church, family had lunch, and then some requirements. We also have some painters coming tomorrow to paint our house so we spent time today getting ready for that too. Now, I am watching Super Bowl and actually in the Normatec(s) to help with some recovery. Getting settled for the rest of the evening and hopefully bed a decent hour. Have a great night and week. Take care.  

  111 Hits

2/9/2024

Hello King Tiger Family. It has been a pretty good day. Had a bunch of productive meetings at work and starting to see some progress on some things. Had some situation that we should be able to resolve but it is silly and we should have taken care of this already. All good. Got our dogs home from doggy cay care and grabbed Nate from school. Got some food for Nate and I, and then we head to Black Belt Class. Looking forward to class. See you all soon. Take care.

  123 Hits

2/8/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. Thursday night. All is well. Went to sparring and helped with classes before. Got a mentee session in as well. Need more Leadership, so need to ask more often. Did some requirements and ate a yummy dinner my wife cooked. Getting ready for bed and then resting for the next day. Have a great night and weekend. Take care.

  122 Hits

2/7/2024

Good Morning King Tiger Family, I missed yesterday so to quickly catch up. I am in Plano TX for work. We have an office here and visiting some of my teammates who are out here. Weather has been good and gotten some runs in. I also be working on requirements since I am traveling, so taking advantage of that. Work is work, but it has been great to visit people in person that I have only met or interacted remotely with. Heading back tonight to Charlotte. Looking forward to coming home. When traveling, I do like to get to know the area, but really did not get a chance to do that much this time. I will be back and will need to make it a longer trip. I hope you all have a great day. Take care.

  123 Hits

2/4/2024

Hi King Tiger Family, It has been a great Sunday. Pretty normal Sunday except we wanted to cook breakfast this morning, so we did a whole spread of food. very yummy. Went to church and then came home for lunch. Nate and I did some requirements. We worked on stick and staff, and the weather was good so we practiced outside which is easier than the garage. Then I had some errands to run and my wife made dinner (also yummy). Great evening. Now I am entering my requirements into the system and writing this journal. Getting ready for my work trip this week. Take care.  

  130 Hits

2/3/2024

Good Evening King Tiger Family, It is Saturday night. Very long day, but good. Nate had his last track meet of the season today. He did great and just continues to grow as a runner. He is just so fast and will continue to get faster as he works so hard at it. I am a super proud dad. Then we got home, I ran a couple miles. Then I washed my wife's Jeep as it was filthy and needed it. Then I ate dinner and my wife and I went to Lowes to look for some new light fixtures and paint. We are re-doing our downstairs of our house, so big project this year. Then we got back... Nate and I did some requirements, and then I did a few things around the house. I am now very ready for bed. Have a great evening. Take care. 

  146 Hits

1/31/2024

Good Evening King Tiger Family. It is the last day of the month. Cannot believe that January is almost over. Crazy how time flies. I will say that I have learned/re-learned a ton of TKD elements since cycle started. This is the motivation I needed to get back into the swing of things. Of course, I have a bunch more to learn/re-learn but I am seeing progress. I am also refining some items, especially poomsaes and my kicks. I am working on flexibility and I would say I am a little more flexible... more work there too. Just finished some requirements and have some more. Took a quick break. Hope everyone have as great night. Take care. 

  122 Hits

1/30/2024

Good Morning King Tiger. Yesterday was a very crazy day at work. Just a lot of different events occurred that really just changed my day more so than normal. I reflected on these events and realize that these are things outside my control and I need to address and move on. God has a plan for all this. I did go to TKD class last night and got to instruct. I forgot how much I like to teach and instruct kids. It is amazing to see them learn and grasp how to use what we teach practically. Fun to watch them grow. It was a great evening. Nate and I got a bunch of requirements done. Then yummy dinner that my wife cooked and stretched. Then walked the dogs and went to bed. I slept good, but never really is enough sleep. All good and ready to face another day. Have...

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  121 Hits

1/29/2024

Good Morning King Tiger Family, It is a start of a new week. Getting ready. This week is another jump in requirement time of most items. All good. Just need to continue to adjust to the new times. Nate and I got up early to start some requirements. Great way to start to the day. We both ate and he is at school. Now onto work and the rest of the day. We got TKD classes tonight and we plan to get a mentee session in. We are excited for this week. Have a great day. Take care.

  121 Hits

1/28/2024

Good morning King Tiger Family. It is Sunday morning. I got up pretty early and took care of some things at our house. I also ate breakfast. I am getting ready to go to church. Nate and I have a bunch of requirements to do today. It is a good day. The weather seems a little better than yesterday. Looking forward to the day. I hope everyone has a great day. Make sure you take some time to rest a bit though. Take care.

  119 Hits

1/27/2024

Good Evening King Tiger Family. It has been a really good Saturday. Nate had a track meet this morning in Waxsaw, NC. We got up and got down there pretty early... then they delayed a little bit due to the rain. Luckily it cleared up pretty good before he ran. I am so proud of Nate. He is working so hard and it is paying off. He was in the last heat which means he is running against the best at the meet. He ran extremely well and just killed it. He is working to get to States this season. It is God's will on that topic, but he is working so hard and it shows. Just so everyone understands... he is running the mile in the 4 minutes 30+ second range... he is wicked fast. Again, so proud of him. It is so awesome to watch him grow and shine. We...

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  115 Hits

1/26/2024

Hello King Tiger Family. Pretty normal Friday. I worked remote today as I usually do on Fridays. We did have our carpets cleaned today, so that was a little different. Pretty typical work day. Nate and I did do some requirements and I did go for a run at lunch time because it is 70 degrees today and figured I would take advantage of it. Not sure how the weather will be this weekend. Glad we worked on Hopkido at Black Belt tonight. Got a mentor session in and learned some items I need to refresh on. Finished some requirements. Getting ready for tomorrow. Nate has a track meet in the morning. Take care.

  103 Hits

1/25/2024

Good Morning King Tiger. It has been a pretty good morning. I did hit snooze this morning. It was a late night and morning came quick... so I slept a little extra (15 minutes). I got up and did most of my normal routine. Nate did not have school today, so it was a little different. I did some requirements and spent some time in scripture. Then onto work, where I hope today goes better than yesterday. All good. I love my job, but need yesterday was another day of finding problems. I am finding that I have a bunch of TKD knowledge buried in my brain and it is starting to come back. It is a little like riding a bike, it comes back to you as you do it again. I have a bunch of refinement yet, but the basics are there. Just need to keep doing it. Looking...

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  109 Hits

1/24/2024

Good evening King Tiger Family. It is Wednesday evening. Nate and I went to Master Evin's school for Black Belt class. We reviewed stick and staff forms which was perfect because we needed the refresher. Great workout too. Nate and I also got some other requirements completed. We are excited about tomorrow. I had a normal crazy day at work. Have a great dinner that my incredible wife cooked, so extremely thankful. Have a great evening and take care. 

  116 Hits

1/23/2024

Good Morning King Tiger. Got up this morning. Got started as normal and Nate and I hit some requirements. Nate has the last of his mid-terms today. I am heading to work and starting my day. The plan for tonight is to get a run in and finish my normal requirements. I need to continue to work on my black belt knowledge and practice my kicks. I need to keep working on my flexibility. I will get there. Looking forward to the week. Have a great day. Take care

  114 Hits

1/22/2024

Good Morning King Tiger. It is Monday morning. Started off the day with taking care of the dogs, getting everyone ready for their day, and then doing the same for me. Nate and I did do some requirements early, just to get started with the week. I need to drop our dogs at daycare this morning and then into the office. We are back into the office. No more remote working. I kind of like being in the office. Plus the commute gives me time to decompress on the way home before I need to start home life stuff. Good stuff. I am ready for the week. Hope everyone has a great week. Take care.

  129 Hits

1/21/2024

Good Evening King Tiger, Today was a good day. Got up, did some requirements and went to our church to volunteer. I do several things for the church but today was handling parking. It was cold but fun. I also went to second service. Our pastor was speaking from Hebrews 11, focusing on how faith was and is critical with our path with our Lord. It was really impactful. I came home, got lunch, and did a bunch of requirements today. We had a catch up a little since yesterday (Sat) was very busy. Then we did our weekly cooking. My wife cooked some amazing food for us and so I helped with cleaning all the dishes. Watched some football. I also ran today, it was cold but not like yesterday. I am ready for another week. Have a great Sunday and week. Take care.

  131 Hits

1/20/2024

Hi King Tiger Family. Good day today. Nate had a track meet in Winston Salem, and I glad it was indoors. It was very cold today. He did very well. I did go for a run myself today, but outside and it was a little cold. All good though, glad to get some miles in. Then did a few more requirements. Got more to do later. Writing now because we have little lull in the evening. Just finishing eating dinner and cleaning up after. Got laundry running, and now writing this. We did have some time at the track waiting for his heat, so I working on the Written Test questions and finding all the answers. The test has changed some since the last time I took it, so getting ready. Some good questions on it. I found a cool free app for my phone where you can make flash cards,...

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  115 Hits

1/19/2024

Good Evening King Tiger. Great Friday Night BB class at LKN. We worked on Hapkido which was perfect. It had been a while since I had done them and it came back, but refresh was perfect timing. Now Nate and I can work on it. I also got myself a mentee (Instructor Rob). I really do like instructing and helping kids learn, but I also like working with the adults. In some ways it is harder with adults because "learning" something is harder when you get older. Instructor Rob is awesome to work with and this may be as much him helping me as it is me helping him. I have been focusing on my 2nd Dan knowledge so I can instruct him. It is all good. I am looking forward to the remaining cycle. Have a great evening. Take care.

  125 Hits

1/18/2024

Good Morning King Tiger. Starting my day with a journal. I got up like normal and had a normal morning. Nate and I did some requirements to start the day. Best time to do some is the morning. Then off to work. I had to drop our dogs at daycare for today. It went well. Now I am getting ready for the day. Looking forward to classes tonight. Take care.

  120 Hits

1/17/2024

Good Evening King Tiger. Today has been an interesting day. Not going to get into specifics but came into work today thinking I would focus on one thing and had to pivot quick and focus on something else. It happens. Just not expected today. :-)  I finished work at home (working remotely) in the afternoon. My wife is substituting for a teacher at Nate's school so she was not home today for our dogs and I came home early to let them out. I finished work. Grilled some yummy food. Then my wife went to her real job. Got Nate fed. He is now studying for his big exam tomorrow. I am trying to be productive so using this time to write this journal. I do have requirements to work on. Looking forward to TKD classes tomorrow. Take care. 

  107 Hits

1/16/2024

Hi King Tiger. Back to work today. It was a good day but a lot going on. I did get to run this afternoon and then did some requirements with Nate. I am writing this journal now and getting ready for bed soon. I am starting to see some progress on several fronts. I need more work on Black Belt level items but practicing as much as possible. Have a great not. Keep up the great work. Take care.

  113 Hits