Fall 2025 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!

Journal Entry #40 8/29/25

Today is Friday. And School is over. So it's officially the start of my four day weekend. And I don’t have to run today either. So it's a pretty good day. I’m going to go to Taekwondo and spar. Then come home, eat and play the game. I’m going to get my rep up too. And I need to see how much 2k26 is right now. I’m not going to buy but I need to watch and see when the price drops.

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Journal Entry #39 8/28/25

Today is Thursday. I have one day left until my 4 day weekend. I can’t wait. I’m going to play 2k a lot.They need to drop more codes. I need to hit a ruby rep. And I’m going to sleep in late. And at school I need us to max out on decline. I’m really curious what my max will be.

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Journal Entry #38 8/25/25

Today is Monday. Pretty chill day. In weight lifting class we maxed out on an incline bench.  I lifted 110ibs. I was pretty happy. I’m guessing next week we are going to max out on decline. If I got 110 on incline I know I can do more than 95lbs on a flat bench. After school I came home. I went to taekwondo. And came back home.

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Journal Entry #37 8/24/25

Today is Sunday. I woke up and my voice is a lot better. We went to church. Then I went to my uncle's house. We played on his  playstation  for a couple of hours then went to my grandma's house. As soon as I got there my grandma had cookies ready. But her rule is we have to eat dinner first. So I ate dinner. Then I ate the cookies. Then I came home and ran. And now I am writing.

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Journal Entry #36 8/23/25

Today is Saturday. I did some of my stuff already. Just trying to get everything done fast. I already did all my tae-kwon-do stuff. I still have to do a few things. I have to vacuum my moms car. My voice is still out. It's probably a little worse than last night.  Because last night I could talk a lot. But now I can't really do that.

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Journal Entry #35 8/22/25

Today we had our pep-ralley. It was an hour and a half long. And it was the best pep-ralley I ever attended. I got to compete in a team competition. We lost though. It was still close.  But the pep-ralley was so fun. I lost my voice because I was yelling so much. And I came home and went to taekwondo. Then I did sparring. That was fun. And I don’t have to run today. So that's good.

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Journal Entry #34 8/20/25

Today was a chill day. I found out that the pep-ralley is on Friday. The good thing about pep-rallies are they get you out of class. They just waste time. And that's perfect for me because I don’t want to be in class. And I really hope it's during Latin. That is the worst  class I have this semester. It is so boring. The only problem is we're probably going to do it last period. And leave after.

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Journal Entry #33 8/19/25

Yesterday I went to taekwondo. It was cool. Parker was there. And today was cool too. I already did my run for the day. And this is the last thing I have to do today.  Well I have to take the trash out too. I can’t wait til the weekend. Because every weekend I get my 2k rewards. And I get my new player cards. But it all starts Friday. And I have been hearing stuff about a prep-rally Friday or Thursday. But I don’t really know.

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Journal Entry #32 8/17/25

  Today was Sunday. So I went to church. But when we got there half the people were wearing masks. And a lot of people didn’t show up. My mom and I were confused. Then when my church did our announcements. They said that there is a new variant of Covid. I remember when covid became a thing. I was in third grade. It was crazy. Until now I didn’t hear much of it.

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Journal Entry #32 8/17/25

Today was Sunday. So I went to church. But when we got there half the people were wearing masks. And a lot of people didn’t show up. My mom and I were confused. Then when my church did our announcements. They said that there is a new variant of Covid. I remember when covid became a thing. I was in third grade. It was crazy. Until now I didn’t hear much of it.

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Journal Entry #30 8/15/25

  Yesterday’s testing was hilarious. We had so much fun. And we got to spar in the first group. And a tester wanted to take a picture with me after. So that was cool. The testing day went by fast. And on 2k I got a 100 overall Austin Reaves card. And I opened a G.O.A.T card pack and got a Luka Doncic card. I got all my running out the way. So I don’t have to run today.

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Journal Entry #29  8/14/25

Today was a normal Thursday. I keep thinking it's Friday. But anyway, one more day until the weekend. I’m going to help with testing today. Those days are the best days of Taekwondo. And today at school we did a LOT. A lot of running. We ran around both of the schools TWICE. And we ran up and down the stairs twenty times. It was crazy.

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Journal Entry #28 8/13/25

Today I went to school like. I went home and ate and did my black belt requirements. I’m gonna run after. Not much to talk about. Saturday I’m going to the self-defense seminar at Lakenorman. Pretty sure Avery and Parker are going too. I would be seeing them three days in a row if they go. So that will be fun. But yeah about to run. And get it over with.

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Journal Entry #27 8/12/25

Today was a normal day. My mom wasn’t late at the bus stop. And I didn’t go to taekwondo. Today in the weight room, it was leg day. I squatted 120 in 15 reps in 4 sets. But I’m not as sore as the first day I squatted. But I'm still sore. I ran extra so I didn’t have to run as much this week. So I'm probably going to not run as much today.

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Journal Entry #26 8/11/25

Today I went to school like normal then came home. Our bus stop got changed so we are getting picked up at a movie theatre named Cinergy. My mom said if she is ever late I can go to the pizza place nearby and get me a pizza. So that's good. Now I want her to be late. This weekend went by too fast. Now I’m waiting for the weekend (again). The weekend went by so fast I don’t even remember what I did Saturday. Today at taekwondo all of us were there. And it's going to be like that Thursday too. Because we're all going to be there for testing.

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Journal Entry #25 8/10/25

Today was another chill day. The weekend went by really fast. It's already Sunday. And I have to go back to school tomorrow. So after this I’m gonna play the game. On 2k I opened this pack. And it was a really good card pack. And I got a really good card rank. But of course it was a duplicate card. I was so mad. It was a duplicate Carmello Anthony. I hate when that happens.

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Journal Entry #24 8/8/25

Today I had school and came home. At school I got my pizza. It was so good. The assistant director said that we were eagle leaders. And we have to help around the school. For more stuff. When we ate we talked about what we wanted to see in the school. I told him I want our school to do a talent show. I think he liked the idea. Then I went back to class. Then got on the bus and left. 

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Journal Entry #23 8/7/25

Today was squat day and I benched 175Ibs. My legs hurt so bad. But tomorrow is cardio day. It's usually on Wednesdays but not this week. That's the only class I really like. That and Math. Tomorrow is the last day of school. And I’m going to get a free slice of pizza. I helped bring books to classes. So they put my name down for pizza.

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Journal Entry #22 8/6/25

Today at school we had a forty minute culture assembly. They just talked about the rules. And they discussed the new staff. A lot of old staff got fired. And they also said that we are the third ranked school in our district. And later that day I went to weight lifting. And today was max out day. I was a little nervous about lifting because I had never lifted weights before. But I did pretty well. My max on the bench press is 95Ibs. So yeah I was pretty happy after I lifted that. I weigh 120 pounds so I’m pretty close to my weight. I’m sure by the end of the school year I will be able to lift over my weight.

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Journal Entry #21 8/5/25

Today was the second day of school. Today a lot of people came to school that wasn’t there yesterday. And there's going to be more all throughout the week. Even some more next week. Usually people don’t go on the first week of school. I even saw a teacher from my old school. She teaches a middle school class. I just don’t know what subject she teaches. Even though we get out earlier we start earlier so it feels like a normal long day. Just can’t wait til the weekend.

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Journal Entry #20 8/4/25

Today was my first day of school. I saw a lot of people from last year. And I also saw a lot of people from my old school so that was cool. So far I like my teachers. And it's going to be easy to get good grades because I only have four classes to worry about. The school itself got stricter. Like dresscode and phone policies. As soon as I walked in, the new dean of the school said that phones were illegal in school buildings. Which didn’t make any sense. Like I really can’t take him serious.

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Journal Entry #19 8/3/25

On 2k I have a stacked team. I have a team full of 100 overalls. And last night I was playing against this dude and was up 23-2 in the first quarter. He left the game in the middle of the second quarter. I’m going to wait to get the new 2k because it's pretty expensive right now. So i’m going to wait until it gets on game pass.  Tomorrow is my first day of high school.  So that means less time on the game. It's going to be a boring school year. Especially with me having to take psychology and Latin. And Earth science has always been boring. And this year I have to take world history.I already don’t care about regular history but now I have to take world history. I had to take it when I was in the 6th and I remember it was awful. Hopefully this...

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Journal Entry #18 8/2/25

I ended up finishing the essay. Today was our pre test. The run got cancelled last night. I was so happy. I could wake up a little later. But I was still tired this morning. I’m tired now. After the pre test I went home and took an hour and a half nap. And I never take naps. Then I woke up and ran my three miles for the run. My body was hurting.

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Journal Entry #17 8/1/25

Yesterday was my final day of the nutrition challenge. It was awful. Today I’m going to write an essay about it. Good thing it's only a page only. I’m going to try my best to write it well but fast. Because today I have to go to taekwondo. And I’m pretty sure I’m teaching the black belt class. And tomorrow is the pre-test. So I’m so happy I got my running out the way. So I can rest my legs. 

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Journal Entry #16 7/31/25

  Today and tomorrow are going to be good. I ran extra yesterday so I didn’t have to run today and tomorrow. And today I went to my open house. I have my full schedule for this semester and next semester. I have math honors for this semester. And next semester I have ELA honors. But like I said before I do not want to go to school. And I have to take Latin again. And I'm there for an hour and a half. It’s going to be so boring.

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Journal Entry #15 7/29/25

  Today I went to taekwondo again. I taught the junior tiger class. I was not prepared for it. When I got there Master Knight told me I was teaching it. I was pretty nervous. But I think it went pretty well. I had them do a lot.  The class went by pretty fast. I heard the next class start so I hurried and ended the class. So today was a pretty good day.

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Journal Entry # 14 7/28/25

Thursday is my open house for school. I can really see the people that are staying. Because I learned by now that people say they're going to leave but they don’t. And I can see who my teachers are going to be, and what my schedule is. That's the most important part of my schedule. And Saturday is our pre-test. I’m not looking forward to the run. But I know every poomsae and self-defense. So I’m going to be good for Saturday.

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Journal Entry #13 7/27/25

Next week is the start of school. I’m going to the 9th grade. I don’t really feel any type of way about it. Everyone always asks me how I feel. I just don’t like school. It feels like a huge waste of my day. And I don’t usually like the teachers either. I’m just counting the years away. Good thing this year we get out an hour early. And we only have four classes a day. But the thing is each class is an hour and a half long. I’m going to be in one room for that long. It’s going to get really boring. So yeah, let's just say I am not looking forward to this school year.

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Journal Entry #12 7/26/25

Today is a Saturday. And usually on Saturdays I sleep in. But I woke up earlier today because Lake Norman had a Poomsae Seminar. And me, Avery, and Parker went to it. It was nice. It gave me a new perspective on Poomsaes. And some of the stuff I learned today I’m going to use on poomsaes for now on. The class felt so short. Like time went by fast. I think it was an hour and thirty minutes long. And after that all of us went out for lunch. We had Shake Shack.

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Journal Entry #11 7/24/25

Today I’m going to the orthodontist. I thought they said the last time we were going there was in 8 months. But we're going today. I don’t think we’re going to be there long. But yeah today has been a chill day. After this I’m going to get on the game. I have to leave in 30 minutes.

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Journal Entry #10 7/22/25

Today I was with my Uncle and we washed the Hampton Inn Hotel. It took us all day to finish. But it didn’t feel that long. But we had to get a boom lift to wash the higher parts of the hotel. And I got in it but we didn't go high. We washed the back first then the front. When we washed the front me and my little cousin’s job was to warn guests about the chemicals. But not a lot of people passed through the front. Sometimes it got hot but it rained very slightly twice. So it wasn’t that bad.

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Journal Entry #9 7/21/25

My least favorite part of the cycle is running. Like everyday I have to run. Like It will be better on the pre-test. But I run myself everyday. And after a while of doing that everyday with no break. Your legs start to hurt worse every time you run. But with the pre-test I have a lot of adrenaline. I try to run with Avery or Parker but they don’t go to Tae-kwon-do on my days. So it wouldn’t make sense for them to drive to Harrisburg park just to run. But we do have to run at least once this cycle.

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Journal Entry #8 7/20/25

Me and Avery started playing this game new to Xbox called Ready or Not. It’s a mission game with real life situations. And you have to carry out your missions. Or you fail. It's a very hard game to play. Me and Avery played that game for like 3 hours and only completed 2 missions. First mission we got a b rank. And that last one we did we got a c. Originally it was only on P.C but now it’s on Xbox. So it's going to be one of the main games we play.

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Journal Entry # 7/18/25

Today was the best sparring class I ever went to. It was fun. Avery taught with a tiny bit of my help. We did two vs two sparring like team sparring. It was fun. And I sparred Conner and Parker. I haven't sparred with Parker in almost a year. The only thing I remembered was that he punches a lot. So I had to make sure I was out of a punching reach. But today was a pretty good day.

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Journal Entry #6 7/17/25

Today was a normal day except that I went to taekwondo. I don’t go to taekwondo on Tuesday and Thursday. Harrisburg has this hopkido class and PMA class. I went to it today. My first time by the way. It was different because both classes aren't my style. But it wasn't bad. I learned a lot of new things from both classes. I’m going to start going more often. But I can’t wait to spar tomorrow.

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Journal # 5

Today was a chill day. I got an essay done so I only have to do two more essays. I have a headache right now so I don’t know what to talk about. But I just ran a mile. And after this I'm going to go eat. Then take a shower and get on the game with Avery. Then watch AMP. I recommend whoever you are watching this to watch AMP. They're this popular Youtube/Twitch group and they're so funny. They are doing content in a summer house right now. They’ree really funny, you should check them out.

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7/15/2025

Today was a chill day. Not much happened today. I just ate and now watching tv with my mom. We're watching American ninja warrior. American ninja warrior is a show where people come and compete in obstacle courses. And the winner wins a million dollars. Today I ran a mile in under 10 minutes again. But when I was running it started to rain. So I was running in the rain. But I didn't mind because it kinda cooled me off.

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Journal # 3

Today was my last day of the digital detox. I woke up earlier so it could be done earlier. It was awful. It was worse today than it was yesterday. But now all that's done. I’m trying to hurry this up so I can play the game with Avery and Trent. So I'm in a time crunch. I ran a mile in less than 10 minutes. And my creative form is coming along pretty good. I have the first few moves and I’m sticking with them. But I don’t want any random form, I want it to have a theme. So I'm still thinking. But with everyone's input it will be amazing (with my flash ofc).

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Digital Detox

Today I started the digital detox. That's when you go without technology for two twelve hour periods. It is awful. This is  worse than the empathy training. It's so boring and quiet. As soon as I woke up I knew it was going to be a bad day. As soon as I woke up I ran a mile and a half outside. I ran it in under fifteen minutes. So if I keep this up I’m going to be able to run my three miles at the pre-test in under thirty minutes. Not looking for that track. But the rest of the day after that will be fun. This will be the first per-test that I can do with Parker and Avery.

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First Day of BB Cycle

Today is the start of our black belt cycle. I ran a mile for the first time in a long time today. I ran the mile at nine minutes on the dot. That surprised me for sure. Yesterday Master Foster and Trent came back from their mission from Handorous. They were gone for a week but it felt like forever. They look different to me when I saw Trent look a year older. And Master Foster looked five years younger. While they were gone I taught the Tuesday sparring class. It went really well. Even though they were gone it was a pretty good week.

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