Candidate Journals

Good class tonight with some double stick work. And cinawales as well. A mentee session afterwards with Ms. Marina rounded out the day. Ticking things off my list of questions but also adding them as well😂 For those of you going through the cycle for the first time, use this time to get your answers to all of your questions. About your poomsaes, self-defenses, kicks, weapons, the test, everything. Don't wait until the overnight to find out that you have practiced something wrong the whole time or that you didn't learn things that are on your curriculum. Work on your essays, don't wait until the last minute. Enough advice for the night, have a good weekend and I'll see you in class.

Run this morning, followed by the gym. Then lots of stripe testing today in classes. Session with two of my mentees tonight, working on Bolo. They have picked up on it very well. Proud of them! Then some weapons work work Master Chelley and Instructor Rob. And home to some stretching and Advil for my very sore legs. See some of you in sparring tomorrow!

Excellent day for the cycle. Good workout this morning followed by a walk up the hill that is Birkdale Crossing Blvd and down to the end. I want even sure if I was going to run today but after the walk I was nice and warmed up again and the weather was perfect. 2.61 miles and while I was tired after the run I felt strong for the rest of the day. I'll take that feeling anytime. Happy Wednesday everyone!

Good day at the dojang today. Lots of hard work from our color belts, preparing for their testings next week. Workout this morning was hard...took a minute or two to get in the groove. Poomsae tonight with Master Chelley and Instructor Rob. Also some sinawales and connectors refresher with my mentees. Hope everyone is off to a good start for the week. .

Junior Instructor's Camp was a success. All of the sessions went well. We had 12 first time campers and they all had a very good time with lots of participation. And I stayed after for poomsae class and even got a short workout in after that because once I hit that wall I knew nothing else was going to happen. Four hour nap was amazing. Have a good Monday tomorrow!

Early morning workout with Master Chelley and then on to KT. Summer camp work, picking up the tshirts for Jr Instructors camp, lots of traffic getting my kiddos from PLP and Langtree today and two Little Tigers classes and then a mentor session with Master Marcus followed by class and ending with some Doublestick 2 work with Master Chelley and Lucas. Busy day, good results. Tired Jen who just realized that she needs to get her stuff together tonight so she doesn't have to do it tomorrow. And then to get some sleep. See you in class!

I feel like I was cold all day long today. Finally got warmed up in sparring class and then it was time to put our sparring gear on. Where was mine? In the back of my car...where it had been since last Thursday.  Care to guess how cold my hogul--no idea if I spelled that correctly-- was when I put it on?🥶🥶😂😂  Won't make that mistake again! Busy day in classes again but a good one. Lots of good work, helping our color belts get ready for their test in a couple of weeks. Prepping for Junior Instructors Camp this weekend too. And at the end of the day a call from my youngest, checking in on his mom.  Wonderful way to end the day. See you in class!

Finally got some miles in yesterday! And a pretty good workout  too.  The snow and ice has definitely hurt that number but back to work on it. Busy day at the dojang yesterday with color belt testing coming up. Stance work seems to be my theme for the week, important in so many areas.  I worked on Bolo with my mentees who are picking it up really well, proud of them!  Getting ready for Junior Instructors Camp, always a fun time with a lot of learning going on too. I'm sure that I will see some of you there. Happy Thursday everyone and see you in sparring class!

With the exception of miles I had a great day for requirements, good workout this morning and some more this evening when I came home. Funny how I started out just stretching some tight muscles and that led to feeling more relaxed which led to "might as well" some more push-ups, sit-ups and even some plank. Every minute counts! Hitting the gym tomorrow and getting some miles in on the treadmill...the greenway in my neighborhood is still pretty icy for the moment.  Have any of you checked your stances lately? I worked with quite a few students on theirs today and it is always good to check your basics every now and then. Hopefully tomorrow is the last day of the week that kiddos are out of school! Have a happy Wednesday!

Schools were out today so.we had kids in the building, I really didn't have a lot to do.with them as I was catching up on office work. That's unusual but I'm sure that I will be with them tomorrow. Had a great session of weapon work with Instructor Peyton. And as usual we had a list of questions to ask...poor Master Chelley, she probably wanted to shut the office door😂 Seriously though, if you are really watching yourself and your fellow black belts as we are working through our curriculum and you see they do something differently...ask a question, verify who is correct or if a technique has changed some. I have questions all of the time, it's just one more way to learn. Have a good night and a happy Tuesday!

Today was a quiet day, some decluttering around the house, some poomsae and self-defenses. My cold.was on it's way out but it appears to have taken a left turn at my sinuses. Ugh. We are open tomorrow for care so I will be carefully creeping on down the road. My husband cleared off my driveway today, just a little too much for the sun to do like it did last week.  Hope everyone came through the snow safely, had some fun and is staying warm. Tomorrow is back to work day. See you on the mat!

I don't know if it's the same for everyone but this month has flown by.  I would love to still have class tomorrow...videoing myself doing anything is not my cup of tea😁 But if the snow does happen I am making chili tomorrow, have plenty of requirements to work on and I feel like my cold is finally moving out.  If my ears would stop popping I would appreciate that too!  Hope everyone is warm and safe this weekend and getting some work done...but also enjoying some fun, hot cocoa and some serious relaxing on a snowy day time too!

Master Chelley and Master Hartle have been stuck in the state of Texas along with along with Instructor Shawn, his wife and son. They were supposed to be back Sunday but as you all know the weather wasn't on our side this week. We opened up for a camp day today and will be open again tomorrow for another one.  The kiddos all finished their remote work, games were played, a movie was watched, class and more games.  Thank goodness for Instructor Anthony and Junior Instructor Braxton...they and Ms.Melanie, stayed longer to help out.  All in all, a busy day at the dojang but a good one. Even managed to have mentee sessions, hapkido takeaways were the theme of the day. Hope everyone was safe and warm. See you on the mat!

We are prepped, ready and charged.  I also stopped.at CVS and stocked up on cold meds and cough drops...because I have my first cold of the year.  After class and a mentee session today I was wiped so I will be taking the weekend off. Maybe some poomsae tomorrow....maybe. Stay safe everyone, I plan on puzzling, reading and drinking lots of hot tea. See you on the mat at some point!

We had kids in the building today for CMS's teacher workday. The day went pretty well. The other day, on the way back to KT from PLP, Instructor Evan read the written test questions to Instructor Lucas and me.  Yes, I travel with a blank written test😂 It was a fun and relaxed way to test ourselves.  Instructor Peyton often gives very useful and helpful tips about the cycle, here's one from me. Don't do this by yourself...train, study, practice, ask questions, answer questions with your fellow black belts.  You will be better for it and they will be as well.  And it's more fun! See you in class!

I started the day training at North Charlotte, some self-defenses and poomsae.  The majority of the time we were doing a poomsae several belts in my future. Chonkwon is interesting. And some Jitae too. Works out nice because those have both come up in my draws for poomsae tournaments, online ones. I've had to pass on a few because learning one poomsae in a couple of days is one thing but learning two at a level emer you can find something to be proud of... that's a bit much. 😂 Busy day at the dojang but a good one and then sparring class tonight. We have two younger girls in sparring now and it was so much fun to watch them, they were having a blast. Hope everyone had an excellent Friday!

Today was a great day... started with a workout and then some running. Brainstormed and planned summer camp crafts with Ms. Melanie and taught myself with a video how to make an origami tiger.  Lots of self-defense work in classes with the students I worked with, quite a few students were really in the zone tonight.  Sometimes something finally clicks and your student remembers or understands what you are asking of them, the "Aha" moment...excellent part of Taekwondo. Really excellent. I will see some of you in sparring class tomorrow, hope everyone has a good Thursday!

Master Chelley and I held a camp day at our dojang today. And we were exhausted by the end of the day😂 The kiddos had tons of Big Mat games, a huge Nerf battle, a guided drawing and painted magnets. I also printed out the written test. Remember, DO NOT LOOK UP ANSWERS ON GOOGLE. Also started reading the essay book tonight, took the day off from physical work...needed a recovery day. Have a great Tuesday tomorrow!

Poomsae class this morning ended with some belt stretches...I need to be stretching more. Doesn't always feel the best when you're doing it but you definitely feel better later for it. My right knee is bothering me a bit so no running today at the gym. I walked half a mile waiting for my husband to meet me and then we worked out together. Lots of chest and shoulders today, my arms feel quite heavy right now. Then while he was finishing up I grabbed a mat and finished up with sit-ups, some plank...so hard after the workout, and then some more stretches. No jumprope today but I'll double up tomorrow.  CJ, my oldest, attacked me this afternoon for self-defenses and my day was complete. Finishing up some laundry now and then updating my requirements on the website. Have a great week everyone!

I feel like I have been cold all day, all day. Hot soup for dinner helped though. Not a very productive day for requirements but I did get some done.  I have a list going of the things that give me pause, that I really have to think hard on or that I am not confident in.  Sometimes the cycle is about looking hard at yourself and being honest about what you have down and what you are nowhere near. And it's not always going to be something super complex or physically difficult. Just a little something to think about. See you in class!

Good day of classes today.  Lots of good self-defense work and kicking work today. Quite a few stripes were earned and even more students that just need to make a few minor changes to earn their stripes. And more work with Master Matthew and Instructor Caleb on self-defenses. A session with my mentees tonight with staff and stick work and then more stick work in class with Master Chelley. See some of you in sparring class tomorrow... have a good Thursday!

Started the day with a workout, success there. Seven minutes of jump rope, nice to knock those out. I got to work early so I worked on my self-defenses, specifically my black belt ones. Does anyone else ever glitch on something you learned years ago? I was a total blank on Bocho Special #5.  The harder I concentrated the further away it moved in my mind. Master Chelley to the rescue!  Guess what I will be practicing again tomorrow...gotta make sure that it was just a glitch😂

Started the day with Poomsae class. Lots of work on preps, definitely needed. Very glad that I went as it helped leftover soreness. We also had some partner stretching and that helped tremendously. Slow leg raises don't necessarily sound like a hard thing to do...to those that haven't done them🤣 Cranked out some more requirements this afternoon and went for a walk too. Hope everyone has a great week. See you in class!

Today was what we named years ago my cancerversary.  The day that I was given my breast cancer diagnosis 14 years ago.  I celebrated it by being on the black belt cycle, and I really do mean that.  This day will always remind that I am tougher and stronger than I think.  Sometimes it's the hardest things that teach you the most important lessons. So embrace the hard and scary things and challenges because as my mentee and friend, Marina, says "We can do hard things." And life is good once you get through it! Happy Pretest Eve!

I am helping Master Burkart! Thursday morning workout was full of self-defense and poomsae work...excellent!  See some of you in sparring class tonight!

The soreness is both worse and better...it's just moving to new spots I think🤣. Started today with a workout at 9Round that had what as one of the rounds? Burpees. Requirements done, a mentee session done, working with Instructor Peyton between classes and asking Master Chelley questions, cycle is definitely in effect. And all in all a good day at the dojang.

I am definitely feeling that black belt cycle soreness.  Yesterday I was working on pull-ups with bands at home and today I was using the lat pulldown machine at the gym...I have a feeling that tomorrow will be a new level of soreness. The good thing is that once you get going all of the movement helps that feeling.  It does sometimes take a moment but it helps.  I have a loose plan for my workouts so far so I feel like I am off to a good start.  Hope everyone's cycle is off to a good start!

What to do, what to do? Can't quite fall asleep and the cycle has started...write a journal😂 Thankful for being able to count the Friday class. Nice to start off with that in your pocket. See you in class or on zoom tomorrow. Happy New Year everyone!

12/23

In just eleven days we start the cycle!  How can you be both completely ready and very far from ready to do something at the same time? Best of luck to everyone! Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year! See you on the mat!!