Candidate Journals

My legs were so sore when I woke up this morning. Walking up and down the stairs during class changes at school was a bit funky. After school, I finished up my last few exercise type requirements. I then continued to practice a very large portion of my curriculum. I went to King Tiger to work on my kicks and creative form. It was a bit difficult because I was so sore, but I feel like I got some good practice in. I don't have school tomorrow, so I plan on doing as much TKD as I possibly can, just for final review for testing.

Today was very similar to yesterday. I went to school and had an average school day, and when I came home, I did some requirements for a while. This afternoon, I spent a lot of time practicing poomsae and self defense. This evening, I went over to King Tiger for some more creative form practice and breaking / kicking practice. My legs were pretty sore, and now they are even sorer, so I am hoping that wears off tomorrow. I plan on tomorrow being pretty much the exact same as today. That wraps up my day. I hope everyone had a good day.

Today was a pretty good day. I went to school like normal, and after school I got home and worked a lot on things in preparation for testing. I covered a lot of curriculum and polished things up. I went to King Tiger later, and I was able to practice a lot on my kicks and my creative form. It is so much better to train on the mat rather than in my backyard. When I came home, I finished up the daily requirements; hopefully I can get those all done by Wednesday. That's all for today. I expect most of the days of the week to be very similar to this one. I hope everyone had a good start to their week.

Today I was still a little bit sore from the physical test yesterday. Because of this, I stretched out for a little bit, and then I spent a lot of time on my creative form. I edited my form a little bit since the Master's exam in August, and I am much happier with how it is going. Later in the evening, I did a lot of school related things like studying, homework, and a little practice / learning songs for Drumline. Other than that, my evening was pretty relaxed. I'm planning on getting to bed soon to get good rest and start off the week strong.

I feel very good about the physical test today. I am super stoked with my run time; I think the weather helped out a lot. I thought the written test went well, and so did all the other physical requirements. After we left the Harrisburg location, my dad and I went to Waffle House, which was great because when I got home, I was starving. I was pretty sore throughout the day, but, despite that, I still did the daily requirements. The rest of my evening was very relaxed. The last week has finally arrived; I hope everyone finishes the cycle strong this week.

Today was a very busy day for me. School turned out to be pretty busy today, which is why I am glad the weekend is here. After school, I did few requirements before heading over to class. Class this evening was good; we had some good review on some things we do not do as often, like hapkido. After class, I headed over to my school's football game. The game didn't last too long into the night, which is great because the physical test is coming early tomorrow. On that note, I am off to bed. I hope everyone does well tomorrow.

Today was a good Thursday. We had a no-tech day in school, which means that we were not allowed to use any kind of technology at all throughout the day. Some classes were a bit different, but some stayed exactly the same. After school, I had a lot of free time because I did not have any requirements to complete. I am giving myself this evening and tomorrow evening to rest / recover for Saturday morning. I have a very busy Friday planned, so I'm headed to sleep right now so I can hopefully get some good quality rest.

Today was a pretty average school day. The weather was dreary today, which was a little bit of a nuisance during class changes, but in the end, it was not that big of a deal. After school, I only did half of the usual requirements that I normally do. I'm planning not to do requirements on Thursday or Friday so my body will be nice and prepared for Saturday. I went to King Tiger in the evening, and I got my picture taken. I'm glad that I was able to replace my picture on the wall because I think the current picture of me on the wall was taken when I was only 12 years old. I went on a run when I got back from King Tiger. The weather was cool, which was a very nice change for once. I had a good Wednesday, and I hope everyone else did...

Today was an alright back to school day. This week hopefully won't be too busy, and I am praying the same will be true for next week. After school I came home and got my requirements done. Over the coming days, I plan to not go super hard on the requirements in order to let my body recover as much as possible for the physical test. Later in the evening, I went to King Tiger and I was able to get some really good 540 kick practice in; I am now feeling super confident in both the 540 and the 540 hook. Hopefully, with a couple more practice sessions, it should be good and ready to present. The rest of my evening was pretty lowkey. I hope everyone else is doing well.

Today was a pretty good day off from school. I woke up and got my requirements done, and I was able to practice my creative form for a pretty good amount of time as well. Later in the evening, I went over to King Tiger. I practiced some weapons and some kicks, and I also got some leadership done. This evening, I went to the track to go on a run. The lightning picked up partway through, so I had to end it short. I don't plan on running too hard this week because of the physical test coming up. That wraps up my day. I hope everyone else is feeling good about the physical test.

Today was a pretty interesting day. I woke up and did most of my requirements for the day, and then, not long after that, I went to Lowe's to get my bricks for testing. I came home and ate lunch, and then my family and I went to go try a new activity that none of us had ever done before. We went curling. We drove down to this warehouse in the Charlotte area, and inside there were a couple of ice rinks that were specifically for curling. We were informed about how the game works, and then, soon enough, we were on the ice sliding the curling stone and brushing the ice just in front of the stone. We all had a good time, and I found the whole thing to be very amusing. When we got home, I completed the remaining requirements that I did not get to complete in...

I went to sleep later than usual last night, so I woke up a bit tired, but as soon as I got the blood pumping, the tiredness wore off. Class was good this morning. We went over some weapons forms, and we were able to get in some good practice. When I came home, it took me longer than usual to complete all of my requirements, but eventually, I got them all done. I'm super grateful that this weekend is a long weekend, at least for my school, it is. This weekend and this coming week, I plan to spend a lot of time on the color belt curriculum in order to do well on the physical test. That concludes my Saturday. I hope everyone else had a good day as well.

I was pretty tired when waking up this morning, luckily I didn't stay too tired throughout the day. School was ok, I had a couple tests today but I'm sure they went fine. After school, I got right to my requirements; I can't believe that the physical test is in one week. I'm feeling pretty good on the physical side of the test but I do need to study the written test. I went to class later this evening which was good and when I came home, I was so wiped out from this week that I really just chilled out for the rest of the night.

My schedule was jam-packed today. School turned out to be busy today, which was not ideal, but it is what it is. The home football game that was supposed to be tomorrow got moved to today. Knowing this, as soon as I got home, I completed my requirements as quickly as I could in order to get to the field on time. Unfortunately, I had to skip sparring class this evening, but I am still on track to have all 10 done by week 12. The football team played great, and the drumline and I also sounded great throughout the game. I got home late from the game, and I still have to do homework and study for tomorrow. With that being said, that is what I am about to do. I had a busy but good Thursday; I hope everyone else had a good Thursday as well.

I had a pretty good Wednesday. School was the same as always, not too much has been going on lately which is a nice feeling. After school, I proceeded with my daily routine of doing my requirements when get home, and then going over to King Tiger a bit later. When I was at King Tiger, I was able to practice hurricane kicks on the mat which I have been struggling with recently. This evening I went on a run at the track that turned out to be really successful. I'm happy with the times I am getting and I feel well prepared for the physical test. That wraps up my day, I hope everyone had a good Wednesday.

Today was a very average day. School was fine today; not a lot happening. After school, I came home and worked on my requirements. I went to King Tiger later in the evening to practice and for leadership. I was planning on going to track to run this evening but I found myself a lot more sore than what I expected. Ultimately, I decided to go to the track tomorrow evening. I hope everyone had a good Tuesday.

Today was pretty good for a Monday. School was as to be expected, with nothing to crazy going on. After school, I got on with my requirements. I'm really trying my hardest to keep up with the minutes from weeks 4-8 so I can perform at my best for the physical test. I went to King Tiger this evening and I was able to complete all of my required mentor sessions. I'm still planning to keep on practicing with my mentor but at least their is no more pressure on how many more sessions I need to do. I went for a run this evening and I was hoping to get 4 miles done but I only managed to get 2. I'm hoping that I can go to the track tomorrow to get a good quality run tomorrow.

I had another restful day today. Besides slowly chipping away at the daily requirements, I really did not do much. For me, these last few weeks have been absolutely flying by, so it is crazy to me that we are already on Week 9. I hope this week I can finish, or come really close to finishing things like leadership credits and mentor sessions. I think this week will be the same level of busyness, so hopefully I can get some good rest and start the week off on a good note.

Today I was so tired all day. Most likely because I had a late night last night and an early morning today. Anyways, class was good this morning, we got to try out some new kicking drills which are always pretty fun. After class, it took me a considerable amount of time to do my requirements. I really didn't do much today because I am trying to let myself rest. I had a restful day overall which I am hoping my body will be thankful for tomorrow. That wraps up my day.

Today was a crazy busy day and I am exhausted! I woke up and went to school and in the morning, our school had a really nice remembrance event relating to the 9/11 attacks. The orchestra and chorus performed the national anthem, and I was also able to be a part of the performance because I played the snare drum during the national anthem. After the remembrance ceremony, the rest of the school day proceeded as normal. After school, I tried to get as many requirements as I could knocked out before class. Class was good today, we had some new drills and a written test review. After class, I headed over to my school's football field because there was a home game tonight, and since I lead my school's drumline, I for sure had to be there as soon as class was over. The football game itself was super exciting, the lead kept going back and forth,...

I had a super busy day today. School was mostly the same as usual. When I got home, I jumped straight into my requirements, and I managed to complete all of my rolls and falls minutes. I ended up doing an hour of rolls and falls this week in order to complete them because I do not particularly like rolls and falls, so I thought the faster I got them over with, the faster I would not have to deal with them. This evening I went to King Tiger for sparring class which was good. After class I cam home and went on a run which was a bit strenuous because my legs were pretty tired. after my run, I ate dinner, did homework and now I am off to sleep.

I am so tired today, probably from a lack of sleep. School was good today, my school days are all starting to blend together because it seems like it is the same thing every day. After school, I came home and worked on my requirements. Later in the evening, I went to King Tiger for leadership and to practice kicks. I find it a lot easier to work on kicks with a mat rather than at home. When I cam home from King Tiger, I ate dinner and I am planning to go to bead really soon.

Today I had a good day but I am definitely tired. School was pretty good today, I was not overly busy so that contributes to having good day. After school I went to King Tiger and was able to get some leadership and a mentee session. I'm now done with mentee sessions but my mentee's are not done with mentor sessions so we will continue to meet. On my previous cycle in January cycle, I used to wake up early and run before school started and I don't know how I managed to do that. I guess now I find it easier to run in the evenings; speaking of which, the weather was really nice out tonight when compared to what it has been for running. I'm going to bed now so I can be well rested and ready to have another good day tomorrow. I hope everyone does the same!

Happy Labor Day! I'm thankful for Labor Day since most everybody did not have to go to school or work. I feel like on school days, my evenings are almost nonexistent because of all the schoolwork and training. I had plenty of time to do all of my requirements today and I also worked on my creative form. Another bonus to having a long weekend is having a short week so I am looking forward to that as well. I hope everybody had a great Labor Day.

Today was a pretty good day. I woke up and did my requirements as a usually do on Sundays. I was planning on going on a run this evening but for some reason my knee was really hurting me. I don't recall anything that would have stressed it out so hopefully it will be better tomorrow. My parents arrived home from a wedding this afternoon so it was nice to see them again. We went out to Waffle House for dinner which hits the spot 100% of the time. The rest of the evening I tried to let my knee recover as much as possible so I can hopefully go on a run tomorrow.

Today was a really good day. I woke up and went to class because I had already completed the community service on my previous cycle earlier this year. After class, I came home and knocked out my requirements so I would not have to worry about them for the rest of the day. I feel like I procrastinate more when I hesitate to do my requirements rather than just doing them as soon as I get the chance. This afternoon, I decided to repair one of my old RC cars. I had to fix a couple things that had to do with the suspension and then soon enough I had a fully functioning RC car. I haven't messed around with an RC car in years so it was a lot of fun to take it for a spin. This evening, I just hung out at home because I am super exhausted from...

This week has gone by so fast for me. I think that I have been really busy with school and keeping up with requirements every day. Black belt class this evening was pretty good because we tried out a new drill and it's always fun to try out new drills. After class, I told my parents goodbye because they are going to a wedding and I won't be seeing them until Sunday evening. To end off the night, I went on a run which got me to the realization that I really need to rest my legs. They are pretty sore because of all the kicks I have been training for. Overall good week and I am glad it is now the weekend.

Today was a very typical day at school. After school, I jumped directly into my requirements. My legs were sore from last nights run which added a layer of difficulty into the daily requirements. Later, I went over to King Tiger for sparring class which was good but I also was able to practice this new drill I have been doing. I am trying to get the front kick, turning side kick in Pyongwon to be on a perfectly straight line. After sparring, I came home and studied for a couple classes because I got a couple tests tomorrow. I hope everyone had a good Thursday.

I had quite a busy day today. School was very busy and I had to finish up some things as homework. I did most of my requirements when I was done with school at home. I then went over to King Tiger and was able to get leadership, a mentee, and mentor session. Really working on my kicks which are starting to look a lot better than they did. Later this evening, I went for a very humid run; I cannot wait until the weather cools off which should make it easier to run. I am currently reviewing some material in some of my classes because I have a couple tests / quizzes coming up tomorrow and Friday. I hope to get to bed soon so tomorrow goes smoothly.

Today was an average Tuesday. I went to school and had a normal day at school. When I came home, I knocked out my requirements and worked on my creative form. I finished watching Interstellar this evening which turned out to be a really good movie. I'm planning on getting to be early tonight because I am feeling a bit more tired than usual.

Today was a good day. I went to school and had a typical school day. When I came home, I started on my requirements. My shoulder was starting to get a little sore so I took it easy on burpees and pushups. I went to King Tiger this evening and worked on my 540 kicks some more. This evening I plan on finishing the movie Interstellar which I started last night. That wraps up my day.

I had a really restful day today. I woke up and did my requirements so I would not have to think about them for the rest of the day. My legs are still really sore so I am still trying to take it easy while they recover. The weekend felt like it went by too fast but everything goes by fast when your on cycle. I hope everyone had a good weekend and is prepared for another week.

When I woke up today, my legs were really sore. hopefully they will feel better tomorrow. Class was pretty fun this morning, especially because of the poomsae game we played. I struggled to get through my requirements today because I was just really tired and sore and really not feeling it. My dad took me out to Waffle House this morning which was great because Waffle House is one of my favorite restaurants. Later in the day I did some yardwork and for the rest of the evening I tried to let my body recover as much as possible.

Today I had a pretty good day. School was good today, especially because I won't have anything to do over the weekend. When I came home, I knocked out my requirements and then went over to black belt class. Class was good but I can tell that I need to rest my legs because they are very sore. Despite that, after class, I went on a run. I am super tired so I am planning to go to be very soon. I hope everyone had a good week.

Today was busy but overall a good day. school was normal; I can't believe that tomorrow is already Friday, It seems like this week has gone by super fast. After school I came home and did my requirements, I'm a little sore form yesterday but mostly all was good. I went over to King Tiger for sparring class and while I was there I was able to get a mentee and mentor session. Later, I came home and actually had some free time for about an hour, which was a strange feeling for a week night. That wraps up my day, I hope everyone else had a good Thursday.

Today was a pretty good day. I woke up and went to school, school was normal, not to many eventful events happening. When I came home, I got to my requirements and then went to King Tiger. I was able to get a mentee session in and was also able to work on some specific parts of poomsae. When I cam home, I wasted no time going to the track so I could run. I wanted to see how my time compared in a neighborhood vs a track with flat ground. I got to running and the whole time I was telling myself I was going to break my record and indeed I did. I ran my 4 miles in under 30 minutes which was a goal I have had since cycle started in January. It is so rewarding making a difficult goal and then working really hard towards it and finally...

Today at school was busy but I didn't take home any homework. When school was over, I was so exhausted, probably from a late night of schoolwork last night. I slowly completed all of my requirements for the day; I was planning to run today but not anymore. This evening was productive because I was able to review the takeaways at King Tiger all the way through 15. Those are very difficult to practice by yourself, especially the higher ones, so it was nice having a partner to practice with. I really hope I can get to bed sooner tonight so I can wake up energized tomorrow.

Today at school was not bad for a Monday. After school was drumline and then after that, I came home and knocked out my requirements. Later in the evening, I was able to go to King Tiger for leadership and a mentor session. My 540 kicks are really starting to look good, I just need to keep practicing so I can start landing them consistently. When I came home, I studied for a while because I have my first real quiz of the schoolyear in math. I hope all goes well tomorrow.

When I woke up today, I was a little stiff and sore form yesterday at the Whitewater center. Despite that, I was able to get through my daily requirements. I really didn't do much today besides play a couple games of chess. Later in the evening, I did some homework and at night I was able to go on a run. That's all for today, I hope everyone has a good week.

I had a really eventful day today. I woke up early and did my requirements before class started. Black belt class this morning was good, it seemed like we were able to cover a lot of material. After class, me and my family celebrated my birthday at the white water center. Even though my birthday was in February, I decided to wait to have a celebration until the weather was warm enough to go to the white water center. Rafting was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed the day but by 4:00 I was exhausted and ready to relax for the rest of the evening. We came home and that's exactly what I did, chilled out for the rest of the night. Overall, great day.

Today was a pretty good day at school, busy, but at the end of the day I didn't have any homework which is always nice. I came home and got my requirements done before class this evening. Class was good, we went over the takeaways all the way through 15. after class I was able to get a mentor session which was also helpful because we went over some things about poomsae. I am about go on a run in order to hit the goal of 10 miles for the week. I hope everyone had a good week as we enter into another one tomorrow.

Today was a pretty descent day at school besides how busy today was. After school, I had a mentee session and by the time we were done, I was exhausted. I struggled to get through my requirements this evening because keeping up with school and requirements has been kind of strenuous. I'm planning to go to bed early tonight so hopefully I can feel great tomorrow.

I had such a busy day today. School was descent today but after school was our first drumline meet of the year. It was fun getting back together and practicing what we remembered from last year. After drumline, I came home and had a lot of homework to do. I used my requirements as brain breaks throughout my couple hours of assignments. This evening I went on a run and everything was feeling really good. I got a good time which is relieving since I haven't truly pushed myself on a run since a week before the testing in Greenville. I hope everyone else is having a great week so far!!

Today at school, my schedule got switched up a bit because apparently my English class was too small. The school had to dissolve the class and because of this they made some adjustments to my classes. I'm not to fond of this but it is what it is. These past couple nights I have not been getting great sleep so when I came home from school it was a struggle to knock out my requirements. It took some time but eventually I prevailed and ended up going on a run tonight. Hopefully I can get some better rest tonight for a better day tomorrow.

I didn't get great sleep last night so I was a bit more tired than usual for school this morning. All of my classes really picked up today and it is starting to feel like typical school again. After school, I cam home and did some of my requirements. I forgot how much time school takes up so I need to make a routine in order to account for the daily requirements. Later, I went to King Tiger and worked on hapkido. Master Marcus and I started to go over hapkido number 6 and 7. That was completely new to me but I'm sure with enough practice, everything will be all good. After that, I came home and finished up the rest of my requirements and I am now about to go to bed.

On the way back from Greenville yesterday, my family and I stopped about half way because some of our extended family lived in the Durham area. We visited and spent the night with them and then in the morning we hit the road back home. I was pretty exhausted from what went on yesterday but I managed to get my requirements over with, especially with the increase in minutes. I went shopping for school materials that were needed in some classes and when I got home from that I was ready to relax for the evening and try to get some good rest before school tomorrow.

Today was the Masters Exam. Me and my family made the trip last night and spent the night at a hotel, so I woke up well rested and ready to test. I was a bit stressed out before testing started, but as soon as we all got on the mat and started doing tae kwon do, all the nerves eased. I thought everyone did phenomenal throughout the entirety of the kicks, forms, creative forms, and breaking. I am super grateful that I was able to share this experience with everyone who watched and participated. It’s amazing how everybody came together, supported each other, and gave it their all. I am thankful for everyone who has been in my life to get me to the spot where I was today. At the end of the day, everyone had a successful Masters Exam, and personally, I had a great time being a part...

I just got to Greenville for the Masters testing tomorrow, I’m pretty tired but I’m glad that I am here. I hope all goes well tomorrow!

Today was my first day of school!! It was good to see everyone again and I am feeling pretty happy about my schedule. When I got home from school, I worked really hard on my requirements and since I doubled up yesterday and today, I am able to skip my requirements on Friday and Saturday in order to focus all of my attention on testing. This evening I went to sparring class which was good and afterwards I was working on my creative form just locking everything in. I'm a little anxious but I am also confident in my ability to put on a good performance. Tomorrow is going to be a long day because after class I am going straight to Greenville. Peace out.

I woke up and spent most of my day on requirements and training for Saturday. Later I went to King Tiger and I was able to practice my creative form inside for the first time and it was a total upgrade from being outside. I was able to see my staff a lot better and there was air conditioning too. Tomorrow is my first day of school; I really wish Summer was longer but all good things must come to an end. Tonight  I went on a run / walk. I didn't try to break any records because I want to preserve my legs as much as possible for the Master's exam.  I hope all goes well tomorrow, good luck to everyone else who's first day of school is tomorrow as well.

I woke up and did my physical requirements like normal. I then practiced everything that was on the list for the testing on Saturday. I took a break for a little bit and then practiced a lot more. I was able to get a mentee session in today as well. Basically my full day was training for the Saturday testing. I guess you could say that I am a little anxious about the testing but I feel that all will be fine. Tomorrow I plan to do the same as today to try and get in as much preparation before Saturday.

I woke up pretty early and was able to get my physical requirements knocked out. We got the testing schedule for the master's testing on Saturday so for the next couple of days, that is what I will be practicing very intensely. It has been six months since I got my driver's license so I was able to order my fully unrestricted license. It should come in within a week. Speaking of driving, this will be the first schoolyear in which I drive myself to and from school. That's going to be a little strange at first but I'm sure I will get used to it. I hope everyone's week is going good as we continue through week 4.

I was super tired this morning which added some extra difficulty to my requirements but I was still able to knock them out at a relatively early time of the day. My body was feeling a lot better today when practicing kicks and poomsae, I don't know why my hips were hurting so bad yesterday. I played chess for a while in the afternoon which was pretty fun. This evening was not too eventful, I just relaxed and rested so I will be prepared to really practice my creative form tomorrow.

I woke up before class this morning and was able to complete my daily requirements before class. When I went to class, my hips really started to hurt. other than that, class was pretty good. My hips continued to hurt after class but they soothed down as the day went on. I practiced my creative form and I feel ready to perform it, I am feeling super good on the way it turned out. I plan to go on a run later this evening but I don't want to push it too hard so my hips don't become inflamed again. After my run, I plan to let my body recover for the rest of the evening.

I woke up and finished my summer reading book today. I'm surprised with how fast I finished, I think I only started the book about 5 days ago. Soon after, I did my requirements for the day. Later I went to King tiger for black belt class and then after class I was able to get a mentor session. I can't wait for the fall because the mosquitos have been insane this summer. Every time I go outside to practice my creative form, I feel like I am being eaten alive. Anyway, my evening was not to eventful, I just relaxed for the rest of the night after class.

Today was pretty good, I slept in and when I woke up I did my requirements like usual. I practiced my creative form some, just trying to get everything to muscle memory. Later in the day, I went to sparring class which was good. After class I had a mentee session. When I came home, my legs became very sore, not just the muscles but my shin bones. The rest of the night, I tried to stay off of my feet as much as possible in order to rest and promote recovery.

I woke up today and went on a run. I think I still prefer to run at night because the whole day after my run I felt a bit more tired than usual. After I was all settled from my run, I completed the rest of the daily requirements. I played chess for a while in the afternoon; I haven't played chess in a minute and it was fun playing a few games today. This evening I worked on my creative form and some of the skills that go along with it. My legs are pretty sore so I am looking forward to a good nights rest.

This morning I worked really hard on some skills that will be in my creative form. Still super happy with the progress I am seeing. It is crazy that the schoolyear for some of us is less than 10 days away, I am so not looking forward to going back to school, summer always feels like it goes by too fast. Later in the day, I went over to King Tiger and while I was there I secured leadership credits and a mentee session. That wraps up my day.

I followed through with my normal routine today except with a little twist. The daily requirements have become monotonous so in order to try and cure this, I did each exercise in a different room of my house. It was kind of nice having a change in scenery while exercising. Later I practiced my creative form and I am pretty happy with the progress that I am making. Hope I can continue this progress for the rest of the week.

I am not a fan of all this rain because it makes it difficult to train outside. I like to practice my creative form outside so I have more space but with the ground muddy, it's near impossible. I started my summer reading book for school today; I figured I would wait until later in the summer to read it so it would be fresh on my mind going into the schoolyear. Tonight I went for a "run" but only about 1.5 miles in, I could tell I ate to big of a dinner. I ended up having to walk the rest of the miles. Hopefully next time I run it will be more successful. That's all for today, I hope everyone is doing great!

I woke up this morning with enough time to complete the majority of my daily requirements before class. This morning's class was good because we went over some very important things to help us be successful. After class, I worked on my creative form; mostly just some skills in the form that I still need work on. The rest of the day I was exhausted, yesterday and today I felt like this so hopefully another good nights rest does the trick.

With it being the last day of July, it made me realize how close the school year is getting. Not particularly looking forward to school. Anyway, my new staff is one of those staffs that can be twisted apart into smaller pieces to easily transport but when I practice my creative form it always ends up twisting apart. To prevent this, I wrapped some electrical tape around the middle; haven't tried it out yet but I will know how it works out tomorrow. I went to class later in the day and all was good there. For some reason, I am super exhausted so I am going to bed early tonight to hopefully get some quality rest.

Today was quite eventful. I did my physical requirements in the morning like usual and then practiced my creative form. My dad had to get his car inspected so I had to pick him up from the mechanic, otherwise he wouldn't have a ride home. Later in the day I went over to King tiger for sparring class. sparring class was pretty good and I was able to get a mentor and mentee session as well. I'm feeling pretty tired so the rest of the night will be for relaxing and sleeping.

Today was pretty good. When I woke up, I knocked out all of my physical requirements. I worked a lot on my creative form. Currently I am trying to do it as much as possible so it can become muscle memory. Tonight, I went on a run but instead of running in my neighborhood, I went to a track. I mainly went to the track because it is completely flat but also so I could pace myself after each lap. My first two miles were really good, I was making good time. However from mile 2 - 3 was when it started to get very difficult. I could feel my body wanting to drop from the pace I was at. That third mile felt like 2 miles. once I completed mile 3, I only had one more mile to go. I was so tired after this, my body wanted to stop....

When I woke up, instead of doing my physical requirements, I jumped right into poomsae, self defense, and creative form practice. Typically, I practice my creative form over concrete in my backyard because it is the most open and flat area that is easily accessible. Today when I was twirling my staff like usual, one end struck the ground and completely snapped off. I was shocked; I didn't even know that was a risk. Anyway, later in the day, I went by king tiger in order to get a new staff and since I was there, I was able to get a leadership credit as well. When I came home, I finished up the rest of my physical requirements. That wraps up my day.

Today was similar to most other days of the cycle so far. I woke up and did my requirements. I practiced self defense and forms right after the physical exercises. I think I have finally put all the pieces together of my creative form. I don't think I am going to edit it any more unless a part is just not fitting in. Other than that, I really just had a lowkey day with not a lot going on. I hope everyone is doing good and is keeping up with everything.

Last night, I had a great run. I set my personal record for 4 miles. I am super exited because each time I have ran on this cycle so far, it has been improvement every time. I really hope I can keep up the pattern as the cycle progresses. When I woke up today, my legs were a bit sore as to be expected. I have noticed that my appetite has really increased within these last couple of days. Its kind of a nuisance because I find myself more hungry throughout the day. Anyway I practiced my creative form some more. I am almost done constructing all of the steps which is helpful because now I can just practice without having to think about what should come next. I hope everyone is doing great!

I'm feeling pretty good about week 2 of the cycle. It feels like we just started and we are already on week 2. I went to black belt class this morning and we worked a lot on weapons. When I came home, I started chipping away at the daily requirements. For the rest of the day I just relaxed at home. Right After I'm done writing this, I was planning on running. Hopefully I can improve my time from last run!

For some reason, I slept in really late today. When I finally got out of bed at 10:00, I did some of my requirements. Halfway through, I took a break and worked on my creative form. Soon after, I got back to the daily requirements. Later in the day, I went over to the weekday back belt class. After class, I was able to get a mentor session. I was really able to focus on bolo and anyo isa. I really need to start working more on my weapon forms because I tend to exclude those in my daily practice. After class, I came home and relaxed for the rest of the night. It's just me at the house tonight because both of my parents are in South Carolina visiting family but I had to stay back home because I couldn't afford to miss tomorrow morning's class. Can't wait for week...

Today felt pretty productive. When I woke up, I did my requirements like usual. I worked on my creative form some more. That is something I am going to work into my daily routine because the more practice the better. Later in the day, I went to King Tiger for a mentee session, sparring class, and a mentor session. sparring class went smoothly and so did my sessions. When I got home, I relaxed and worked on my creative form some more.

Today was pretty good. When I woke up, my back felt like a pretzel with how stiff and twisted it felt. I'm assuming that's probably a combination from my run last night alongside sleeping in a weird position. I tried to stretch it out to the best of my ability; after that I hit the floor for the daily requirements. Later in the day, I went to King Tiger for leadership credits and a mentee session. Both of which were successful. Tomorrow is going to be my first sparring class in a while so I hope all goes well.

Today I woke up early enough to get all of my requirements completed by 10:00. after my required daily requirements, I worked on my creative form. I am starting to really like the progress I am making, especially because I need to have something put together by August 15th. Once I was done training, I did some chores around the house. For the most part I had a pretty lowkey day. Until night rolled around. Usually I do my runs on Sundays and Wednesdays but tonight I felt good enough to go ahead and knock out tomorrow morning's run. Typically I run 4 miles at time which is how much I will be required to do on the physical test. First of all, I think it may become the norm to do my runs before the sun rises or after the sun sets. It was really nice not having the sun...

When I woke up today, I found myself still a little sore from the previous two days. Hopefully that wears off soon. I went for a run today which I don't plan on running every single day; only a couple times a week. I found that I lost a lot of conditioning from my cycle in January - March. I hope that I can quickly gain that back in order to improve my times. Since its summer, school is not a thing that I have to worry about which is really helpful because that means I can dedicate more time to training. I hope I am not too sore from my run this morning so I can persist with the upcoming requirements with passion.

I'm super excited to be participating in this black belt cycle! These 12 weeks are going to absolutely fly by. After this cycle, I will be testing for my 4th degree black belt which will award the title of "master". I didn't have to do the physical part of the pretest today because I had already completed that in January. However I did wake up relatively early in order to complete the normal, soon to be daily, physical requirements before the poomsae / self defense portion of the pretest. I am anticipating more training for myself on this cycle rather than any other cycle because the master's exam is on August 15th. I can't wait to sharpen my Tae kwon do skills, tackle a great challenge, and improve myself overall as a person through these next 12 weeks!!!

Good luck to all who are testing tomorrow. I do not really have any additional advice to give because a lot was covered from Instructor Jen and Instructor Peyton's previous journals. One thing I will say is that during testing, worry about yourself before you help others. As long as you are doing what you need to do, everything should work out. Of course help out your piers during breaks. Having resilience is another big thing. Being able to bounce back from mistakes is key. Also, prepare to perform your best Tae Kwon Do; everything you do must be performed at 100 percent effort. Lastly, don't overthink, you have been training for 3 months for this, that will reflect your performance. Always keep this in mind, "A black belt is a white belt who never gave up."  I hope everyone does well tomorrow.

Today was pretty good. I woke up and went to school. Just an average day. When I came home, I got right into my requirements. I managed to complete everything. I have no more requirements left to do. That feels amazing, almost as if a giant weight has been lifted from my shoulders. It is going to feel so weird tomorrow coming home from school and not having to do anything. I don't know yet what I'm going to do with the extra free time. I hope everyone else is ready for testing and also coming close to finishing the requirements. When you look back on these twelve weeks, everything has flown by so fast. That just goes to show how far we have come. I hope everyone does well and continues to push through this week.

Today was good. School has been very intense today and yesterday, I know tomorrow and Thursday should be relaxed. Then there is Friday; I got a lot stacked up for Friday. When I got home, I worked on the requirements that still needed to be done. All should be complete by tomorrow. I did not really have an eventful evening. It feels really good when the requirements start dwindling. I can't wait for tomorrow when I am tracking these last few workouts.

I had quite a busy day today. I woke up and went to school, not bad for a Monday. When I got home, I did a lot of requirements, a lot more than what I was used to doing. I should be on track to finish everything up by Wednesday. I hope everyone is coming close to meeting their goals and also preparing for testing. This week is not the week to slack off, If anything it should be one of the more intense weeks of the cycle. Later in the evening, I studied a good bit  for tomorrow. I feel like at school, there are relaxed weeks and then every so often their are clusters of tests and quizzes among the different classes. Hopefully since we are approaching spring break, the teachers will have pity, or maybe they will throw in a lot of material right before break. No way to...

It is crazy that it's already Sunday night, the weekends always fly by so fast. This weekend, I was doing the digital detox challenge, that was a pretty cool challenge. When the morning started, I did a lot of yard work, mulching, planting, and mowing. The heat really kicked in this weekend, it feels strange for the outside to be 80 degrees in march. Later in the day, I did some requirements, some extra so I could be done sooner in the week. It is going to feel so weird when there are no requirements left to do, almost like something is missing. That's what it felt like when my nutrition challenge ended. Anyway, I spent my evening studying and doing schoolwork, hopefully all goes well tomorrow. 

I had a pretty good day. My body woke me up at 5:50 AM as expected. I got as many requirements in as I could before class. Class was also pretty good. At the end of class we got a brick breaking lesson. When it was my turn, I broke the practice boards; I'm going to be honest, my wrist is sore from that. When I came home, I got ready to go look at cars. Since I got my drivers license recently, me and my family have been looking for a good first car. We went to a couple of dealerships to check out what they had. One of the dealerships we went to was hosting a car show which was pretty cool to walk around and see all the exotic cars. After that, I came home and finished the rest of my requirements for the day. Overall, pretty good day.

I am glad today is Friday. School was average, nothing crazy happening. However, I have not escaped school completely for the weekend, I have some tests on Monday. After school, I tried to squeeze in some requirements before class. Class was good; got some good self defense work in. After class, I finished up the requirements I did not get around to. For some reason, every day this week, I have been waking up about 5-10 minutes before my alarm. I'm curious to see if I wake up at the same time tomorrow knowing that I don't have school the next day. Looking forward to class tomorrow.  

Today was pretty good. School was just fine. My chemistry class was pretty cool today, we did some labs that explored the gas laws. After school, we had the first drumline practice in 2026. It was a lot of fun getting back together and shaking off the rust. It really stinks that my school has completely dissolved the band program. I really have enjoyed that class for the past 4 years but this year and the years coming, the school has decided to discontinue the band program. Luckily they are still keeping drumline which is a student led club, led by me. After school, I jumped into the requirements like usual. Once I finished up, I played chess for a while. That raps up my day.

Today was pretty good. School was pretty normal. When I got home, I got to the requirements. I ran my final 4 miles today, super exited about that; my legs have been struggling for these past couple of runs. Later in the evening I studied pretty hard for school. I learned something pretty interesting today. Since I will be needing to get a fruit tree, I was thinking of the possible trees that could survive in the conditions we have in North Carolina. I was going through the trees in my head and I stumbled across the banana tree. Technically a banana grows on a herbaceous plant, not a tree. Because of this, a banana is considered a berry under the fruit category . I guess that means no banana . . . plant?

Today was alright, school was normal, nothing out of the ordinary. When I got home, I did my requirements. I plan to complete all of my miles by tomorrow. That will be great. It feels like my hips and shins have not been enjoying all this running; maybe I need to fix my form. Anyway, later in the evening, I did some homework. The rest of my evening was typical. I am super exited that drumline should be starting back up soon. The weather has finally warmed up enough for that to be an activity after school.

Today school was pretty busy. I heard some schools were canceled due to the weather, this made traffic a lot lighter in the morning and the afternoon. When I got home from school, I started the requirements. I am seeing a lot of improvement which is always very rewarding. It is so crazy how in North Carolina, one day will be almost 80 degrees and then two days later, it will be close to 30 degrees. I am not looking forward to the heat, I like the cold. Anyway, for the rest of my evening, I just relaxed and played chess for a while.

Today was a pretty good day. When I woke up, I began to think about how we started training in the very beginning of January. We all have come such a long way and now we only have what feels like a few more days ahead of us. It really feels like time has been flying past for me. Anyway, I jumped into my requirements early so that I had the rest of the day to do other things. I had some homework that needed to be done but other than that I did not have anything else on my agenda. The end is in sight; I hope that everyone can finish strong for the time remaining.

Today was pretty good, I woke up to go to class in the morning, class was pretty good as well. After class, I went to the community service activity. My job was to hold the bag under the funnel while the food was being dropped into the bag. I think we had 6912 meals packed which is insane; in such little time we got so many meals packed. After the meal packing, I came home and knocked out the requirements. The rest of the day was pretty relaxed, I played chess for a while and just enjoyed the rest of my day.

Today was alright at school, pretty busy since it was the end of the week. I went to class after school, class was pretty good, I feel like I have made  some pretty good progress on my 540 kick. I'm looking forward to the community service activity tomorrow. I think just by coincidence, I will be able to complete my 40 total service hours for school from our activity tomorrow. The rest of my evening was pretty good, just relaxed.

Today at school was no different than the rest. After school, I went to King Tiger for a leadership credit. When I came home I did my requirements. After that I had to study pretty hard because I have a chemistry test tomorrow. After I was feeling confident in the subject, I submitted everything for my Dica Poem. It took me 4 days of going back to the same spot to finally get a picture where the light was right, the clouds were right, and every other component. Overall, good day. 

Today, school was more of the same, nothing to eventful. I'm feeling quite better when compared to yesterday. When I got home I started with my requirements. Its kind of interesting that I find it easier to do the requirements on a weekday rather than a weekend. I assume its because I developed a constant routine and I have not really differed from that routine since the beginning of the cycle. I planned to run today; I did; sorta. I only managed to squeeze out 2 miles even though I planned to run 4. when I was only in the first half mile, I got 2 side stiches on either side of my torso. That was a struggle, also when I was approaching the end of the second mile, I started to feel queasy. I took a five minute break so my stomach could settle, then I tried to start running again. It...

Today I woke up and did not feel that great. I want to say its just allergies and nothing more, however I do not know if that's the case. School was juts the average school day. When I came home, I took my time going through my requirements. Hopefully I am feeling better tomorrow so I can run. I got assigned a project in my engineering class to make bridge out of basal wood. Everyone makes a bridge (only 8 inches by 2 inches) and the person with the best weight to force carried ratio wins. This will be a fun project that I am looking forward to. Hopefully the odds will ever be in my favor.

Since last week was the end of the third quarter at school, my school gave us a long weekend. And because I did not have school today, I went to the FeedNC food bank in Mooresville. I helped out in the warehouse for a couple hours sorting foods and categorizing them by dates. When I got home, I mowed the lawn; it is becoming that season where mowing the grass will become a weekly chore. Unfortunately that also means that it will soon become the time of year where allergies will start acting up. Later in the day, I knocked out all of my requirements. Hopefully my teachers will take it easy tomorrow to kick off the fourth quarter.

Today was pretty good. I woke up and went to class. This class was filled with weapons. That's all we did, weapons for the whole class. When I got home, I did all my requirements for the day. After that I went to the grocery store with my parents, good thing Costco exists. The rest of my day was pretty relaxed. I am looking forward to the rest of the weekend because I do not have school on Monday. Since I won't have school, I plan to go to the food bank and help out. At my school, we are required to have done 40 service hours a year and I am just about finished. Help at the food bank and the community service hosted by King Tiger will give me the last few hours I need to reach 40 hours. That's all for today, I hope everyone had a good Saturday.

These last three days, I have been so busy. This week at school was the end of the quarter, this means tests were everywhere and teachers were trying to cram lessons in to meet deadlines. Good thing I got ahead on my requirements so I could focus on school for the rest of the week. Today at class we had this cool self defense drill, I feel like it prioritized our muscle memory to have to turn around and remember which foot is supposed to be in front and then perform the self defense. After class, I went on a run, and by this time I was exhausted from everything that had been going on during the week. I was thinking to myself, "this week has really been testing my limits."  And that got me thinking, your . . . "limits" is just a metaphor used to describe what you have...

Today was quite a lowkey day. I did not have school today because juniors and seniors have ACT testing. Although no school was in session, I spent a lot of time studying because the end of the quarter is Friday and I have a quarter final for my math class and my AP Environmental Science class. preparing for those tests are going to take a lot of time out of my evenings this week. Knowing all of this I spent some extra time doing requirements to try and get ahead so I would not have to worry about requirements as much as I normally would. I hope everything goes according to my plan. - Lucas

Instructors camp yesterday was blast! I had a great time learning from everybody. I think the highlight of the day was doing TKD aerobics with Master Chelley. That was a lot more fun than I expected it to be. It was so interesting listening to Grandmaster Lee talk about how the things we practice in forms can be used in a practical situation. All and all, yesterday was fantastic and I look forward to participating in Instructors Camp again next year.

Today was alright. I got a little homework for school over the weekend, none that can't be managed. After school I came home and got to my requirements. I went to class later in the evening. class was pretty good, we went over weapons a lot. When I came home, I packed everything I needed for Instructors camp tomorrow. I am going to bed very early because we have to be at King Tiger by 4:00 AM to be in Greeneville by 8:30. I'm looking forward to what will be going on tomorrow, this years schedule seems pretty fun.

I had quite a busy day today. School was normal, nothing to eventful. When I got home, I doubled up on my requirements in order to get ahead to make up for what I will miss for Instructors camp. After an overwhelming amount of requirements, I went to King Tiger for sparring class. We got to do this new drill were two people on either side of you hold targets and your goal was to kick them while maneuvering yourself down the mat. After sparring class, I came home and hit the books; I got a math test tomorrow. Tomorrow is also the last day of my nutrition challenge. My nutrition challenge was to eat 100 percent natural foods which has been really difficult. especially because everything that I am aloud to eat has to be made and prepared. - Lucas

Today was ok at school. Just a regular day. After school, I went to King Tiger for leadership credits and a mentee session. When I came home, I started my requirements and I also went for a run. My neighborhood has many hills in it and by the fourth mile, running up those hills are quite difficult. However it was very nice weather to be running so that was really nice. After my requirements, I did some homework. I am looking forward to Saturday because one, it is instructors camp and two, Friday is the last day of my nutrition challenge. I think I am finally going to get a birthday cake because my birthday happened while I was on my nutrition challenge and was not able to eat cake over my birthday. This wraps up my day. I hope everyone had a great Wednesday and has a great rest of...

Today I had a pretty big chemistry test today, it was very difficult. I hope a pleasant score comes back when my teacher releases the grades. When I got home, I started doing my requirements. I got those knocked out relatively early in the evening. I played chess for a while a bit later in the evening. That wraps up my day - Lucas