Candidate Journals

Day #83- 10/3/2024 Today I’m put finishing touches on my essay. Rest day before testing. Light stretching.

Day #82 - 10/2/2024 Still stretching and keeping fit. Ran another quick 3 miles, probably the last one before testing this Friday. Still putting the final touches into my essay.

Day #81 - 10/1/2024 I bounced back into workout mode, stretching and completing calisthenics. Ran a quick 3 mile, then went in early to class for some mentor/mentee and leadership sessions.

Day #80 - 9/30/2024 Got some rest today as I started putting finishing touches on my essay. Went in for a dental procedure earlier.

Day #79 - 9/29/2024 Didn’t miss Sunday mentorship session this week. Went in and demonstrated my special form for auditing, got some nice feedback! We then practiced staff forms.

Day #78 - 9/28/2024 Testing day! Woke up early and arrived at the track at 5minutes past 6am. Went straight into jugging mode and finished at 6:35am. Drive to school and completed the physical and written tests. Went directly into the normal weekend training afterwards. Phew!

Day #77 - 9/27/2024 Friday sparring day. We had some fun doing rotation sparring, literarily on the pillars like Shaolin monks do in their training. Only we used kicking pads as pillars, and the normal class may as the lava.

Day #76 - 9/26/2024 Got plenty of rest today, and plenty of stretching.

Training day! Warmed up the class and went through some basic blocks, strikes, and stances. Master Burkart drilled us in staff form reviews and shared many testing tips.

Ran 2 quick miles for warmup and started my requirements prior to going to the Dojang to finish up. Worked with Mj on self defense and some basic stance and block movements.

Decided to visit the Dojang everyday for reviews on the coming tests. Written and physical are due on Saturday and so I worked on putting finishing touches on these. Master Wicks and Master Cavasos helped with some peer reviews for my written preps.

  I was not able to make the Sunday morning workout at the mint hill park today due to overworking myself yesterday, spending the entire day at the Dojang. Still I managed to get some stretch in and completed some forms later in the day.

Training day! Went in early for the morning class and joined Master Guru Melegrito’s Filipino Martial Arts class till 12pm. We took a lunch break and came back at 2pm for the instructors seminar which lasted till 6pm. I was worn out by the end of this day!

Today I was floored. Still constantly feeling sore, but resiliently pressing on, against all odds! Sleepy head, hesitant to sweat, but still I hit the deck! Hard! 30 minutes for the run, 2.9 miles long, pull-ups, pushups, seat ups, rope jumps, kick punch combinations, forms! Burpees! Gotta give it up!

Another lethargic day, with some soreness- this time from too much leg work! I could barely lift my legs afterwards. Completed calisthenics requirements, plus 30 leg raises each, pushups, pull ups, and lifted some weight for squats. Ran another 2.5 miles.

Training day! Went into requirements with a different form of determination. Had to force it this time as I was very reluctant to sweat today. It all started with a semi-gentle 2.5 miles completed in 30minutes.

Back from vacation but not ready to get back to work. These days are moving too fast now, and can’t wait to get through this phase. Great day, with some soreness from stretching a lot.

Late night workout into the early morning today. Found my way into Facebook and our KT black belt page to post my tree picture. I used to spend a lot of time on Facebook. Weather changed up so fast and now there’s a lot of people down with the flu around me, I’m just wondering when I’d start sneezing too now!

Still so tired from yesterday and stayed in bed all morning. I am doing a lot of meditation and forms these days. Trying to get my mind in the right place for the multiple requirements and responsibilities reaching for a screeching crescendo in the coming days.

Picked up my August visitors early today and went for a meeting in the middle of nowhere, met with a long time associate and conversed for about 3 hrs before heading back home. I was the designated driver for the entire day.

Ran 2 gentle miles today. Completed requirements, with lots of extra work. Practiced my taeguks till koryo, and self defense till 2nd Dan. Practiced my double sticks, and single stick forms. Practiced all my staff forms. And finally did some punch kick combinations.

Woke up early and started my daily requirements. Did some combination of forms, self defense, and calisthenics. Mixed my seat ups with press ups. Jump back kicks, tornado kicks, and step in yups.

Training day! Had to fill in for an impromptu leadership credit today. Master Buckhart graced our class, and we just went through our forms and self defense forms all the way to bocho Dan.  

Busy day! Did some landscaping and painting. Also completed some official assignments through the middle of the day. Then ended it with a few kicks, self defense, and forms.

Started early. I had to shake off some weight, but it’s very sticky. Knuckles still hurt, and pain threshold significantly decreased! So I decided to run 2 quick miles and kick the air as rapidly as possible. Then went about my day and finished strongly with forms around 8pm!

I thought I’d be back but not so fast. Missed Sunday morning as well! Body’s still constantly sore! Everyone’s telling me I lost weight. I can’t even push too hard right now and just struggling along. Completed requirements slowly through the day.

Missed class today due to an unplanned trip. Later did a couple of punch kick combinations and forms. I tried to break a little piece of concrete and it didn’t bulge! I think I may have cracked my knuckle during that last attempt! Ran a quick mile.

Noticed so late that this app is not functioning for me without WiFi. Some complaints about failure to confirm certificate authority! Sparring today. Stretched all day and practiced my kicks. Ran 1 quick mile and went in early for mentorship sessions. After class sparring with Instructor max to spice up the evening.

  I made some progress today on my essays. Ran a fast mile and completed requirements throughout the day. Stretching got easier, but need to find more motivation.

Training day. Master Kavaso drilled us in self defense and poomse! It’s always great to combine both and glad we didn’t shuffle too much. Ran a mild 2.5 miles.

Worked on self defenses throughout. Fast slow, repeatedly. Stretched also at intervals. Need to relax more. Ran 2 gentle miles.

Took some time out to acquire a fruit tree. The break was great. Things are coming together fast.

Stretched mostly all day today and worked on paper. Ran 2 gentle miles.

Major benchmark day 50! Also labour day weekend and spent most of the day with family today. Got some sweat in doing kick combos.

Training day. Had fun sparring class today. Earned some requirement points for leading the warmup sessions.

Stretched well and completed requirements. Practiced multiple forms repeatedly. All the taeguks and advanced forms, taekwon forms, double stick forms, single stick forms, pyung police, kick-punch combinations. Spent about 30 minutes just kicking, tornado plus jump back, koryo double yups, step in yup, reverse tornado, etc.

Training day! I’ve noticed that I’m inadvertently using too much chi. Even though I believe I’m moving cautiously and slowly, I frequently watch myself either squeeze too tightly, or swing too quickly and thereby either cut myself or break something delicate.

Now that I feel a little better I imagine it could also have been my body clamoring for some rest after going close to full throttle for 6 straight weeks. Starting to get back on track.

I think I got close to the peak then fell back down a few flights. If resting is prohibited that is, because I totally took today off and hope to recover soon. I must have caught a flu, or food poisoning. It’s been a series of stomach pains, combined with holistic body soreness.

Practiced at the park today with the team. Staff forms, in depth bocho and bocho special self defenses, and the second special. It was a day filled with soreness of some sort. I keep bumping into things and cutting pieces of myself away! Wonder if thats a sign of overflowing chi! Need to find that Ying yang!

Training day! We did a couple of rolls and fall combinations, practiced Kwansul and chagisul, and finally worked on special number 1 (Bocho special).

Training day! Sparring class is scheduled for 5:45 today, so I logged off work earlier than usual to get started with my workouts just prior to class time. Then I went in earlier to complete my daily requirements. Ran a total of 4 gentle miles and did some extra work all over to cover for my slow days. Phew!

Sore day, slow day. Could not run today because of the soreness, just felt sick all over. Managed to practice some kicks and poomse.

Climbing! Multiple steps up today as we practiced with multiple masters. Master Wicks and Master Dege are back! The theme was about bocho dan self defense, taekwon forms, bolo, and double short stick forms. Also practiced short stick forms 1&2 earlier with Mj.

Ran another 2 gentle miles today. Stretched and completed requirements by doing selective portions through the day.

Ran 2 gentle miles today. Stretched and enjoyed me some calisthenics. Completed requirements early and got some homework done. Started working on my paper.

Cheers to another gifting day today at Mint Hill Park, as Master Scott awarded me another hand made staff, thank you Sir! We blessed it right away with staff forms 1 & 2. The helicopter fans were roaring heavily as the thicker bamboo cavities at the end of the staff eat up the air while practicing!

Training day. Lots of fun today as we practiced Bocho dan self defenses. Apparently there’s more to falling and rolling than meets the eye. We practiced breaking the fall and rolling through the left side of the throw in set number 3 of the whole.

Sparring day today and lots of fun. Ran 2 miles for the weekly range.

Climbing! Ran 3 miles in 25minutes today. Practiced my staff forms, advanced double stick forms and Taekwon 4.

Well, today was that special day. Training day, but Master Buckhart opened a gate by gifting me a special handmade staff. As if to say for my sojourn, determination, and hard work so far. Thank you Sir! Then Grandmaster Evins gave me a few free training days credit for attending the knife seminar, my colleagues gave me tips about choppa events during grading, and finally Master Kavaso gave me a walkthrough my advanced double staff forms. Phew! How grateful am I!

Climbing. Ran a quick mile and went ballistic on today’s requirements.

Climbing back the sage path now carefully and gradually. Ran 3 miles today and practiced self defense. Spent some time teaching Adeola some moves, as he is now starting to enjoy my Taekwondo sessions.

The detoxification set me back a notch. I am definitely not in sage mode right now. Missed Sunday morning and evening. Need to catch up.

Training day. Went in for normal classes in the morning and later for the knife seminar at KT North Charlotte. Snuck in a few Taeguks, stick forms, and self defense practice in between classes.

Struggled to get half my requirements done today. I did not get enough sleep the previous night, so I had to get plenty through the day. 

Today was for speed workout. Felt a little better and ran 2 quick miles. After that it was game on! Kick combos and self defense, alternate with burpees, seat ups, and jump rope. A little bird (big) said to cut the sugar and thats working overtime.

A lot happened today, but I was not able to get all my requirements done. I was unable to get any time off official duties and was really cranky by close of business. I also began to feel some sharp pain in my back so wasn’t too enthusiastic about training. Afterwards I went to catch a glimpse of the Jr tigers test. Decided to rest up today and catch up later.

Thanks to Master Dege I just realized I’d been missing out on my tracking requirements. I spent most of the early hours catching up that item. Then later rushed in the daily requirements.

Practiced self defense up to 1st degree, couple of spin yups, tornado, and back kicks. Need to work more on jump back kicks. I feel like I’m still improving but still have some ways to get to peak performance. I’m still sore all over and mostly tired, but muscles are getting toned as well. I find that I can push harder. It hurts more but it’s possible.

Started pretty early. Completed half of requirements by 11am. Took the boys out to the Harrisburg park, and completed the other half concurrently.

Led the black belt class today at North Charlotte KT. We stretched, practiced our forms, kick punch, and self defense combinations.

Today I ran another 2 miles in 20mins. Completed requirements later in the day. Practiced the Taekwons and Taeguks, Koryo, Pyungwon, and Taebek. I swapped the burpees with lunges and next time I would rather do half n half.

Sparring day at the Dojang. I met with mentee for an early start, worked up some sweats and stretched. Played middleman during sparing, dynamic but controlled. Finally I shared some sparring tips with the class.

This was a training day. Practiced Taekwon 1-3, Taeguks, Koryo, and Taebek. Also ran 2 miles in 20 minutes. During the black belt class we practiced staff forms 1-5, short stick forms 1-4, and some kicking combos.

Worked out in intervals today, completed requirements. Spent most of the day with the fam.

Slow start today, began with some official work that I’d left hanging, and once that was done I slowly worked up a sweat. Completed my requirements late in the evening.

Today was splendid at Mint hill park. We practiced staff forms, bolo, and a few hapkido rounds. Completed my cycle requirements later in the day.

Training day today at North Charlotte. I was basically revived as GM Evins drilled us today in combos, poomses, and double sticks sinuales. A little sweat does go a long way in reactivating those muscle centers. Completed my cycle requirements. I also connected with my mentee and had a nice day holistically. Thank you King Tiger TKD! Bows!

I wasn’t feeling well today so I took a break. I will play catchup in the coming days.

A lot happened today. After completing what seemed like a terrible attempt to workout, I decided to go shopping for another treadmill. I had managed to break the old one with my recent increase in incessant running. My little minion hurt himself while we were out shopping, and cried a lot. And this really got me feeling melancholic till the end of the day. So much that I could barely get enough energy to write this post.

Black belt class today at North Charlotte. We practiced combinations and poomse. Got some requirements done earlier, still going easy on the muscles.  

Each day is a huge achievement. I was able to get some requirements done after work, but could not run because I broke my treadmill. The soreness went down a notch and I was relaxed for most of the day. Had lots of protein. I also spent some time entertaining the wife and kids today.

I feel like I’m struggling because of the soreness. I find myself cheating with a lot of the kicks and forms, not hanging the leg, no chambering, sloppy stances, and almost no lift when doing jump kicks. Just feels like my body is about to explode after the jump rope and burpees. Nonetheless, I had completed another daily requirement and made sure I learned something new today as usual. Prepping and longing for when I do feel stronger.

I completed half my daily requirements in the morning, joining Master Deje and company in an early workout at the . I was sore all day long and struggled to complete the rest of my requirements later in the evening. Muscles feel a little better with the evening workout, and now I’m just hoping for a sound sleep.

We had a cycle students class today, and it was very exciting. I had completed my trial cycle test in January, so I only went in for the usual weekend class. It was nice seeing everybody again, still it was surprising to see so many champions on the cycle. I also completed half of my daily cycle requirements today.

Today I joined the sparring class at King Tiger Harrisburg, NC which goes towards my weekend and sparing cycle requirements. We had a lot of fun pad kicking, and practicing sparring combinations. I was only able to complete about 60% of my daily cycle requirements today and need to confirm if this is okay on training days.

Woke up sluggish today so I did not practice first thing. Got some coffee and completed some official work. Later I was still feeling sluggish but started my daily cycle anyway. Ran half a mile and got some sweats working, then stretched and the mood changed.  After I was done I drank about 2.5 liters of refreshing water, which made it all worthwhile!

  Training day used to be fun, but basic. Now it’s giving me brain like NCU. A lot happened today, my first official training day since cycle began. We practiced Kwonso, Chagi Sol, Taeguks, Koryo, Keumgang, Pyungwon, Taebek, and JiTae. Also self defense from white to green. While I had already covered all my daily cycle requirements earlier in the day. I also met some of my mentors and mentees today, as well as some of GM King’s students. One more critical thing that happened today is we moved the North Charlotte Toad to rearrange the Dojang. Every time we move the Toad I am reminded of Naruto’s master Sage Toad Fukasaku, who thought Naruto Sage Jutsu at  mount Myoboku. This was a technique that allowed the user to mix nature energy with human energy, to complete  techniques that would otherwise be impossible. Guess we are in Sage mode now ;)

Another day bites the dust! Today I changed my training start time so I can get some extended rest. Also decided not to push very hard and ease into the sets, and I was able to enter into some type of zen mood which helped keep me motivated throughout the day. I’ve also been thinking about the coming mock tests and other cycle requirements like essays and mentorship. Just trying to take this one day at a time.

Burpees are tough, and so are lounges. But it seems that without pain, growth is likely to be stalled. I managed to complete the cycle requirements for day 3, and by now I have concluded that we must feel pain all day long throughout this period. There’s almost no joy, well except for the silent voice incessantly repeating “no pain no gain”! My old TKD instructor used to say that so many times, now it’s almost haunting!

Today was tough, but I rose to the challenge. Woke up earlier than usual and completed my daily cycle requirements in 40mins, plus a little extra work. Frankly it feels like it’s going to be a challenge cranking up like this on some busy weekdays, especially with the timed exercises which encourages you to keep going. We’ll see!

Today began the King Tiger black belt grading training cycle for 2024. I am one of those on the cycle, and welcome everybody. I led the training today with the black belt team at King Tiger of North Charlotte. We stretched and in no particular order completed 40 push-ups, 40 seat-ups, kick and punch combos, taeguks, koryo, short stick forms, and staff forms. #Meditation#fine tuning all forms#fine tuning combination sequences.