Candidate Journals

Had a very early day today. As i've said before i work third shift so i went to bed this morning at 10am but had to get up at 3pm 2.5 hours earlier than normal. Levi (my son) had an optometrist appointment at 4. That took an hour so i had to run him home change and get back out to Black Belt class at 5:30 which i was 2-3min late. But it was a good class. Master Knight always does a good black belt class. Then right after was sparring class with Madelynn Gorman-Shore who is a high level sparring competitor.  

Pretty good today. Got class assistance and a mentor session in. I hope i can complete everything in time. 

Still with the contractors at our house!!! With the people here everyday I can't get anything done. I'm going to do some poomsae and self defense later though. I had intended to jog a few miles today but it go too late and that idea flew right out of the window. 

Was able to get 2 class assistance credits today as well as some requirements. Won't make it to class tomorrow as i am working on more requirements at home plus i have to stay home as workers are going to be at our house and my wife and son will be out. 

Had to dig deep to get my jog and other requirements done for today. Although as the end quickly approaches i'm not confident i can make it. These damn people have been at our house for months remediating mold and rebuilding our bathrooms and its just taking up so much time and effort i don't know how to get everything done. We haven't had a normal schedule at our house since late June 

Not really my fault though. The workers rebuilding our master shower have been flaky, late and slow so they've had to come on saturday and work all day from 10am to 8pm to make up for the lost time during the week. What a shame. Now i'm having some back spasms so thats not helping. Going to try to get some poomsae and sd practice in later though. 

Good exercise day today. Had black belt class that we did a "mock" testing which was great so i can think on my feet. Then sparring class which i was sweating like a pig. Good times. 

Today i was able to complete my mentorship of someone and the Leadership requirement. Feels good to start ticking boxes off. 

Late getting this out. Today was kind of a wash. Had a lot of obligations to take care of this evening that prevented me from jogging or doing any requirements. Its 1:42am and will still be doing my hour of Poomsae later while i'm working though so i guess its not all a loss. 

Pretty good day was able to help with the kids class in the afternoon and get that credit for class assistance. Had a good class and mentor session with Mr. Woods and we worked on Hapkido 1. Wasn't able to run as it got late and had other obligations. Plan on upping my jog to 5 miles per to help catch up esp on Saturday and Sunday. 

Was able to do three more miles tonight. Had my last required weekday black belt class tonight now that i can cut back a little on taking every black belt class i can work on requirements and weapons forms on those days. 

Not much today except in an effort to try and catch up on the running i did a late night loop around my neighborhood which just to happens to be 3 miles basically on the dot. 

The guys rebuilding our shower had some medical issues this week so they needed to come today to work almost 8 hours building our new shower so we were stuck most of the day inside keeping the cats trapped upstairs and staying clear of the guys working. Nothing from me in terms of requirements today except the Sparring class this morning. Did get our pictures taken though right before sparring. Its always a good gift to the grand parents of a picture me and Levi dressed in our uniforms.  

Double class fridays. Had Black Belt Class then Sparring right after. Still have a stuffy nose so breathing wasn't the best but I made it. All this exercise is paying off. 

Went and helped with older kids/adult testing. It was fun and glad to be of help. still feeling sick so i had almost no energy for much in terms of requirements. but will practice poomsae later tonight.

Well, i have a dumb head cold. No classes today as it was testing day at Harrisburg. I will be going to help out tomorrow for the older kids/adults testing. Didn't really feel up to much today in terms of activity. I did manage just over a mile of walk/jog, jump rope and a lot of push ups and sit ups, kicks etc..

Was able to get another class assistance credit with the kids class. Then came early for the adult class and was able to mentor 2 folks. Then after class Master Foster was kind enough to do a mentor session with me. 

Helped with the kids class this afternoon before the black belt class. Class went fine then i went for a jog at the park. Did 3 miles tonight. 

Since i was so tired from saturday i just slept normal hours at night and got up and did day stuff. Fixed our refrigerator, the, condenser fan motor starting making a high pitched squeal so I replaced that and put in a new water and air filter. Went grocery shopping with Levi. Woke up with some sort of head cold so the sudafed put me to sleep so i took a nap for a couple hours this afternoon. Woke up to the dog to the vet for a check up then came home and spent 3 hours mowing the lawn and repotting my Spruce for the cycle into a bigger pot. I got a bunch of ant bites on my right ankle so thats all swollen. Now i need to stay up tonight to get back on third shift schedule. 

Saturday was a long day. Got off work at 7am then Levi and I went to sparring class at 9am. Was up the whole day due to hanging out with friends and our fantasy football draft. Was too exhausted to do any requirements. 

Only jogged 1 mile this morning as my ankle was bothering me and i knew i had to do two classes back to back this evening. Good classes from master Knight, Black Belt and Sparring. 

Did another 2 miles this morning before bed. Probably take it easy tomorrow and just walk more. The pounding on my back, i just need to take it easy for a day to heal. Was able to get in 2 sessions with 2 mentees today then a great old school class with Master Knight. 

Second day sucessfully jogging in the morning before bed. I keep getting hobbled by something every time so far either muscle cramps or indigestion or sore feet. I think i'll stretch more bore i take off and see if that helps. After my jog i do jump rope and push ups. Today was black blet class that i was 2 min late. I hit all 3 stop lights on the way to class right as they all turned red each time so i had to sit the whole light 3 times! that wasted nearly 10min. Oh, well sometimes its fun to be at the back of the class. :-) 

Starting my jogging catch up this morning. 2.03 miles before bed. Leg was cramping a bit so i couldn't get a super good time but i'm doing it. Had a mentee session with Mr. Woods and regular class tonight. Good times. Also did push ups and jump rope. I can already tell just a few weeks in that my cardio is better. I'm not a marathon runner yet but i feel like i can recover faster and better after getting winded. 

Working 3rd shift i sometimes have to stay up all day despite being up the night before due to family obligations etc... Today was one of those days so i couldn't get to class this evening or do any requirements and was too sleepy to do much during the day. I did get to sleep at 5pm though and got up at 10:50 to log into work. But tomorrow morning i'm starting my catch up for jogging since the school year is starting. Min. 2 miles in the morning before bed. Hopefully i can keep it up. 

I know its just excuses but do to my work schedule and my lower back issues i'm definitely behind on running. I basically can't run/jog everyday because my back just takes a repeated pounding from the impacts of running. I'm scarred I'll re herniate one of the discs in my lumbar spine which i had surgery to fix last March (2023). Normal class activities don't really bother me but the jogging does. I also am not strong enough to lift 245lbs to do a pull up no matter how hard i try. If i were 180lbs then i probably could do it. I dunno i don't want to let Masters Foster and Knight down. Hopefully once school starts I can force myself to jog 2-3 miles a day after my son goes to school and before i go to bed. I mean I'm at 15min a mile basically so 45min shouldn't be...

Since I work 3rd shift i had not slept since waking up friday afternoon to go to Black Belt class and sparring. Despite this is went to sparring this morning at 9am a couple hours after work and it was a great workout but without sleep to heal the body from the previous day i was very very sore trying to sleep today. 

Having to double up on Fridays to get both a weekend black belt class and a sparring class. Master Knight was kind enough though to have the BBC be mostly requirements in content. Very tired and sore. 

Master Foster had originally cancelled the kids' classes today due to the Cabarrus schools open house but that was in tern cancelled due to the flooding. But the roads were ok so Master Foster invited anyone to come for open floor and I took my son and i went too and was able to get a mentee and mentor session in plus work on the first two stick forms. 

Made it to class tonight even though i was super low energy. Was able to jog 2 miles after class though and do some push ups and sit ups. 

Despite being very tired and low energy i was able to get a leadership, class assistance, mentee secession, and a mentor secession today. Last night i got one of my essays done as well as practiced poomsae for about 30min. 

I feel the requirements have gotten away from me a bit but i'm trying to catch up. Came in early to my son's class to help out and am going to do so for the next couple weeks to get those leadership credits. Also was able to jog a mile today faster than i ever have in my life (i think) 15:31. I can probably to better since my neighborhood has some deceptive inclines and my right leg was cramping a bit so i had to walk more than i wanted. I hope i can complete these requirements in time. I don't want to let Master's Foster and Knight down at Harrisburg. 

Day started fun. We went to a Cannonballers baseball game. Did get baked in the sun but it was fun. Then 4 hours of yard work. So tired, so sore and a little bit sunburned on my hand. 

Weekend full of yard work. It’s rained so much the weeds took over our front yard beds and that had to be at the expense of my back, weeded. 

Today was very tiring. Did two back to back classes black belt the sparring. My back is very angry. Going to try to at least get 5 miles in this weekend to try and catch up. 

Had another mentor session with my mentee (thanks again Mr. Woods). Working on High Green stuff. Also led the punching and kicking in class which is something i'm still getting used to. I'm so used to being just a student that i forget i'm leading people some times and just want to exercise. 

Was able to jog 2 miles this evening after class. Hopefully i can do more to get caught up. Might have to do more walking though because that pounding on my back isn't great. 

Struggling to find time. I'm behind on several of the requirements just due to time constraints and a sore lower back. I did do my first mentor session with my mentee. 

Pretty good day today. Did black belt class and some mentoring with Master Foster. 

Haven’t been able to do much exercise the past day or so as my back is hurting a bit. Nothing serious but I don’t want to run with those repeated impacts for a day or two to see what’s going on. 

Couldn't make classes today and i had to take my son to camp at 1pm and so didn't get to bed until close to 3pm. 

Trying my best to get the requirements done but i am falling behind a bit. My schedule is still all over the place due to the construction in my house. 

More distruptions at home with the construction and i had to get up early so i had very low energy at class tonight. But I'm glad i went. 

Do to the nature of when i work i'm struggling to find the time to do all the requirements daily. I work 3rd shift so i typically go to sleep around 9:30 in the morning and sleep until 5:30pm. Get up make dinner for my wife and kid then head to class. After class I shower and then log into work at 11pm. There is a gap there between about 8 and 10:30 but having not been a person who exercises this much i'm not sure how to do more when i'm so worn out from class? I log off at 7am but during the summer with no school this is the time between 7 and 9am when i get to interact with my son the most. On top of that all of this construction and mold remediation going on in my house isn't helping with trying to get a routine down...

I was so tired after the pre test that i neglected to blog this past weekend. The pre test was tough as i had not run that much in probably 20 years. Stairs were definitely a problem this past weekend. Still trying to find a rythm and and way to fit in all the requirements every day and week. 

Still trying to find a rythm for everything. I'm still waiting for my house to get put back together, its hard to get into a routine when we're down to 1 bathroom and wife and kid are having to share a room. That I really wanted to wait until i get my baseline this saturday before i really hit everything hard. 

Weird day. Had to get the animals out of the house to do mold killing house fogging. On top of that the A/C was out which ended up being a $600 repair Not covered under warranty mind you do to it being and "act of god" for lack of a better term. So, i had to try an sleep at my folks' house today which wasn't great esp because of phone calls coordinating the HVAC tech and the mold techs. As soon as my house get back to normal in a couple weeks hopefully i can get into a better routine. 

House is still being mold remediated and bathrooms torn apart and rebuilt. So, its upended our lives here on top of that the A/C goes out at 11pm. Life just keeps kicking me when i'm down. On top of that we have to get the critters and ourselves out of the house for 2-3 hours this afternoon because the mold remediation company is doing an anti fungal fogging and living things can't be in the house while thats going on. So, i probably won't make it to class tonight having not gotten much if any sleep. 

Went to high belt class today. Was very distracted though. Had a massive headache but powered through as best i could. It was good to be back though. Do to some unfortunate mold issues in my house the past week or so has been rough and i haven't been able to get to class much. It was good to get back and work out some. I always feel better after working out and sweating. 

Hello, first ever cycle for me as I earned my 1st and 2nd Dan many years ago at a different school and a different system. Most of my Taekwondo career has been in the ITF style so, I'm still learning and perfecting the forms and self defenses for WTF style. The basics are all the same with just some slight differences in terminology thankfully. I'm a bit apprehensive because I'm not an athlete by any stretch and I've never done a testing this long and involved before. This will also be interesting because i work third shift and sleep during the day getting up in the evening to go to (Taekwondo) class and then start work at 11pm. So, my time is fairly limited to interact with people and things during daylight hours. 

Anyhow, i'm looking forward to be motivated to get more exercise than normal and one of my main goals during this is to lose at least 20lbs in 12 weeks which i think is a very attainable goal. In that regard i'm giving up all snacks and the like. Chips, crackers, cookies, pork rinds, deserts etc, etc... for the duration and drastically limiting my soda intake. I still love my Dr. Peppers so i definitely need at least one daily reward. Do