I went to the gym early this morning and got in my requirements. I have to tell you, hearing "you have to run 100 miles" as part of your Black Belt Cycle requirement is one thing, but actually doing it is something else entirely. In all my years of high school and college sports (football, baseball, wrestling), 10 years in the Army, including Airborne School (which is a different kind of hell), and 9 years of Shotokan Karate training (including 9 1-week Summer Special Training and 5 1-week Winter Special Training sessions) I have never run so much in my life.
After I left the gym, I went to South Charlotte to get fitted for a tux for a wedding I'm in on September 26th. I'm sorry I'm going to miss the Combat Hapkido Seminar (I attended it last year), but when you're asked to be a groomsman in a wedding, it's kind of hard to say no.
We had another good night of sparring. I was reminded by two students (Renuka and Umesh) why footwork and defense are so important. They both kick so fast you can barely see their legs move. They showed me that without footwork, even strong kicks become predictable. But with good footwork, even simple kicks become dangerous and can score a lot of points.