Spring 2025 Black Belt Cycle

Candidate Journals

King Tiger Tae Kwon Do Black Belt candidates blog daily about their journey: their thoughts and feelings, their struggles and successes; their pain and their encouragement. Follow along on their journey; words of encouragement are always welcome!

Today I wa...

Today I was really tired bec I went to bed at 4:00am at a sleepover. Really need to start doing my sparring rounds & color belt self defense at home. got 2 miles in bye :)

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Training Camp

yesterday I went to training camp. It was really cool because Luke Kuechly singed something. I did't get my jersey signed.But I did get him to sign my little brothers mickey mouse and that was the most important.

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Good day.B...

Good day.Body feeling good even after a hard day at work yesterday, thought I was going to need some Advil today.

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Good day.B...

Good day.Body feeling good even after a hard day at work yesterday, thought I was going to need some Advil today.

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Today was hard...

Today I went to church with my friend then we went to lunch. When I got home I had to do my running and my other exercises. It was extremely hard today trying to do my running because it was so miserable outside. I really had to push myself hard to keep running & not stop but I managed to get it done. Then as soon as I finished my running I hate to cut the grass as an act of kindness for my mom and that was awful too but I got it done and it looked good. Then I came in to work on my other exercises which were hard too because I was so tired but it felt great to get everything done. Then I took some time to study the test guide for the pre-test and meditate now I am going to play with my friends for...

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Today when...

Today when I got to the N. Charlotte school their was nobody there to teach the hyper pro class so Master Natasya and I taught a hyper pro class at a school we don't even go to.

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Today I go...

Today I got up really early to get my running done before classes since my mom told me it was going to be very hot. Then I went and had breakfast at Chick-fil-a and went to Hyper Pro, Saturday Black Belt & sparring class at North Charlotte. I really enjoyed these classes and got a lot of credits in. I do miss going to sparring class at Belmont but want to make sure I get my required classes in as soon as possible. My sister got home from her Mission Trip today so I was excited to see here when her & my mom picked me up from class then we went to Rita's for Italian ice. This afternoon I worked on getting my other exercises done and really trying to get extra in before school starts since I will be so busy then. Tonight I did meditation and went bowling...

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Today I di...

Today I did three classes. I learned Pal gwae yi today. It was fun doing black belt class and I got a lot of requirements done. I can't believe that I'm not tired right now.

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Sick Day

Today I was feeling under the weather. I still told myself to push through Saturday BBC and I didn't do much the rest of the day. I was told to relax and get better by Monday.

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Today I we...

Today I went to north charlotte for hyper pro, black belt class, and sparring today.It was a lot of fun to see different instructors teach a different class.I got a little bit of requirements done in those classes and later today I finished them.

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Today

Today I took Saturday black belt class. We worked on a lot of stuff. I was sore through the whole class because master burkart gave us a hard workout on Thursday. So I am still sore. Now I am going to watch a movie with my family. :)

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WeekDay BBC

Today was a easy day. It was a fun day as well. We had our own little magic show the kids put on! They did very well. Later on they watched a movie while myself and the other black belt candidates did one of my workouts and went running.

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Last night...

Last night I had a sleepover and got lots of sleep.  So when I got home I got my requirements done.  I ran a mile and a quarter today really quickly.  I felt really happy that I ran it all so fast.

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lock out

My sister locked us out of the car. The keys,phones, and wallets were also locked in.We had to barrow a phone and call someone.

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Today was ...

Today was one of my low energy days. Did not get a good night of sleep. Dose any one like to have two old cats.

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Today was ...

Today was one of my low energy days. Did not get a good night of sleep. Dose any one like to have two old cats.

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I had a sl...

I had a sleepover last night and overslept so I didn't get time to do my running before my mom went to work and she was upset at me. I had to wait for her to get this afternoon to things done and it was much harder because it was so hot. I didn't have any classes today but looking forward to class tomorrow. Tonight I did meditation then went bowling for a little bit but couldn't stay long because I had to get a good nights rest.

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Today we w...

Today we went to the library and I cut my elbow a little on a glass case. Later a few of us did a workout, right before black belt class.

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I woke up ...

I woke up and got my requirements done in about an hour. I feel a change in my body today. It is that I am aching a little bit.

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Today i le...

Today i left the hotel. It was a really nice hotel with a pool and dogs.I didn't like the long ride home.The ride was 12 hours long. It almost killed me, the worst part was siting still.

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So just wh...

So just when you think you have it down , keep practicing it, because you don't. But that's the fun part of it. You have to challenge yourself.

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Magic Week

Jason Frame came to visit us today at KTA Lake Norman! All the kids and adults enjoyed it. Did some a workout that I have been working on today. Was testing it on other KTA Lake Norman black belt candidates.

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Today I we...

Today I went to the park with my mom and did my exercises. Then I went to ihop and ate an awesome omelet. I came home and played with my dad and we played the longest game of scrabble ever and he ended up beating me by 12 points, and now I am going to bed.

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Today duri...

Today during summer camp we had a magician come and show the kids some magic. During sparring class Marcus decided to work us really hard and tire us out.

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Today I wo...

Today I worked on my exercises then after I finished I went bowling with my friends. I only took 1 taekwondo class today and it was a exercise class. Tonight I went to Jersey Mike's with my special friend Murphy & his family then we went to get icecream. I had a lot of fun today.

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Thursday

After a rainy start to the week, the rest is getting better. Don't mind the rain, but it keeps me from running....and it keeps the Summer Campers inside and that is not good:) Magic show today at camp. Fun times. Have Top Team tonight. Feeling pretty good right now, but will need some Spark pretty soon:)

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I just fin...

I just finished my run before it is suppose to rain today. I am looking forward to the black belt and sparing class tonight.

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back from ...

back from camp sorry i had a time of no internet or contact with the outside world at all so now im going to start getting serious about this so bye

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So I get u...

So I get up and do 4+ miles on the elliptical. Then take a shower and go outside to movies 3 lawns trim bushes , why did I even take a shower ,I wet all day.

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Today I ha...

Today I had tennis camp and really enjoyed it. After camp I went to lunch with my great grandmother then I came home and did my exercises. I took all 3 classes tonight and they were all exercise classes so I got a lot of extra physical requirements in. Tonight I did my meditation and played basketball.

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Today I we...

Today I went to the dmv to get my after nine license. When I got back to the dojang they weren't there so I went for a walk. Later after all the classes when I was about to go home their was something wrong with my car and I had to call up my dad to come and take a look at it, it's alright now.

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Today was ...

Today was my first full day back from vacation. I didn't get a lot done when I was gone. I went to all 3 classes today. We had wacky Wednesday with Miss Pam. I got A LOT of requirements in. Between classes I had a Mentee session. We worked on front rolls.

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I went to ...

I went to class and also got leadership credits. I did my mile at home and it started raining on us. I think the cycle is really hard. I think it's made for us to grow to be more responsible and take more initiative. Taking initiative means instead of waiting for someone else to do something, you should go ahead and do it. Like when you have free time in class you can get some requirements done. I think I should work on that because I don't exactly do that myself. Me and my family were talking at dinner about all of this.

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Today I wo...

Today I woke in the morning and ran 2 miles. Then I did half of my push-ups, sit-ups and pull-ups. Then I went to basketball camp which was awesome. After that, I played some video games. Then I did all my other physicals and watched a movie.

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7/23/14

Today I woke up and watched some TV then I when downstairs and did my empathy training essay. After that I ate an awesome breakfast, sausage, grits, toast, and eggs. Then I went down stairs and played some minecraft then I came up and drew for about 2 hours and I ended up drawing a pretty good person. I was very happy because I really stink at drawing people (normally I draw dragons). then I went to class and that was great Mrs.Pam is teaching class because Master Shin is at the beach and she did great.

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Teaching Class

Today I was allowed to teach a full class it was very exciting yet also confusing because I was not used to doing stuff like that in class

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summer camp

I love summer camp!! It is really fun and we go different places and do different things. it is fun because we play games to.

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Nice Day

To tell the truth I had a fantastic day it started off OK since it was very humid and hot which equals a very gross run but after I finished my workouts for the morning I got to actually sit down and it was quiet I enjoyed it a ton and in then it had to end. After my shower my mother, sister, and I went out for lunch and it was lovely the food was excellent my mother who is on a diet type thing I can't explain it had a delicious and healthy lunch and she was happy which made me happy. Then we went to target and I got myself a new watch for a very good price and my sister and I got along which we have been having trouble with but all siblings do from time to time. To top it off I went to the...

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Most Tuesd...

Most Tuesday are my long days, but the rain cut into my mowing time. Like to thank Master Evins for my credits for the PMAA camp, 25Mentors, 25 saturday black belt class,25 PMAA,25 sparring class, 25 black belt week class. You know I will be going to the Myrtle Beach camp.

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It was a c...

It was a cloudy day again. I got up and did my poomsaes and then went bowling. I learned Pal Gwe Yi in black belt class.

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I didn't r...

I didn't really have much going on today. I got up at 6:45 and did my running. My friend who lives behind me wanted to run with me again today which always helps. After I did my running I helped my mom with some things she needed before she went to work and helped get her car loaded with her work stuff. Then I worked on my other exercises for a while and did some chores around the house. It was rainy again today so there wasn't much to do. I took both regular classes tonight and the weekday black belt. I finished getting a Leadership I credit and got credit for a weekday black belt class. I have tennis tomorrow morning so I am excited about that but got to get up extra early to get started on my exercises before tennis.

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Monday

To tell the truth it has been a while since I have written an entry and the reason is one I've honestly just have forgotten to do it and two I was in a car crash exactly a week ago and that just took up my whole head and I was in a lot of pain for a couple of days but I'm fine now. I didn't let that stop in less than 12 hours I had to go into camp and teach my little tigers and you know what I had a great time maybe it was harder to get around but I was very happy to be there. Now my mother has a new car and she loves it and to tell the truth the car we have now is a fantastic car and it is a 2012 Honda Odyssey and I cannot wait to be able to drive...

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Today I up...

Today I upped my numbers and it was really hard. I'm not used to doing more of everything. I felt really proud of myself at the end of the day for doing a lot. Even though I upped my numbers, I still did more than I was supposed to. For example I was supposed to do 150 pushups but I ended up doing 245.  I want to thank Ms. Pam for helping me get some poomsaes and leadership during class. Class was really fun too because we did a game at the end. It was like the jeopardy game that we used to do.

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Rain rain ...

Rain rain rain didn't get my miles in today. Had a long day at work, nothing to do till the last hour. It's nice to have a slack day, but it seems like the clock just stops.

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Two days left in NY

I have two days left in NY. I am sad to leave because I have had so much fun here. I wen t golfing with my grandpa, I swam with my cousins, I went boating, and it was all so fun! I can't believe its almost over.

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Today I go...

Today I got up at 6:45am to do my running. I had 2 of my friends in the neighborhood coming to meet me so that we could run together so that helped me out a lot to get motivated to do it. It was drizzling rain but it felt good to run in it since it was light. Then I spent a lot of time working on my other requirements since it was raining out. I went to taekwondo class tonight and got another Leadership II credit in, another Mentee session and day 1 of a Leadership I credit. After class my mom took me to get a new tennis racket for tennis class. We found out tonight at class that more requirements have been added so now I feel behind and was a little stressed out about it but going to just push myself harder and get them done.

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So I am tr...

So I am trying to ignore this heel issue, more than likely not the best thing but as Master Hartle says I am a physicists not a doctor or no a doctor not a physicists anyway I am ignoring both and doing it my way, so I took cross fit today and guess what we did box jumps great for the feet oh and jump rope again great for the feet. So time to get the frozen water bottle out and massage my heel with it. Oh well I will learn and somehow get through it. Burkart out

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Just finis...

Just finished a 4 week paleo challenge. Pretty happy with it.Going to continue for the next month through my 50th birthday.

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Today it r...

Today it rained all day at my house so we had to stay inside all day. We are heading to Tae Kwon Do to help out for one class to get our leadership credits. Then we are heading to my school for a open house kind of thing. I hope it is not boring.

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Today was ...

Today was a cloudy day overall and it was a perfect day to stay inside and do requirements, so in the morning before church I got all of it done. For other exercise I went to my basketball practice and game. I made my first shot in a game! I felt really good. My friend got the medal for the week and I was really happy for him.

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I ran four...

I ran four miles yesterday only to have my heel hurt all day today, so today I wanted to get some things done and since I could not run I BIKE 7.5 MILES, If I am correct that works for at least 2.5 miles. I talked to Master Evins he indicated that this could go on for 6 months, I hope not but I will work things out

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Empathy training...

Today I did my empathy training and decided to be mute for the day. It has been really, really hard. I expected it to be hard but not this hard. I have a new respect for people who are mute. I wrote my essay about being mute this evening so now I have 8 of the 9 essays done. The last one is the Community Service project essay that I cant do yet since we haven't done our project as a group yet. I got more exercises done today so it has felt good to get a lot of requirements done but been very hard doing everything being mute.

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Sunday

Today I did my basic requirements and played minecraft with my friends.

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Empathy Training

Today I'm spending the day blind for my empathy training.  It really stinks because I had to got to church and to brunch while blind.  I didn't want to do "blind", I wanted to do the wheelchair.  But, my parents wouldn't let me and said I had to do "blind."  

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Today in B...

Today in Black Belt class we went over the Bo cho dan one step self defense which was great cause I realized that I managed to kick with the wrong foot on 2 and 3. we also went over some poomsaes which I cant remember the name of :-(

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Today in B...

Today in Black Belt class we went over the Bo cho dan one step self defense which was great cause I realized that I managed to kick with the wrong foot on 2 and 3. we also went over some poomsaes which I cant remember the name of :-(

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my day

today in my black belt class I did 10 self defense's of my bochadon. then we did some rolling and it was hard for me because I haven't rolled in a long time. then we did some poomsae and now I now it

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I think my...

I think my favorite class is the hyper pro class because that's where we do the most falling and rolling. But today we practiced 540 kicks. Master Mitchell said that I did good. Black belt class was fun because we did some fun jump kicks. Wang ho 1 became a little bit easier for me.

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7/19/14

Today I went to all three Saturday classes and I had fun. When I got home I just hung around the house and played with my family. Before dinner I played Command & Conquer with my day and sister and that was fun.

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Saturday, July 19

Today I am at my grandparents house in Galax, Virginia for smoke on the mountain (my dad judges). We got here yesterday, right after VBS ended. I have (and had) plenty of time to do my requirements :) well, that's all for now.bye

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Today Was Fun

Today at Saturday Black Belt Class was so much fun! We did Bo Cho Dan 1 step self-defense 10 times. That got all my self defense for the day done.

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Busy day...

Today has been a very busy day. I went to breakfast at Chick-fil-a with my grandmother then went to North Charlotte for Hyper Pro, Saturday Black Belt & Sparring class. After class, we went to Rita's for a weekly treat my mom does for me & my sister after class. We love Rita's. When I got home I started my running then as I came back by my house my little buddy, Murphy was in my driveway waiting for me to play basketball so I played with him for a few minutes until it started to rain & he had to go home. It wasn't raining hard so I started right back on my running and finished it up. Then I went ahead and knocked out the rest of my requirements for the day. After that I played with my friend for a little bit then came home to finish my...

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Taking the...

Taking the day off from requirements. Its international date night so my wife gets to have quality time with me. Is she so lucky .

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Today at t...

Today at the Y track a mile seemed really long because it was a big track. I went really slow because my legs were tired. I also didn't want to do it. I'm having an easier time with my poomsaes and self defenses because I don't have to stop as much as I used to.

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Camp

Today we were at camp again. My dad caught five huge fish. Two were a pickerel and three were bass. I had a lot of fun with my cousins , but my back hurts from sleeping on a couch.

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Today

Today I helped out in the 3:50 to 4:30 class. I got to help high white belts learn their form. Then I took the higher belt class and we worked on kicks and forms. Between the 2 classes I got both leadership credits.

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Today has ...

Today has been great I went to carawinds and then I came home and I ran and did my other TKD stuff. Then I read and I am going to eat dinner In a little bit.

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Another be...

Another beautiful day. My energy levels up today, Not much to do at work today which means the airline is making money. Got home and knocked out my requirements.

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More of the same

Today has been a lot like yesterday.  I stayed home from summer camp, and my dad made me do a bunch of requirements.  

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Today was ...

Today was a beautiful day. Loved the cool weather and No humidity. But felt a little down , no energy. DO not know if I did not sleep well last night or the cool morning. O well tomorrow is a new day it's behind me now.

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Library Day

Today was fun and relaxing. Was able to get all of my requirements done throughout the day and had fun doing them with all the other candidates at our school.

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Today when...

Today when I got to the dojang I checked my phone and it wasn't working (Something happened to the screen). I am so mad right now, because my phone is broken.

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Today was ...

Today was a day were I got a lot of black belt things done. We also learned a stick form in Black Belt Class today. We also did a lot of kicks. Then at the end of the class we started learning our Hop Kido!!!

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Today I ha...

Today I had to get my requirements done really fast. I had to do this because my friend was coming over and we were going to my cousins house. Today was an overall fun day.

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Today I go...

Today I got started on my exercises early because my cousin was at my great-grandmothers house so I wanted to go up to her house so we could play. I was really motivated to get everything done & it was cooler outside so that helped a lot. I stayed at my great-grandmothers until time to go to taekwondo then I took the 2 classes tonight. I got my 10th Leadership II credit tonight so that felt great & I was happy. Tonight I helped my mom with a bunch of things because she didn't feel good then I ate dinner and did meditation. I am going to get relax tonight so my mom can go to bed early. It has been a really good day.

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I have gra...

I have grandma named grandma Joan . She is so nice, she let us spend the night at the coolest water house ever.

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I got back...

I got back yesterday from Scout camp. It was a lot of fun. My great grandmother passed away last night. It has been hard to keep up with all of the requirements so I am glad I have the extra weeks.

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Full day of work

Today I did a ton of requirements.  I did a lot of self defense, poomsae and all that stuff.  Getting ready to go to black belt and then sparring class. 

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Woke up a ...

Woke up a little early today. I wanted to get my requirements out of the way so I could finish getting ready to go out of town. It's going to be hard but I am going to try and get some requirements done while we are gone. I hope everyone has a great weekend :)

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Thursday

I am heading into King Tiger. Taking 3 classes tonight. Grabbed a quick bite at Burger King on the way there.

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I am going...

I am going to try to get back into the swing of things with a cross fit class and then a small run, heel feels better so I am going to try, we will see, and let you know. I have been on it for three days with work and feels good so maybe the issue has corrected it self with all the foot work I did in Charleston SC. Burkart out

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Yesterday ...

Yesterday I did my first Help out with class but I couldn't do my running. Sorry about my last post it was my first time and I didn't know what to put cause I couldn't see any one else's, cause my internet kept on failing so again, sorry.

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I woke up ...

I woke up at 6:20 and got most of requirements done because I wanted to go to my friend's house. I went to class too. I really like doing the spin falls and dive rolls. I feel really good about the cycle today. I got my exercises done and I didn't get distracted.

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Happy happ...

Happy happy happy, just finished one essay. One down a few more to go. Glad I started it a few months ago.

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Wednesday, July 16

Today I volunteered at VBS, then went out for lunch w/ friends, went to their house, came home and went to TKD class and earned some leadership credits, came home and did the rest of my requirements. My heel hurts when I put a lot of hard impact on it. I iced it when I got home :)

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Today I pl...

Today I played with my cousin and I read and then I went to class and then I came home and did my run.

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Worked on ...

Worked on my requirements most of the morning. Went to class a little early to have a mentee session. We worked on Red belt self-Defense and poom sae. Took the red belt and higher class. I learned the Pal Gwe Yi form. Then I helped out the next class. Tonight I am going to start packing to go on vacation this weekend.

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7/16/14

Had a great Crossfit class this morning! Myself and Master Hartle were the only ones to show up, so we got a great workout. As far as challenge kick, I have been working on the 540. As of right now, I am doing it with the step forward motion. I can definitely take out someone's knee with it right now...gotta work to bring it up to chest or hopefully head level one day.

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Busy day...

Today has been a very busy day. I got up at 7:30 so I could do my running & jump rope then I went to tennis from 9-12. I had another great tennis lesson & love my new skill. Then I worked on my other requirements, did my chores and helped my grandmother with some things and did meditation. I only took 4:30 class today because I have youth at church at 6:00 but got in a hyper pro class for my requirements. Tomorrow I am going to work on my essay and hopefully have time to get some extra requirements in.

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Today was ...

Today was a perfect day for running. It wasn't hot and humid. It was perfect. Today was the first day I actually enjoyed running. Before it was so hot running was torture. I hope it stays this perfect for a while

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Fun at Scout Camp

For the past 3 days I went to camp at Belk Scout Camp in Midland NC.  We got to swim everyday and shoot rifles.  We also got to go to a trading post and do archery competition.  We also got to name one of the staff "Twinkie" because he sang a song about Twinkies on the first day of camp.   I  got to do the flag ceremony on the second day and I got to say grace before breakfast.  Finally we got to sleep over every night.  I only did 2 pull ups and 3 random acts of kindness at camp.   I have some catching up to do on poomsaes, self defense and jump rope.

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Today I we...

Today I went for a morning jog and I am almost finished with my book :)

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Today is m...

Today is my long day. The good thing is the rain did not come down till I finish mowing my last lawn. I do believe some one was waiting for me to finish before he or she let rain. Thank you.

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Today I go...

Today I got most of my requirements done before going to the pool. Then I helped with a class at Belmont, then I went to Master Evins' school for Black belt class. I feel like today I got my requirements done faster. I really want to thank Master Shin, Master Evins, my mom, my dad and my sister for helping me get through the cycle.

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Today was ...

Today was good I read and played videogames then went and got some stuff for the laundry room (we are redoing the laundry room). When I came home I went and played in the playroom and then some friends came over and we did three, three min rounds of jump rope and I did the rest of my TKD stuff. Today while I was doing my requirements I felt strong and I though to myself I am going to do this and I am going to do it well.

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Swimming

Today was fun swimming with the kids at KTA Lake Norman. Unfortunately it was called off early due thunder. Learned all standing techniques #1-9 in PMAA today which was very fun.

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today I we...

today I went golfing with my grandfather. It was really fun.

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I had my m...

I had my mom wake me up really early today so I could do my running before it got really hot. Then I worked on my other exercises and got everything done pretty early in the day so that was good. We didn't have black belt class tonight so I took my regular classes and earned another leadership credit to help with my requirements. Tonight I got to go have ice cream with my special friend Murphy & his family and I always love spending time with them. I'm excited that tennis starts back tomorrow. I'm going to start working on my essay for my new skill tomorrow too.

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Hurt My ey...

Hurt My eye playing basketball but overall it was a good day!!

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Tuesday, July 15

Today I was volunteering at VBS (vacation Bible school) for three hours. 9:00-12:00 then, went to my eye appointment (I just got new contacts) that took about an hour. I came home and had snack, and here I am, blogging so that I don't forget to after BB class. I haven't had any time for my requirements yet. I really hope BB class takes care of most of them. Kk, bye

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