Fall 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!

You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. –Christopher Columbus

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Take this ...

Take this moment and enjoy it.( Love Dove ). Yes I have a weakness for chocolate. But I have omit I love the motivational statements in each rapper.

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i had pian...

i had piano today and i'm happy i'm alive, and i had school today. i really like my science class with mr. blackman he manages to make us laugh in the beginning of the day and we do plenty of science experiments.

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today I ra...

today I ran a mile and it felt a lot easier than the pre test :)

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Today was ...

Today was good, I went to school and did a lot of work. After that I went to the park and I did my requirements while my sister Tori was in gymnastics. I have started a new book called Dune and it is really cool so far. After I did my requirements we went to earthfare and now I am going to bed.

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Tomorrow I...

Tomorrow I hope to have my first mentee session. I really do look forward to it, kind of want to see how it goes. Any way I need to ask for help on Wong ho 1 and special 3 but that's for my mentor. Which I might have tomorrow but I'm not too sure, but if we don't then I know I do on Thursday :-)

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I went to ...

I went to school today and then completed my homework. Once I finished I completed my requirements for the day and then went to my brother’s soccer practice. Tonight was the first night of Cub Scouts. We had fun.

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piano

today i had piano. and school, and played on my ipad, my sister and changed our voices so we were really high and it sounded so cute, like a baby.It was pretty funny.

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Today I we...

Today I went to boy scouts for the kick off. I had a lot of fun with all my friends.

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Today I di...

Today I did my normal routine and got up very early to do my running and half my requirements before school. After school I went to taekwondo and took 3 classes. Today's classes were conditioning classes so I got a good workout tonight. I also got my last mentee session done which felt great to have another requirement completed. Now I just have the rest of my mentor sessions to get done. After class I did my homework, ate dinner, studied for my written test for a little bit then did some meditation. It has been a very busy day.

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Today I le...

Today I learned new things. No fighting, no arguing in class. So, it was a good day!

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School was...

School was cool today. Learned new things in math that I have NEVER heard before! But life is about learning new things and tha's how it is.

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I Did Scho...

I Did Schoolwork And My Tkd RequirementsToday. I Am Going To Watch A Soccer Game With My Dad. After The Game I Have Boy Scouts. This Is Our First Meeting This Year.

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Yesterday ...

Yesterday we did not do much so i do not have much to write except i sold four precious moments on ebay. So i am getting started on the three hundred and fifty dollars i need to earn. And to help me out with the money my grand ma is going to have a garage sale at her to sell some of my old stuff.

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Exciting m...

Exciting my computer is coming back. It has been gone for two weeks.also,I have eaten my breakfast and ready for school.

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Monday

Today is Monday. Today I have PE at school today. We are setting goals for ourselves. We run lap around the field every day before we start class. I am normally at the front of the pack of people. I like running with my friends. They makes it so I'm not bored when I am running and I get bored a lot when I run so this is good.

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Monday

Happy dance, happy dance, happy dance!!! Thought I was going to be very sore this morning from yesterday's requirements, I was incorrect. Not to bad this morning, got my run done and some pushups & sit up's and now need to head off to work. Will hit it again after work along with BB class tonight. Hope everyone has a great day!!!

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today we c...

today we came home from UNC chapel hill for my big sister and it was fun. we walked everywhere, i got some miles in and we did more requirements at the hotel we were staying at. i did pushups and sit-ups in my big sisters dorm, hotel room, hotel parking lot, my room, my kitchen. we used car time (2 hours) as meditation time, but ended up falling asleep.

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Marcus Hendricks 9/7

Took a really cool drover safety course this morning.   I was drifting and driving a fast BMW.  After that I went home and did some requirements.

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Sunday

Very productive day on the home front and with requirements. The errands that had to be run knocked out some time I needed with requirements but I am happy with what I accomplished. I have a feeling my body will not like me in the morning. Night all I am tired!!!! Go Panthers - - - -

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Workout Park

Today my sister in law and I went to a outdoor workout park and went through it. It was my first time going to one. It was super fun and we plan on doing it again.

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Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover. –Mark Twain

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Right leg ...

Right leg was a little sore this morning, but by midday the right leg is feeling better and the body was feeling good. Looking forward to next weekend PMAA on the beach.

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Yesterday ...

Yesterday I had my first hyper pro class. :-) I then took a black belt class and a sparing class. I also got a leadership 2 credit for doing warm ups. We went over how we are going to do our self defenses; yellow through high red belt number one then in the same order we will do number 2 and so on. I also found out that I need someone to attack me for self defenses at testing. But now I am looking forward to my first mentee session. :-)

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I had to t...

I had to take another rest as I got a doctor to look at the foot and he did some magic and used some meds to get it back into shape but I had rest it as much as possible. I have another injection on Friday so the doctor said I would be ready to go . I did some work on push ups and sit ups but no jump rope or burpees.

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football game!!!

today was my grandpas birthday and also my favorite teams football game. we had a party for him and watched the game. today was a good day.

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Today I ru...

Today I running at the park.Also,I talked to friends.

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today I di...

today I did a lot of pogway forms and I have got them In the bag

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i sleet ov...

i sleet over at my grand mothers houes today. now i'm whacking the foot ball game

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i sleet ov...

i sleet over at my grand mothers houes today. now i'm whacking the foot ball game

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i sleet ov...

i sleet over at my grand mothers houes today. now i'm whacking the foot ball game

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i sleet ov...

i sleet over at my grand mothers houes today. now i'm whacking the foot ball game

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i sleet ov...

i sleet over at my grand mothers houes today. now i'm whacking the foot ball game

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i sleet ov...

i sleet over at my grand mothers houes today. now i'm whacking the foot ball game

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you can do what ever you put your mind to - Kyle Jackson

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back

i just came back from UNC, less than an hour ago. In the car i didn't feel like playing on my ipad, same with my sister, so for an hour we did meditation time. The car drive was 2 hours so.....pretty good. when we came back, Jacqueline face timed my sister and we talked for a while........i also got so many emails at the same time, because at UNC we couldn't get on to the internet or wifi, and in the car their was no wifi or internet.I guess time for homework....................

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Today I ju...

Today I just got home from a sleep over and I still got a lot of my requirements done. Also today is my dads birthday.

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Today wasn...

Today wasn't much of a busy day. Today we were just resting because yesterday we had this big celebration and I had to do some volunteer work there. I did do a lot of black belt stuff over the weekday though!!!!

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Today I we...

Today I went to the park with my family to do my running. While we were there we ran into our neighbors and talked to them for a while. Then we went to target to get some stuff for school this week. And now we are about to go swimming. Yay!

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Unexpected Guest

Today my Grandmother came over and I was not expecting it.  Usually, every Sunday we bring her to church, but this week we did not, so she decided to stay a little longer.  

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Going to w...

Going to work today. About to work out later. Also, hanging out with CJ so, it has been a cool weekend.

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Going to w...

Going to work today. About to work out later. Also, hanging out with CJ so, it has been a cool weekend.

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Weight training

Smashed 2 of my fingers on weights in 2 days in a row and have tons of marks on my shins so need to keep working on that

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Weight training

Smashed 2 of my fingers on weights in 2 days in a row and have tons of marks on my shins so need to keep working on that

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Today was ...

Today was tough. We were at UNC for my older sister Heloise. We walked EVERYWHERE. I got a few more miles in. Now we are in a hotel, I still managed to do a few push ups and sit-ups.

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UNC Chapel hill

Today we visited my older sister at chapel hill. I'm at the hotel right now. I had enormous problems with this website. First MY ipad could not connect with the internet, so I'm using my dads ipad. We walked a ton today. We had a great time did some TKD requirements while we were waiting. We watched the first half of the football game, (live), I accidentally took a video. It was pretty great. We left at the first half, it was pretty late. But we had a great time.

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Today I to...

Today I took 2 classes of Taekwondo, a regular black belt class and a sparring class. Afterwards I went to the greek festival with my sister and her boyfriend. Overall a great day but i couldnt get any work in for my cycle training besides a bit a walking and the Taekwondo classes.

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Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. –Napoleon Hill

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Today I we...

Today I went to the lake Norman dojang to help with some classes and then went to black belt class. We worked on self defense mostly.

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MArcus Hendricks - 9/6

I was really fatigued during class today.  Got a lot of poomsaes today so im happy about that.  I really enjoy the new set up of how classes are now.  It allows higher belts more time to practice their forms which is very helpful.  It also gives the other blackbelts more help when it is time for BoCho Dans and 1st Degrees to take class.

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Saturday

Great day today and productive in my little world. Black belt class then sparring - -whew I was tired when it was all said and done however executive decision was made. From now on if I do both classes it's Rita's on the way home as a special treat. Requirements were not quite where I wanted them to be at the end of the day but the domestics are don,e except for groceries, so tomorrow is major focus day on requirements. I am gong to want to catch up in one day, well at least try, so I know come Monday by body is going to say what have you done to me. Hope everyone enjoys the rest of the weekend!!!

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9/6/14

Today I came back from camp Harrison where I had a lot of fun and did a lot of team building activities. when I got up I went to the north charlotte school and I did hyper pro, black belt class, and sparring and after all of that I was pooped. When I got home I logged what I did when I was gone and so that took a long time. My grandparents came in today and I have been having a lot of fun with them.

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Yesterday ...

Yesterday the old truck got worked on. Today this old body got worked on, thank you Miss Janet, need it bad.

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We had peo...

We had people look at our house today. Not sure if they liked it

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New Car

Today we went out and got a new car. It is red and really cool, but it does not have a TV, so we are stuck with the radio. It is still pretty cool.

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PushUps

My pushups have dramatically improved. My brother has helped me improve greatly. It's an amazing difference doing the amount I can do now in a row versus when I started the black belt cycle.

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PushUps

My pushups have dramatically improved. My brother has helped me improve greatly. It's an amazing difference doing the amount I can do now in a row versus when I started the black belt cycle.

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Today I ha...

Today I had a good sweat. Learning s lot of things I need to practice on. So I will practice those things and get better at it!

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Today I go...

Today I got up and did half my requirements then went to hyper pro, black belt and sparring class. I got a lot of extra requirements today. I spent my entire working on a very hard project. Looking forward to my one on one session with Master Shin tomorrow.

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My Grandpa

For the past two weeks my grandpa had been in town. He came to watch my classes and in October he is coming to move here.

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today I we...

today I went to a mentor session and a sparring class that got me a lot of requirements done. I came home after the classes and took a shower becuse Master Shin made us work out with kicks and sparring and i was sweaty :)

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Homework

On Friday, my teacher gave me homework over the weekend.  I was not happy about it.  After I got it done, it was not that bad because I knew I would have a normal weekend of doing requirements and chores.

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today was ...

today was fun exept i was sooooooo tired. i could barely keep my eyes open. i just wanted to sit on one of the benches in the do jang and fall asleep. well even after that i had to go to swimming which was ok considering that i was barely alive, but it was fun. at school i fineally got my keyboard to work and i can email everyone wich is ok and we can facetime random people.

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bbc

bbc was really fun today because we got to do hopkedo. I think hopkedo is really fun and I love it

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Marcus Hendricks - 9/5

The weather today was less than ideal.  Today felt pretty long.  Tomorrow I will be waking up early to help out the Hartle's.

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Today Was ...

Today Was Awesome My Mom And Dad Started The Day Off With A Big Breakfast. We Did Our School Work And ThenwWe Went Fishing I Caught A Large Mouth Bass. My Sister And Brother Caught A Bass Also And My Dad Caught A CatFish. It Was Fun.

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So tonight...

So tonight was catch up work on my truck, still need to do a little more but the main work is done. How I would love a new truck ,but to cheap to make the payments on new one. But must say I love working on the old thing.

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Today I go...

Today I got some one on one time with my master. He wanted to see where I was with my requirements.

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A sick day

I have been sniffling and sneezing this whole day. I have bad allergies and started my medicine today. My mom bought me some suckers that are made to help my throat. They really help me. I was able to work on some of my requirements even though I don't really feel well. I am looking forward to watching my little brother play his first soccer game of the season in the morning before I go to black belt class.

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3 mile Run

So glad that my running partners are back (Master Schneider and Roxy). We upped our usual 2 miles to 3 today. We were tired, but still managed to practice some Pal Gwe forms afterwards. Mentor session with the Lake Norman group before black belt class....Hap Ki Do, Pal Gwe forms and Wang Ho forms.

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School and...

School and then off to the airport to pick up Dad!

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Today i ha...

Today i have not done much but i am sore i do not know why. But today my is going to get ready for my brother's birthday party. It is going to be a Lego party and have all kinds of cool Lego stuff.

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Have a doc...

Have a doctors appointment on the foot, hope we are near the end of this part of the journey. I will let you know, tried to get a lot done yesterday so did forms and even did a cross fit class yesterday. Had fun getting back into the swing of things but I am finding that I have to start slowing done some, my body just can not take all the punishment anymore. Need to do things as a 50 year old and not as a 20 year old. I know you are saying you just figured this out, but I just hate to give in to realizing I am half a century plus old. Burkart out

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ITS FRIDAY...

ITS FRIDAY!!!!! Today is one of my only free days. My dad flys in today from Michigan. I'm so excited to see him. That also means I get to get out of school early to pick him up. Yay. This should be a good day.

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It was a f...

It was a full day because of the constant clouds and rain.. it made be feel very gloomy as well as the cold I had developed over night which was very rough throughout the night and during school! It restricted me from running because I was fatigued quicker, but I was able to do sparring class today so that was good! I feel as though I was starting to get better as the day progressed!

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It was a f...

It was a full day because of the constant clouds and rain.. it made be feel very gloomy as well as the cold I had developed over night which was very rough throughout the night and during school! It restricted me from running because I was fatigued quicker, but I was able to do sparring class today so that was good! I feel as though I was starting to get better as the day progressed!

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Fantasy Football.....

Long day....had demos for 2 Chesterbrook Academy Schools. Still trying to get everything straight for the After School Peeps. Top Team work out in the evening. Day 3 of 24 Day Challenge. Ate well, slept well last night. Tired right now, but it is almost midnight. Looking forward to the weekend. Started a Fantasy Football league today....woo hoo!

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I was tire...

I was tired this morning for school. My mom and brother had to wake me up. I had a good day at school. I was able to get my homework done before my tae kwon do classes tonight.

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Not a bad ...

Not a bad night , stated with a mentee sessions , family class, Black belt class , pmaa class and ended the night with a mentee sessions. Next week I will have have all three mentee at one time. Time management.

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i'm exited...

i'm exited, we are going to UNC this weekend because my big sister goes their. its family weekend and their will be a game also. i finely finished my leadership 2 or 1 i'm not sure i'll look at it, but i finely got my ipad and all the apps on it but i can't attach my bluetooth keyboard. its annoying.

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Today I ha...

Today I had another mentor session with my mentor and we went over hopkito 1-10 and basic forms 1-3 as well as other things. I also got to help out with the little tiger's class; for the first time! I look forward to working with my mentee this Tuesday hopefully.:-)

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Today I ha...

Today I had another mentor session with my mentor and we went over hopkito 1-10 and basic forms 1-3 as well as other things. I also got to help out with the little tiger's class; for the first time! I look forward to working with my mentee this Tuesday hopefully.:-)

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random

just ate dinner. Jacqueline and Sophie are bombarding me with emails. I had a great time at TKD, but I was a bit disappointed because we didn't get to run outside. I still can't get my keybaord to connect with my ipad. well, better go log my stuff!

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Yesterday ...

Yesterday we watched the Rachel's Challenge's presentation at school. It was very moving, almost everyone cried. It was about a young girl who was writing a journal about changing the world. She was part of the worst high school shooting in america. She was the first one killed in Cullenbine. She was secretly writing diaries about a chain reaction of kindness to stop bullying. If one person does something nice to you, you also want to do something nice to a different person to start a chain reaction of kindness. This girl was remembered for lots of wonderful things and the people who chose to do this terrible act killed her on Hitler's birthday because they were influenced by Hitler.

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Thursday

Fantastic class at South Charlotte tonight- - - non stop and a great mix - -yup we left soaked!!!! Normal- - left work then to the dojang, did requirements where I could work in and helped in class. Bottom line I am way far behind so I need to figure out my time management and basically put a wiggle in it. Wednesday night is the only night that I come home straight from work and I was so tired last night when I got home I sat on the couch and next thing I new my sandman captured me and it was all over. Got up, made dinner- - quite yummy - -roasted rosemary pork tenderloin and spinach/strawberry salad, then straight to bed. Quite embarrassing - -no requirements in but obviously my body was saying something else. I was out like a light by 8:30. Looking forward to a great weekend!!!!

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today I ha...

today I have a mentor session and a mentee session, then I took black belt class :)

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another da...

another day at school. Lots of homework. Science test tomorrow.

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Thursday, September 4

Yesterday I got my first mentee session in and helped with class. I am doing okay on requirements , but i am going to recalculate the requirements i have to do in hopes that they will be less because of the pre- cycle. so much studying ._.

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Sparring Class

Today in sparring class we did Korean Dancing. We also got in some jump rope rounds and sparring rounds of course. Really enjoyed it as always.

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Today I he...

Today I helped out with testing again and I saw my friend Jerren get his Bocho-Dan Black belt. I also broke a brick.

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Today i we...

Today i went to a community bible study (Otherwise known as CBS). It was the first day and my family goes every Thursday. I've gone before and i was in the same class i was last year i came. Today we had to bring something to tell about yourself and i brought my tae kwon do belt. I told my class all about the black belt cycle and all that. We got to go to the park afterwards. After that we went to my grandma's house and my little brother and sister went to swim class. My grandpa took me to a class and i got there early to meet with my mentee. We had a good time and we practiced pow chang sam chang and red/ high red self-defense 4-6. Then black belt class came and i took that. My brother met me for black belt class when he got...

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locker

Today I got my locker and now I wont have to carry all that stuff with me. It will be such a relief.

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Today is T...

Today is Thursday finally. I have tae Kwon do tonight and PE this morning at school. We are going to be doing physical stuff and setting goals. I'm kind of excited.

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Sweaty...

All Day... HVAC couldn't keep up with our AC loads for the past two days. I feel like I'm in Taiwan with the humidity and the heat inside. All sweat, all day. Keeps the muscles warm. Worked on hurricane hook kicks, still not at the speed nor the height that I would like but it's coming along. I have to keep in mind about rotating my hips over to prevent injury. Fruit punch spark is keeping me going. :)

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Today Was ...

Today Was ReallyFun. After My School Work I Got To Play Xbox With My Little Brother. Then I Went To Church For Bible Study. I Got Soaked Leaving Church Because It Was Raining Really Hard.

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Marcus Hendricks

Didn't get much sleep last night. Today felt very long. Hopefully tomorrow I'm feeling better. I'm planning to have my sparring class outside tomorrow as long as the weather holds up. 

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Day 2 of 24 Day Challenge

Today is day 2 of my Advocare Challenge! Have a ton of energy and feel great, got a lot done today, except for my run. Thought I was going to do a kick boxing class tonight with some of the candidates to get in some extra sparring rounds but it didn't happen, so then I was irritated with myself for not running. Will run tomorrow for sure. Had a great class with Master Evins this morning. I miss working out with him during the summer! Listened to 102.9 on and off as I could today to try to hear our new King Tiger radio commercials! So exciting! Let me know if you hear one!

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Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. –Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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by the way...

by the way, i was talking about the black belt sign in.

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ipads

i got my ipad from school today. its annoying, i couldn't log in because the login thing is right on top of the journal tab so with a touch screen it wouldn't work, so know i'm writing my journal on the computer. about today, everything was fun, we spent a lot of time in homeroom with our ipads, but yeah it was fun, especially that we have a science test tomorrow; i'll manage. ;)

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