The Ultimate Black Belt Test

Well, I was browsing the Internet yesterday when I came across this website: http://www.ultimateblackbelttest.com/index.asp
The Ultimate Black Belt Test (UBBT) is a personal growth challenge for brown and black belts of any discipline. The challenge lasts for 13 months, and has physical, mental, and spiritual requirements to complete within the year or so.
Physical: Complete 52,000 pushups and crunches
Run/walk 1000 miles
Complete 1000 rounds of sparring (at least 2 minute rounds)
150 hours of Jiu-Jitsu mat time.
Self-defense training
1000 repetitions of a single form
Become proficient in a Filipino "stick fighting" art
20 hours of boxing or Muay Thai.
Follow a diet program

Mental and Spiritual:
Read 12 books pertaining to management or philosophy
Go through a motivational course
One day of being in a wheelchair
One day being blind
One day being mute
Log 1000 acts of compassion
Be the catalyst for 50,000 acts of compassion
Right 3 wrongs or mend 3 broken relationships
Meditate 15 minutes a day
Participate in a community service project

There are also three training events that you have to attend with the other members of the team, plus the testing and graduation at the end.

When I read all of this, I was on the verge of crying, because I had been looking for a goal, some sort of challenge to achieve, and here it was! I'm going to talk with Mr. Coleman about it and ask him for his support. I figure I'll get Junior year out of the way, and start the program this coming summer before my Senior year. I'm so excited about this!!! There is a 15 year old boy living near my city who is working on completing his, so if he can do it, I can do it! Right now, I've decided to start training, so I'm getting up at 6 every morning and doing 150 pushups and crunches, I'm trying to eat healthier, and I'm going to talk to Mr. Coleman about other things I can do to prepare. Let me know what you think!

Tournament

Well, the tournament was last Saturday, and it went pretty well! I rode up with Rodney (one of our adult brown belts), and had a wonderful time getting to know him on a more casual level. I love getting to know people, because there's always a story behind them, something that you can't find out just by looking at them. Anyway, we had a lot of laughs, despite the fact that we were both sleepy (we left at 6:30 am).
We got to the tournament and got registered and changed, then waited for the opening ceremonies. It started at the usual 1 1/2 hours behind schedule, but once it started, it rolled right along! I watched the children's competition, then went out to lunch.
Got back just in time for breaking competition. We found out when we got to the tournament that the boards we broke had to be at least 3/4 inch. We had planned on using 1/2 inch boards, so we had to scavenge for full size boards and switch kicks around. I ended up breaking with 360 back kick, hammer fist, and 360 hook kick. I broke the first two no problem, but the hook kick gave me problems. I tried to break it two times (you're given 3 chances), but it hurt too much to try it a third time. Despite only breaking 2/3 of my boards, I took 2nd place and one of the masters came up to me and said he didn't know why it wouldn't break; it was a solid kick.
Directly after breaking was the demo competition. There were only two teams, so we were allowed to take our time setting up. The other team went first; they were good when they were actually doing TKD, but when they started doing this weird dance and then got on the floor and did the "worm", I lost a lot of respect for them. If you're going to do TKD, actually do TKD. Don't dress it up with dancing and gymnastics and whatnot. It looks cool, but it isn't martial arts. After they finished, we did our demo (and we did a knockout job, if I may say so). We broke all our boards, we kiyaped loudly, we used self-defense, showed a bo staff kata, and had some entertaining fight scenes. They won. Not sure how, but they won. But its alright, because we did our best and that's all that matters in the end.
My last division was forms, and there were only three 3rd dan girls aged 14-17, so I was guarenteed at least 3rd. All those months of training comes down to a 2 minute form, then its over. I thought I did very well on my form, as did the first girl who went. The third girl didn't have a lot of power, her movements were sloppy, and her kiyap was weak. I took 2nd. I was a little disappointed, but like I said earlier, I did my best.
Ms. Swing gave me a hug and said she thought my form was beautiful. Rodney sat me down and said, "You got first place. The color of you medal doesn't matter. You got first place." That made me smile. Mr. Coleman told me that the other girl was good, but he didn't like her rhythym. (she went a lot slower than I did, overexaggerating her moves). All in all, it was a great tournament!

Going away

I leave for job training tomorrow at the summer camp that I'm going to work at. Which means majorly cutting back on the TKD. The only class I'll actually be able to make is the 3 hour competitor's class every Saturday, and the tournament is in 3 weeks!! AHHH!!! I'm competing in forms and breaking. I'm confident about doing my form, but not so much the breaking. I'm planning on doing 360 hook kick, step behing side kick power break (3 or 4 boards), and step 360 roundhouse kick. Mr. Coleman wants me to do a speed break with the 360 round, but I'm not very comfortable with it at all. I tend to lean back when I'm in the air which throws my distance off. Ah, well. I'll practice at camp. So I probably won't be updating much this summer. I'll definitely write about the tournament, but that might be the only entry this summer. Well... BYE! :D

TKD Rocker? In ballet?

At my voice lesson yesterday, I was informed that I should look into taking a ballet class. I plan to go to college for musical theatre, and to do that, I have to be able to dance. I took a jazz class when I was in 6th grade, but that's the extent of my dance experience. TKD has given me balance, muscle control, and flexibility, but according to my voice teacher, I walk like an athlete when I'm onstage, not like a dancer. I want to improve my chances of getting into a musical theatre program, but that would mean cutting back on TKD. Its a decision that I'm struggling with, but I think that I will look into taking a basic ballet class, just to give me a good base in dancing. TKDmom, any advice on this? How does your ballet affect your TKD, and vice versa?

Did Curiosity Really Kill the Cat?

In light of Taekwondomom's post about looking at different dojangs, I thought I would post about one of my recent experiences.
About a month ago, a new martial arts school opened up in my town. Its called, "Macon's Martial Arts", and the first thing that caught my attention was the fact that they didn't advertise the style that they teach. Paulette told me that the style was American Karate, an art that was recently begun. She noted that that didn't make it bad, but to some traditionalists it has a negative connotation.
So one day before tkd I had some time to kill, so I decided to check out "Macon's". I didn't go in (he had a student with him and I didn't want to interrupt), but I observed from the front window. The first thing I noticed was his black belt. It simply had the name Macon on it in gold; no school name or anything. It seemed a bit fake to me, like you could just order it on the internet (of course, my opinion is biased, but oh well)! In fact, everything about the dojang looked a bit fake. Like they were trying so hard to make it look real, that it just looked phony.
I talked to Paulette about it that night (we tend to share ideas and comments with eachother first, before we take anything to Mr. Coleman), and she told me that it was alright to be curious about other styles, but to make sure its ok with Mr. Coleman before I open that door and go inside. I know Mr. Coleman's policy is that no student should train at another school while they are still students at our dojang, but I wouldn't be training, would I? The last thing I want is for Mr. Coleman to be upset/disappointed/angry with me (he's like a second dad, and I would feel horrible if there were any negative feelings between us). So, I've decided to simply drop the matter for now. My curiosity can wait. I just wanted to see what everyone else thought about it.

Drunken Kung Fu

Does anyone know anything about this style? I'm sure its a fine art, but I have to laugh every time I watch it. Click here and you'll see why: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fT2qtoB1sg&search=Drunken%20Kung%20Fu
Be sure to watch the entire video to get the "full effect".

Exams are OVER

Wow, I finally have time to breathe, now that exams are over! The past couple of months have gone really well regarding Taekwondo. I'm teaching tonight for Mr. Coleman. I've also been going to the black belt classes that we have once a month. The latest one was especially fun. It was just me and Max (an older black belt), so we did some take-down sparring drills (its like sparring, except more realistic. Less kicks and more grappling). Max outweighed me by a lot, so it was easy for him to swing me around, but Mr. Coleman told me I got in a few good shots as well.
Yesterday, I had a private lesson with Mr. Coleman (I'm doing a set of five this spring, and probably another set in the fall). I love the private lessons because its just one-on-one, and we can work on more advanced techniques that I don't learn in class. We worked on my form (Taebek) for about 45 minutes, and we nitpicked the heck out of it! He gave me something to work on for every single move in the form, and I loved every minute of it! I wrote all the notes down and I've been practicing nonstop. Mr. Coleman wants me to compete with it at the State Championships this summer, so yay! After working on Taebek, we did some wrist locks and arm bars on the mats, which I really enjoyed! I found out how difficult it is to take down a grown man, and how much I still have to learn. It really deepened my conviction about training with larger guys, because I could barely take Mr. Coleman down, and I'm pretty sure he wasn't going full force. So that's what I'm going to focus on for the rest of my private lessons: Improving my self-defense and learning how much force I need to exert in order to take down the average male.
As promised, here's some more about weapons: Out of all the weapons, the bo is by far my favorite weapon. I just take to it, and love the gracefullness of it sliding through your hands. As to Taekwondomom's question, "Is it hard to learn?", I'm not sure. I began training with it when I was 9 or 10, and can't remember much. I suppose it would be a bit easier for an adult to learn, because you've developed enough muscle to handle it, and your mind can grasp the concepts easier than a child. I'll write more later - my OC is over.

New Schtuff

Wow, I finally have time to update! Last week, I was pushed headfirst into my new teaching role. My master called me Monday morning (sounding sick as a dog), and asked me if I could teach class in Troy that night. Teaching in Asheboro is one thing, because I know most of the students. But I hardly know anyone from the Troy gym, so I anticipated some awkwardness. Overall, it went pretty well. I established my authority, we did some kicking drills, bag drills, and self-defense.
Turns out Mr. Coleman was very sick that week, so I ended up teaching on Friday and Saturday as well. It was a little tedious (I didn't get to workout at all this week), but it gave me a chance to hone my teaching strategies.
Letsee, I've also been taking private lessons with Mr. Coleman. We mostly work on punching (jabs, hooks, reverses, uppercuts), and I'm learning a more realistic fighting style (less kicks, more grappling/punching). Its really fun!
As per Taekwondomom's request, I will now talk about weapons. Our gym offers Traditional Okinawan Kempo Kubodo Karate (we just call it Kubodo). We learn bo staff, sai, tonfa, ecubo, and nunchucku. My personal favorite is bo. I don't really have time to write much about it (i have to get to class), but I'll post again with more details on weapons.

First Teaching Experience

I taught my first class today!!! Ahhh!! Mr. Coleman is in Virginia for the weekend for a teacher's workshop or something, so he asked me to cover both saturday classes. So I got to the dojang this morning around 9:15, and there was a sign on the door that said "Classes closed due to bad weather". (It was supposed to snow, but it only turned out to be rain). So I unlocked and checked the phone messages just to make sure that it wasn't some mistake. My mom called my cell phone and said that Mr. Coleman had just called her and said to take down the sign and have class. So I did! Gerald was there as an adult, because there has to be someone over 18 present during all classes, but other than that, I was on my own! Only 10 people showed up for all belts, which I was very relieved about. I took my time with warmups (Brian's advice was to stretch warmups out as long as possible the first couple of times you teach, so you would limit your time and not run out of things to do). Then we did some kicking drills to get them sweating. After that, I had them do forms, get a drink of water, then we kicked the bags. I tried to spice it up a little, so after kicking the bags, I had them all get in a line to do flying sidekicks, and we had a contest to see how far everyone could jump. Then I ended with a game of Instructor Says. Whew! It wasn't as nervewracking as I thought it was going to be! I also taught weapons, but I've done that before so it was no big deal. So.... Yay! :D

Testing

I tested for my first progress stripe yesterday! It wasn't a large ordeal, because there was only one other person testing (neither of us could make it to the all-school testing in a few weeks). I sustained a total of two injuries from testing this time around. The first one happened when we were doing self-defense. My partner used a hip throw on me, and I landed on the hardwood floor directly on my right knee. OWWW!!! Mr. Coleman and Paulette helped me hobble to the back room, where we concluded that the most it would amount to was a painful bruise (and boy, it is!) So I walked it off, and joined back in. Doing my forms helped my knee to feel a little better, and it didn't hinder me either, so that's good. Then it was time for breaking. The pain in my knee was just a dull throb by this time, so I decided to try my 360 hook kick (my favorite kick at the moment). I was a little worried because we didn't have any 1/2 inch boards (the standard board used for hook kicks) so I had to use a full inch one. I broke it on the first try, but the pain was almost more than I could stand. My entire left foot felt like it was going to fall off! I went and leaned against one of the poles while the other student broke, trying to ignore the pain. We both passed, and I got my white stripe on my belt; the first step in a long wait for my 4th dan. Just a little less than 3 years to go! :D

Good News or Bad News?

Well, I can't decide whether I'm relieved or disappointed, but I didn't have to teach this morning. I got to the dojang around 9:30 so I could open up, and saw that Mr. Coleman was already there. We had 30 minutes until class was supposed to start, so he gave me a pair of boxing gloves and we practiced jabs, reverse punches, uppercuts, and hook punches. Then he put on a pair of hand pads, and we.... Well, I guess you could say we boxed. That's what it reminded me of, anyway. He's never done anything like that with me before, so I didn't really know what to think.... but I liked it! Its the first time in a while that I've been so focused. In class, I find myself going through the motions sometimes, and not focusing my entire attention on what I'm doing. But this was a new, exciting thing, so my focus was intense, which was awesome!
For all-belts, I led warmups and stretching, and then Mr. Coleman took over while I assisted with the lower belts. I kind of like this new leadership position... Its neat. Then for Kubodo class, I taught the first 15-20 minutes. And now.... I'm exhausted. My hands are literally shaking as I type this! I think I'll go take a nap....

Long Time

Long time, no post! My life is currently being simultaneously consumed by school and Taekwondo. I've been going to class everyday most weeks, and really getting involved. Last night was self-defense, which was unusually small, but still fun. After class, Mr. Coleman asked me if I would be able to teach both classes on Saturday. The response in my head was, "Come again? Both classes? By myself?!" Apparently, he thinks I'm ready to handle that. Personally, I don't feel the same way, but I'll trust his judgement. I've already got the whole class planned out, so I don't blank out in the middle of it: 10-15 minutes of warmups/stretching. 15-20 minutes of kicking drills. 15-20 minutes of forms, along with a water break. Then about 5 minutes of "Instructor Says" at the very end. I'll post to let everyone know how it goes!

The End of Kim's Black Belt Academy

Tonight I attended my last Taekwondo class at Kim's Black Belt Academy. Due to some changes in my master's personal life (Out of respect, I prefer not to post about them), he has decided to take on a co-owner (Paulette!) and thus dissolve the school. Our new school will be called Kim's School of Martial Arts, and we've all been assured that it will essentially be the same. I'm a little apprehensive, though. I've been with the school for almost 11 years, and I'm kind of sad to see it go, but I'm glad that we're expanding and growing.
Something weird happened during class. We were doing self-defense and I was having trouble with a wrist-lock, so Mr. Coleman came over to help. He took my arm and put the wrist-lock on, but sharper and faster than normal, which made it hurt a lot more. Now understand, I have faith that Mr. Coleman knows what he's doing, and I would trust him with my life, but the fact that he didn't seem to notice how much he was hurting me confused me a little. I was so distracted by the pain that I could barely focus on what he was telling me. It reminded me of something TaekwondoMom said in one of her posts about Master Hughes inadvertantly hurting one of his students. Hmm.... Comments??

I'm Back Full Blast!!

Wow, today was the best Taekwondo day I've had in awhile. School was cancelled because of the ice, but Mr. Coleman said we would still have class. I was hoping for a small crowd//no one, because its always more fun and relaxed in small groups (plus, you get a lot more done). When I got to the dojang, Brian was the only one there. He said that Mr. Coleman couldn't make it, so I was going to have to help him teach class. Weapons was first, and nobody showed up for it, so the two of us spent a lot of time on the bo katas, then moved to sai, and finally tonfa. We finished up early, so we tried some self-defense moves on each other, which was really fun. We used a technique that Mr. Coleman just recently began teaching us, where the person that is attacking doesn't just sit there and wait for you to take them down. They grab you and shake you around and try to pull you away, so you have to find a way to manuever them down to the ground. I like it, because its much more realistic and can prepare you for potential "scuffles" that you may have on the street. I also enjoyed working with an adult who is larger than I am, because it helps me to figure out how much force I need to use when defending against the average male. I mean, come on; There will never be a time in my life when a five foot little man//dwarf attacks me. Its most likely going to be somebody significantly larger than me, and that's the main complaint that I have about Mr. Coleman at the moment. I always have to partner with little kids or other small adults. Anyway, I'm getting off-track. Self defense/sparring class was pretty fun. We had about eight people, so we all got a lot more individual attention. I hit Brian in the jaw.... twice.... But not on purpose! :) Brian had me lead warmups, then do some kicking drills and combinations before we started. It was good practice for me, and I think I'm improving a little more with my teaching skills. We just did drills during sparring; no freespar... :( But it was still a good workout! After class, Brian and I went over one of the harder bo katas a few times, then I helped him lock up. I think Brian's probably my favorite taekwondo person. He treats me like the young adult that I'm becoming, and doesn't make any allowances for my height//size. He doesn't go easy on me at all, and that's what I admire him for. We also have a lot of the same ideas//thoughts about where the dojang is headed and what kind of improvements could be made. Anway, its cool, and I'm really happy that I'm getting more and more out of tkd.

Sorry

Wow, its been a long time since I've blogged! School has been evil to me, but exams will be over soon and I'll have a lot more time to post here. Umm..... Letsee.... Some recent things that have happened: I got my testing application for my 1st progress stripe! Also got my testing application for kubodo. Mr. Coleman said he wanted to move me up to the higher levels because I'd been doing it for so long (before they had a belt system for it). I've got a demo coming up in a couple of weeks at Brian's church (again!) they really seem to like us. Gotta go, my free period is almost over ("yay" for chemistry tests).

Ow...

I got punched in the nose at tkd last night! My instructor was demonstrating how to get out of a bear hug, and after she broke free of my arms, she turned around to "finish me off" and hit me square on the nose! (I guess she misjudged the distance or something). It didn't bleed, but it hurt! And now I have a bruise on the bridge of my nose. Haha, I thought it was fun (yes, I'm a weirdo) 'cause now I can say that I've been clocked! That's such a fun phrase.... I'm rambling. :D

Teaching Notes

These are some notes I took over the weekend to help me with my teaching; give me your perspective or add on to what I've got!
-Warmups: Use judgement; younger kids are flexible and don't need a lot of stretching. Always do jumping jacks, crunches, pushups, and basic floor stretches.
-Speak LOUDLY!!!
-Always go over basic commands and stretches when new students are in class.
- Try not to unintentionally degrade students. Tell them its alright if they need to review a form. Be gracious, but remember that higher belts are expected to remember their old forms.
- Don't tolerate disrespect; assign a pushup if someone doesn't answer "yes ma'am" or if someone is goofing off and not listening.
- Try to learn most of the student's names in order to make class a more personal experience for them.
-When correcting someone, always give an explanation.
-When correcting someone, try to address the entire class so as not to humiliate the student.
-Learn what kicks each belt level is expected to know.
-Variety; don't do one thing the entire class (i.e. forms). Mix it up so students don't get bored.

The Weekend

I practically lived in my tkd uniform this weekend! On Friday, there were only two people in class (Brian taught), so I led warmups and helped the other student (Thomas), with his form. We did tumbling on the mats next, which is always a lot of fun. Then Brian set up an obstacle course for us: We had to run and jump over a rope, tumble, then kick the bag. It was a great workout and it really improves your balance and coordination. We worked on falling and throws next, which is also something I enjoy (Although I must say that after being repeatedly slammed on the floor first by Thomas, then Brian who was using me to demonstrate, I started to get sore)! After class I told Brian that Mr. Coleman wanted me to start teaching. He was really supportive and told me I'd be great at it. I still have some hesitation, but I think I'm getting used to the idea of teaching.
Mr. Coleman taught class on Saturday, and he had me teach the first 20 minutes of all-belts class. We had fairly large attendance that day, so I was a little intimidated. I started out with my usual warmup routine, then went over the basic Korean commands (we had new students in class). We did some basic kicking, and then Mr. Coleman took over. The next class was weapons, and only me and Nick (a black belt, maybe 12 or 13) stayed. Mr. Coleman had me teach the entire class!! We basically just went over the katas and concentrated on anything Nick needed help with. Mr. Coleman stood by and gave me advice and pointers every so often. I took some notes after class and will post them sometime tomorrow. Anyway, it was a really great experience, and a good way to start out with just one person in class. I think what really intimidates me about teaching is the size of the class. I was completely at ease teaching Nick, but when I get in front of 20 people, I freeze up. I guess it just comes with experience.
Sunday we had a demo (demonstration) at a church youth group. We have a demo team which I've been on since I was about 7, and we perform at the mall, at special events, in parades, and in competitions. I love it because it combines both of my passions: Tkd and acting. We choreograph little scenarios where a "good guy" gets attacked by several "bad guys", and the "good guy" kicks tail. I mostly play the "good guys", but I think the "bad guys" are more fun because you get to exaggerate how hurt you are (doubling over when you're kicked, limping, etc.) Anyway, we put together a little demo for this youth group. I was a "good guy" in one of the scenarios, I performed a sai kata (Shihoto Kyano Sai), and I broke a board with a 360 back hook kick. It was fun, and I have another one coming up in a couple of weeks, which is mostly going to be self-defense. Its nothing big (just me, Brian, and Paulette), but it'll still be fun! Wow, this has been a long entry; I'd better go to bed!

Ooh, Shiny Special!!

I didn't have school today and I don't have it tomorrow either (teacher workdays), so in my eagerness to get out of my boring house, I left for tkd about 15 minutes earlier than normal. No one was there when I arrived, so I just sat in my car for awhile. When it was about 5 minutes till class was supposed to start, I called Mr. Coleman on his cell phone; he said he was running a little late and was just around the corner. When he got there he asked me if I wanted to start teaching (One thing I've noticed in TaeKwonDoMom's blog is that she always writes about children leading the class, and that surprised me because only adults are allowed to teach the whole class at my dojang). I was taken aback because the most that I've done with instructing the entire class is getting them lined up and doing warmups. I said yes, but I think he sensed that I was hesitant, so he said that he would start to gradually let me teach more of the class. I thought about it a lot during class, and I think it would be a good learning experience for me (plus the extra money I'd be making).
I was the only one there for weapons class, so we got to work on whatever I thought I needed help in. We started with tonfa; I was a little rusty (I hadn't been to weapons in a few months) but it started coming back to me after a few minutes. I reviewed my old tonfa forms, then learned a new kata that Mr. Coleman had started teaching us. Its called "Matte ush No Tonfa Ich", and I definitely didn't spell that right! We worked on bo staff next (its my favorite weapon). We went over the Takyooku Shodan and Nidan, then I learned one called "Chunakun Bo One". I had started to learn it a while ago, but had forgotten most of it. Last, we went over "Shihunuke Bo One".
Master Lucas wasn't there for self-defense tonight, and Mr. Coleman focused a lot on proper blocking. We didn't do anything fancy, just different types of blocks that turn into wrist locks. I didn't find it tedious (like I did earlier this week), but found it enjoyable. I was in a group of 3, so whenever I wasn't in, Mr. Coleman asked me to go around and help the younger children. It was... An experience.... And that's all I'll say about that! :P
I stayed for sparring, and after we all had our gear on, Mr. Coleman told me to get them lined up, bow them in, have them pair up, and then start them with a patachagi counter drill. He said he would start letting me teach, but I didn't think it'd be so soon! I thought I did pretty well, considering I was caught by surprise. We did a few drills (I was paired with Blakely), then we freesparred. I don't know why, but think I actually did pretty well with sparring tonight. Sometimes I'm on, and sometimes I'm off. Tonight was great; my back kicks were straight, I got a crescent kick in, and I used my double round kick a lot. We did some ring sparring last (I didn't get to spar, but I was one of the coaches). All in all, it was a great class!
I'm helping out with a demo this Sunday at a student's youth group, so that should be fun. I've also got a demo with Brian's church in about two weeks, so I should have some interesting things to post about soon!

In Which I Complain like a Little Kid

Why do I have to be so short?! I get so frustrated sometimes in class, when I'm not allowed to pair with someone of my rank just because I'm smaller. Tonight especially; Brian, Adam, and Jarrell were the adults in class, and when we paired up for sparring drills I got put with a 7 year old. Goody goody. I can understand that Mr. Coleman didn't have a choice with that, because no one else his size had any sparring gear, but when we switched to self-defense (where sparring gear is not needed) Mr. Coleman kept me with him. Even though there were several kids his size, I had to stay with him. And guess what I got to do while Brian, Adam, and Jarrell worked on advanced self-defense. I got to block, and punch. Block, and punch. Over and over and over and over. I didn't even get sweaty. Arrrghhh, I just can't describe what I'm feeling right now. I want to talk to Mr. Coleman about it, but at the same time I'm afraid that he won't hear me out. Maybe I should give him the url to my blog so I can tell him indirectly...

Wow.... Just....Wow....

Wow... I am in awe.... This morning started out well with an all-belts class. There were only three of us, so Mr. Coleman had us work mostly on forms. I got to review my old forms and tweak a few minor things, which was good. Then we did something we usually don't do; we talked. Mr. Coleman asked us what our goals were in Tae Kwon Do, and life in general. I told him that I don't see myself doing martial arts as a profession, but its become such a way of life for me, I don't think I'll ever quit. I also shared that one of my goals in life was to drive through a toll booth and pay for myself and the next five cars that come through. It seems pretty random, but I've always wanted to do that, just to make a few strangers smile.
After class I got a quick lunch, ran a couple of errands, then was back at tkd for the four hour self-defense seminar. We spent the first 20 minutes or so, just talking about what self-defense was, and going over the three A's (Awareness, Assessment, & Action). Next we paired up (I was with Paulette, which I was glad about. She's very serious about martial arts, but knows how to have fun at the same time).
We started with wrist locks, which I've always found rather complicated (If I ever get into a situation, I think I would just panic and twist the arm in a random direction and just pray that it hurts them!) At one point, Paulette had me in a lock, but I didn't feel any pain; so Mr. Coleman came over, took my wrist, and I let out a yelp because the pain surprised me so much!
We moved on to arm bars and sweeps, which I'm more comfortable with. Its easier for me to have control over the whole body, not just the wrist. One of the distractions that Master Lucas showed us was a strike to the chest area, before locking the body up. Needless to say, that wasn't very fun for us women, and I think we'll all be a little sore tomorrow!
Next came my favorite part; working with weapons. We started with escaping from someone who has a knife to your throat from behind. I think I got "stabbed" in the back and "slit" my wrists a couple of times in the process of learning. Then we worked on disarming someone who is attacking you with a knife from the front. Master Lucas came over and corrected me when I let go of my attacker's wrist for a split second in order to change my hold. Its very important to always be in control of the weapon; you can strike and hit all you want with one hand, but always keep your attacker's wrist locked up with the other hand.
We practiced with guns next (no, not real ones!) and I definitley got "shot" a few times! We started with a gun to the center of your forehead. You don't make any sudden movements, or you're dead. You slowly raise your hands up and play the coward: "Hey man, what do you want? Do you want my money? Can I get my wallet out?" Then you turn to the side so the bullet goes right past your forehead if they pull the trigger, and grab the gun by the top, so they can't fire again; bring it up, and twist it upside down so the barrel is facing them, then bring your arms down and break it out of their hand. Another one we practiced was if someone has a gun in your back. Again, play the coward, but you have to look to see if its just your friend messing around, or if its for real. Then you spin to the outside of them and lock their arm. Strike them, kick them, then take the gun and clear the area.
We ended with a pizza party and question & answer session. It was amazing; I could do an 8 hour session of this stuff and not get bored! It was most definitley worth the $25, and I can't wait until the next one!

Cool Blog

Hey everyone, check out this very neat tkd blog, by TaeKwonDoMom: http://taekwondomom.blogspot.com/
I really enjoy reading her entries as they are so thoughtful and detailed. She also posts some really cool pics and videos.
I've been forbidden by my mom to go to tkd tonight because I woke up at 2:30 in the morning with a migraine, and ended up getting a grand total of 4 hours of sleep. I'm feeling a little better because I conked out on a couch during my lunch period today, but I'm still really tired. But no worries; by tomorrow night I'll have 5 hours of tkd to write about, so you'll just have to wait till then!

Alive and Kicking

Hey all, I've been sick for most of this week with a really random stomach bug. I didn't throw up at all, but I had a fever and felt nausous all the time... Weird... Anyway, I felt better today so I went for the self-defense/sparring class tonight. Brian taught class tonight because Mr. Coleman was sick. (I've heard TaeKwonDoMom talk about Brian A. from her school, and he always reminded me of the Brian from my school). He's not a very big man, but he's got a powerful presence and is great with kids. Rodney was there as well; I mentioned in an earlier post that he had hurt his leg while sparring. Well, apparently he hurt it pretty bad, cause he had a cast going all the way up his thigh. I feel bad for him 'cause I know he's going to miss training a lot; I hope he's back on his feet soon. Before class, Brian showed me a couple of self-defense moves that he likes, and asked me if I would help out with a demo that he was doing for the girls in his church youth group. Of course I said yes (I love demos!) so that should give me something interesting to write about later on. For self-defense I was hoping to get paired with Max, 'cause he always improvises his moves and makes it more of a challenge, but Brian put me with one of the new white belts named Matthew. I was kind of disappointed at first, but I ended up having a good time. He's about 17 years old, so he didn't have the ADD little kid personality, and he was very proficient in his moves for a beginner; I was impressed. We did pretty basic moves for self-defense, but it was still good to review the old stuff. Next was sparring, and I was paired with a purple belt, I'm not sure of his name; he's very quiet and never talks to anyone. So we started doing some drills and it was just weird. He was so constant in his movements and he didn't react to anything at all. He even had this little smirk on his face, like he knew that he was unnerving me. That frustrated me for some reason, and I started kicking harder and faster. I'm usually not very agressive at all, but I guess after three days of laying on a couch and doing nothing, I had gotten a little restless. I don't know why I got so frustrated with him, but it just kind of happened. We didn't get to free spar today, but it was still a really good workout. I can't wait for Saturday; Four hours of hardcore self-defense with Mr. Coleman and Master Lucas (and then a pizza party, but that's beside the point!)

Ouch....

I think I broke my big toe at tkd last night.... It hurts.... And I had to walk all over campus today and was in extreme agony.... But I'm going to tkd tonight anyway.... 'Cause I'm stubborn like that. :) In other news that is completely unrelated to tkd, I have a date to TWIRP this year! (Twirp is like Sadie Hawkins - I think it stands for The Woman Is Responisble for Paying, or something). Anyway, that's really exciting, and if you'll give me a couple of hours I'll come up with a long and complicated explanation as to how that is related to tkd! ;) If anything exciting happens tonight, I'll write.

First Wish Granted!

A couple of entries back I said that I wanted to spar an adult who was larger than me. Well, my wish came true tonight! I went to the half self-defense, half sparring class, and stayed for sparring, which is unusual for me. Max (an adult) was there, so I asked Mr. Coleman if I could spar him. He kind of looked at me for a second, then just said "no". I was disappointed. Especially when I ended up in a group of three with Max and Paulette, and Mr. Coleman told us to switch off from me and Paulette, to Paulette and Max. So I spar a couple of rounds with Paulette, and when I'm not sparring I stand to the side and watch. Mr. Coleman comes over and tousles my hair (actually, I was wearing a head-guard, so I guess he tousled my helmet)... I think he was trying to make me feel better because I looked really disappointed. I guess it helped a little.... A few minutes later Paulette asked to get a drink of water, which left me and Max. I was unsure of what to do; I didn't want to disobey my instructor, but I wanted to spar with Max. It was decided for me when Max pulled me around by my hogu (chest protector) and started sparring. It was really fun, and I got a few good kicks in (I actually kicked him really hard in the butt by accident)! Heehee! Mr. Coleman stopped that match early and paired me up with Blakely and Jessica (both are probably 12 or 13). I couldn't tell if he was mad at me or not... Next we all sat on the side and had a couple of single matches with referees and judges, like in a tournament. I sparred with Blakely and won, 3-2. It was a good match and I really enjoy sparring with her. After class, I was trying not to look Mr. Coleman in the eye, because I was afraid that he was mad at me for sparring Max after he told me I couldn't. But he acted normal and said goodbye to me and everything (I was expecting a strict lecture about "obeying your instructor")! So that's my story for today... Yep... Goodnight!

Memories

Over the time that I've been in TKD I've collected a lot of memories. This is one of the funnier ones that randomly came to my mind during Chemistry class:
I was six or seven years old, probably a yellow or blue belt, at an all-belts class. There were about 10 minutes left, so the instructor decided to have a little fun and let us have a go at him, one at a time. When I was that age, I was fearless; I thought that I could take out the biggest guys with all 60 lbs and 3 1/2 feet of me. When it was my turn to spar the instructor, my 6 year old mind thought that I could catch him off-guard by charging full-blast at him with a flying sidekick. Of course, with me being 3 1/2 feet tall, and him being almost 7 feet tall, that didn't quite work out. He ended up catching me in midair and holding me upside down by my ankles!
Heehee! Well, that's my entry for today, and if you don't learn anything else from this blog, remember to never charge your instructor with a flying sidekick; you'll just end up having all your blood rushing to your head! :)

My knuckles hurt...

I went to all-belts tonight, and got a good workout. Blakely, one of the younger black belts (maybe 13), did warmups for the first time, and did pretty well considering it was a large class! Mr. Coleman (Sah Bum Nim) taught tonight, so I knew I was in for a hard workout. I'm always somewhat more focused when Mr. Coleman teaches, rather than an assistant instructor... I guess because he's taught me since I was six, and I have a huge amount of respect for him. Not that I don't have respect for the others, its just that they've trained more with me than over me. As you can tell from the title, my knuckles hurt. This is because I made the choice to do knuckle pushups on cinder blocks. Now I know you're all thinking why anyone in their right mind would ever do that, but its supposed to improve my punch (although I'm considering just doing regular pushups on the blocks 'cause my knuckles are getting seriously messed up!) While we were practicing kicking, I noticed Master Lucas observing the class from the back and I stepped up my game; maybe to impress him? I'm not sure, I just know I stepped it up. I polished up my 360 back kick tonight, and worked on my form (I'm still mixing up my hands on the last two blocks, because I learned it the wrong way and can't seem to break the habit). Then it was sparring time! I don't usually enjoy sparring, but I did tonight for some reason. I practiced some drills with Blakely and then I free sparred with her. She's a good opponent and it was quite fun to try out some new combinations. Then Mr. Coleman asked who wanted to spar Rodney (one of the adults). I wanted a challenge so I raised my hand, but he picked someone else. These past few months I've started wanting to spar someone significantly older and larger than me and not have them go easy on me, just to see what I can do. I know they don't mean anything, but I feel slightly offended when someone goes easy on my just because I'm a girl or because I'm smaller than them; just because I'm small doesn't mean I can't handle myself. Anyway, he picked someone else, and about 10 seconds into the round, Rodney hurt his leg really badly and couldn't walk; he had to have a person at each arm to help him out to his car. Hope its nothing too serious... Well, that's all for today. I'm going to the 10:00 class tomorrow morning so I'll write if anything interesting happens. 'Night!

Back Again

Well, I'm in my OC (open campus) at school, so I thought I'd write about TKD class last night. It was half self-defense, half sparring (I could only stay for the first half... Stupid homework....) For self-defense, my instructor sometimes combines teaching with his friend, Master Lucas (or Menkio Sensai, as we're supposed to call him). Let me start by saying that he is so COOL! He is one of the most intelligent people I've ever met, and not just about tkd. He knows a lot about life in general, and incorporates it into his teaching. I've been in just three of his classes so far, but I've learned so much in that time, its amazing! He teaches escapes from basic holds, then shows the adults and advanced belts how to take it to the floor. We get to try it on eachother, but you really have to work at it because your attacker is flailing and struggling the whole time you're trying to put them in the hold. After struggling with my opponent for several minutes I said, "forget about the hold," and slammed my hand beside his head in a "mock punch" and got a pressure point on his neck until he tapped out. That's what he encourages us to do, because there are so many "what-ifs" involved. If that had been a real fight and I had just kept on trying to get the hold on him, he probably would have won in the end because he had more mass and weight power against me. But punching works just as well! I can't wait till the 24th! He and Mr. Coleman are doing a four hour self-defense seminar! Its gonna rock!! Ah, time for lunch. I might go to tkd tonight; if so, I'll write about it.

Hey All!

Welcome to my TKD blog! My name's Pam and I'm 16 years old. I've been training in TKD for about 10 years (since I was 6), and I passed my 3rd dan test this past December. I should be up for a promotion stripe sometime this fall, so yay! Anyway, my long term goal at the moment is to test for my 4th dan before I go to college, in about 3 years. So I thought that I'd make this blog to keep up with my goals and record any accomplishments I happen to make (its usually by mistake!) ;) Its also for accountability; if I set a goal, I want my readers to make sure that I keep up with it, so please help me with that! :D I'm in school now and classes are about to change, but I'll post more during my open campus today. Until then, kick, punch, and rock out!