Saturday happenings....

I went to Black Tiger today and participated in their Dan training class. They don't call it 'cit' or anything like that, but it's for the belts to perfect the teaching techniques. I really liked it. I felt like I was in a good place. They had people from the Legacy school as well as the Russell Creek school there. They were ALL very friendly and very nice. They treated me like one of their own. There wasn't any "I'm a higher Dan than you, so I am perfect" with them. I spent time with a Second Dan who had just come back from a very long car trip. She was fun! She explained a lot of things to me and talked to me about the school, how they run things, etc. I heard about Master Gutt (pronounced as in Glute, but without the "L") and about Grand Master Kim. They teach Mu Do Kwan style Tang Soo Do. I found out that I know a "master" form in Sip Soo, which I found most interesting. They don't teach Jin Do or Sip Soo until you're training for your fourth Dan. Their way of doing Nahainchi Ee Dan was different. They do it this way: high knife hand block (x-block), double elbow to the sternum, then the hand thing where you do the double punch to the sternum and trap the hand. That's where they do it differently--they do it as a block to the leg with the hand. It was a lot different from what I've learned.

We did Keecho Hyung Il Bu and Master P (a sixth Dan) emphasized using your hips. I found it challenging to do Keecho Hyung Il Bu when he said to do it double up (down block, same stance, down block again!). I wanted to keep going on with my form. I certainly was not the slowest one there, but they were going for slow.

Another interesting thing that sort of made me cringe, but makes me feel good too is the fitness aspect of it. They want you to be physically fit, so they do have a requirement to do x number of push ups, x number of crunches for your age/sex/rank. They do require that you are able to run a mile, just like USMA. They said that for my age/sex/rank, I should probably be able to run a mile in somewhere around 11 minutes or so. (can we all say "ICK"???)

I may lay low for a while. I'm very bummed about having to leave USMA. I feel like I wasn't needed over there. It definitely wasn't fun anymore. It was a drag to have to go in every week. I didn't/don't feel like he's even noticed I'm not there. Tony said he was going to send me an email but I've still not gotten anything. Oh well.

For now, I think I'm going to concentrate on getting my fitness levels up and then we'll see about karate again. I want to get some of this extra weight off. I did meet some really nice people there today. They're cool. It doesn't feel so different from what USMA was when I started--like a huge extended family. I've got to go the rest of this month without karate because I can't really afford it, but we'll see what next month brings.

Monday again

Today has been a great day and the end to my long weekend. However, I only go to work for two days, then I'm off again for another four day weekend...no, I take that back! The next weekend will be a five day weekend! LOL!!
I'm going to Corpus Christi with Aidan this coming weekend. We leave at 5:00 am and will get to Corpus by 1-2 in the afternoon. We are going to visit the USS Lexington next weekend with Den 2 of our Cub Scout Pack. They didn't have enough people to make up the requirement, so they opened it up to others in the Pack. I, of course, jumped up and down and begged to go (not literally), so we're going. I'm looking forward to it more than Aidan is!! hee hee!!

I went to class tonight and actually got in a workout! I felt it tonight. I worked on one of my second dan forms and some of the older forms that I need to practice. I can tell I haven't been working on them since I had an issue remembering the moves. Nahainchi Ee Dan starts out with a step with your left foot in front of your right. At the same time, you bring your hands up in front of your body and then pull them apart, elbowing an attacker in the sternum at either side. Then you kick with your right foot in front of your left (to the shin), step down and with your right hand and left hands, block in a modified "C". (That's a middle block with the right hand and a punch simultaneously with the left hand to the sternum. I know that some of you are thinking "why is she telling me this", so I'll leave it at that for now. It's really cool to see at full speed. Of course, I had to fiddle with it until I got it back in my head. Mr. Laabs wanted to work on Jin Do but I don't remember that one at all. I haven't worked on it nearly as much as I have on Nahainch Ee Dan. I've got to get the arm movement at the end, the one that looks like "Dark Wing Duck" (that was DB's name for it, not mine!) down. I really need to get it set in my mind so that I can keep working on it. I need to bring out my books and study up.

I came home from class and Tony and the kids surprised me with a cake. They spelled out 43 on it in candles (not literally 43 candles, just a 4 and a 3). I made a wish and blew out the candles. They went out on the first blow. YAY! Hopefully my wish will come true! I won't say what it was because that'll mean that it won't come true!!

I'm going back to work tomorrow. Oh how fun. I'm not looking forward to that, but at the same time, I only have to get through 2 days of it. I think we'll be short handed tomorrow. One of the guys is going to drive to Lubbock tomorrow to see his son graduate from Texas Tech. I think that's what he said. I'm pretty sure he won't be there. I'll be surprised if he is. I'll just have to wait and see.

Who turned on Summer and Martial Arts babbling

Please tell me WHO decided that 99 degrees was a good temperature for May 19th?? Can we say "wicked HOT"?? Yep, it was that kind of a day!! Hotter than Hades (almost) and certainly NOT comfortable!! Very much a "stay inside in the air conditioning" type of day. My office is already at super freeze mode, which means I wear a sweater most of the day, but going out at night, I don't need it. I also won't run the a/c in my car because 1. Gas prices are outrageous and 2. I don't need air until I pick up Aidan from school. HE needs the a/c. Since I'm "old" (2 weeks and I'll be "older still") and get chilled easily, I don't run the air.

Aidan and I went to class tonight. I got Mr. T to work with him on forms and technique. We really worked on his front stances. Since he was in Young Warriors and was bumped up when he reached black belt in there, he's never had the opportunity to correct his stances. Tonight we worked very hard on correcting his stances. He's a brown belt and is just now getting the stance correct. Fortunately, the older Mr. B (he's a third Dan, working toward fourth) was very patient and worked hard with him tonight to help him correct his stances.

I worked on forms during class. I really like doing forms better than I like sparring or some of the other things. The joint locks are fun, the weapons are fun, but I prefer the forms myself. It's somehow soothing and helps me refocus. It's somehow meditative as well as thought provoking. I can turn off my mind and just put myself into the matter at hand, that of doing the forms.
We ran through Kee Cho Hyung Il Bu, Kee Cho Hyung Ee Bu and Kee Cho Hyung Sam Bu, then Pyung Ahn Cho Dan. After that, we worked on Pyung Ahn Ee Dan, then Sam Dan, Sah Dan and then Oh Dan. We didn't work on any of the higher forms, but that's fine by me. I was able to refocus and get my head wrapped around the forms properly. I always mess up and confuse Sam Dan and Sah Dan. I call Sam Dan "Superman". I call Sah Dan "Splat!" I call them so for the way they look when you're doing them. Sam Dan has a move that looks like Superman puffing out his chest. Sah Dan starts out with a "Splat!" to the left, then a "splat" (two open hands, palms outward, one in a high block, one in a low block). I really like those forms. I like Pyung Ahn Oh Dan best though. That one's a fun one.

Next month we're starting a new curriculum at the dojang. We'll be working on Tae Kwan Do instead of Tang Soo Do. I'll still be a black belt, but my forms are now going to change. As it's standing, it'll be interesting to see how things work out for the black belt test in November. I'm supposed to be learning Jin Do, but nobody's worked on that form in several weeks. For my second Dan, I have to know Jin Do and Nahainchi Ee Dan. I just have to start working on them. I'm debating on whether or not I should attend the black belt class tomorrow. If I go, I'm not sure they'll be working on forms or if they'll be working on sparring. I'll have to play that one by ear. I don't know if I want to skip out and stay home or not yet. It all depends on how my day goes tomorrow.