Forms

Tonight I think I FINALLY got my head wrapped around forms again! I practiced Pyung Ahn Ee Dan, Pyung Ahn Sam Dan and Pyung Ahn Sa Dan tonight and was able to do them. Ms. M corrected something I was doing incorrectly on Sa Dan, and I was able to pick it back up and keep going. That made me very happy with myself. So after class, I talked to Master G and was talking about how I "couldn't remember" Pyung ahn Oh Dan. Well, guess what? Not only did I apparently lie about that, I managed to do the *entire* form in front of him and did it all the way through, correctly!

Bear in mind, I've been fighting myself for the past 9 months to convince myself that I did know Pyung ahn Oh Dan. I hadn't actually TRIED to do the form, just reviewed it mentally. That wasn't enough. I figured that since I've been working on trying to reclaim my forms, I'd go ahead and brush up on them and get them back. After all, I am a Dan and need to remember them. I'd been setting myself up for failure by saying "I can't". Well, I CAN!
I was literally jumping up and down and getting excited in front of Master G because I DID!!! It was so exciting to see that I DID remember that particular form!!! YAY!!

Ms. M made the recommendation that I just pick a form and drill it over and over. I'm so glad that she made that recommendation! It felt really good to hear Master G call out a form, which I had been doing and I was able to do it and do it RIGHT!!! My next step is to keep working on Pyung ah Sa Dan this week, plus review of Sam Dan and Ee Dan.

I feel good

I'm pretty tired and wiped out, but I have to say that I feel so much better tonight than I did the other night, it's not even funny! I got to work with a very patient Master who helped me overcome some differences in the way I learned and the way I need to do forms now. I feel much better about doing them.
We worked on the Keechyo forms: Keechyo Hyung Il Bu, Keechyo Hyung Ee Bu, Keechyo Hyung Sam Bu. Then we broke off and worked on forms with different people. I worked with Master M and Mr. S. We reviewed Pyung Ahn Ee Dan and I learned some neat ways to improve what I knew...It was a great refresher and I think I feel a bit more confident about being able to remember the forms now. n
We also worked on Pyung Ahn Sam Dan (that's the form I call "Superman". I'd love to see Oldman's take on that!), Pyung Ahn Sah Dan and then Pyung Ahn Oh Dan. I feel that I have a better grasp of the forms. I can actually SEE a few basic moves and why you'd do them.
During Pyung Ahn Sah Dan, I did the thing I have always done...I reached up as if I was grabbing a giant. I have to keep in mind that the grab (it's a collar grab) is not meant to be grabbing giants. It is meant to be grabbing a person who is roughly your same size. I would not be reaching for a person who is 6'9 when I'm only 5'3!!! Keeping that in mind will be beneficial.

We ended with Pyung Ahn Oh Dan. I can't call it "Oh dam" anymore because that one I actually had mostly in my head. Of course, I'd been talking about it with a friend via text messages and it's still on my phone, but that doesn't count. I wasn't looking at the phone when I went through the forms.


Over all, I feel MUCH better about this class than I did on Tuesday. I felt that I had a more open mind, that I was receptive to working hard on my forms and that I was receptive to asking for help. That's what I needed.

The importance of training

Being as I'm out of the house full time and only go to classes twice a week, I'm finding myself with no excuses as to why I can't remember my forms the way I think I should. I went to class last night and worked out--hard. We worked on one steps (and I actually remember #6!!), then started working on forms. When Master Mac said "Pyung Ahn Oh Dan", my brain heard "Pyung Ahn Sam Dan", so that's what I did. Then I did it again and totally flubbed up. Yep. It's been a very LONG 3 months (or more!). I hate that I blew my forms. I expect that as a black belt, I SHOULD be able to keep a form in my head for longer than a few months. I even screwed up Bassai and that's one of my favorite forms!! Nahainchi Cho Dan? You guessed it!

The lesson here is that I MUST continue to practice, no matter whether I'm affiliated with a school or not. I've got to go outside and push myself to my physical endurance and go past that or else I'll lose what I've learned. I told Master Mac and Ms. S that we need to close the windows or all my forms will fly out the window. I didn't like that. I felt like I was a total goof up.
Since we are keeping notebooks, it's a good thing to write down what went wrong and what didn't. I didn't write anything positive in my notebook about yesterday but I WILL have something positive to write down on Thursday.

Tonight I have a meeting since I'm taking over as Den Leader for my son's Den, but that shouldn't last more than an hour. After that, I can go outside and practice forms and work on my technique. I will have my forms in my head and will be better than I was last night.

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.

Saturday catch up

Real quick "fly by" catch up.
Last night was the gup test at the dojang. It was a pretty good test. We've got two new Cho Dan Bo's and a couple of kids who are moving up in the ranks toward that goal.
My kids also tested last night. My son needs a lot of work on his forms--he had some issues with Pyung Ahn Oh Dan...I could see that and I wasn't on the board!!
He needs to learn the co-ordination between his hands and feet. I'll work with him on that. I think he'll be learning Pyung Ahn Sah Dan for his next form. I'll have to really work with him. If he won't work with me, he'll have to work with another one of the black belts because I want him to be as good as he can possibly be. He's trying out for the competition team next weekend (that was his idea, not mine!), so I have to help him get ready for that.
I didn't see Miss A's test as she was hidden in the crowd, but hubby says she did pretty well. I did see her do Pyung Ahn Cho Dan. Other than a habit of doing a backfist that is WAY higher than I think it should have been, it looked good.

I'm going to Shreveport today with my hubby. We're celebrating our anniversary a week late. Some friends of his from work invited him to go and asked if I'd go along, so we decided to make a day of it. The kids are going to friends' houses and we're gone. It'll be fun. It's just a day trip, so it'll be a quick out and back.

What a fun evening!!

Okay, color me crazy, but tonight I had one of the BEST workouts I have *ever* had since I joined martial arts in 2004! We went back to the old stuff--we did old combinations we haven't done in absolutely forever (well, since 2006!). We did a combination of stepping out with your left foot, downblock, reverse inside/outside block, front snap kick, reverse punch.
We did front snap kick, roundhouse, back kicks. Inside/outside kick, roundhouse, reverse ridge-hand...no, wait, that was just a plain ridge-hand,. I love doing the "old" things! I like it much better than the Ho Sin Sul!! I really enjoy it. I am not a spar-er. I don't like sparring and will be the first to admit to it. I know it has a purpose, so I will do it without complaint. I actually enjoy it if it's with a good partner who gives a good dialog/return on my punches, kicks, whatever. I had that on Wednesday with Mr. T. We worked very hard on sparring--every time I hit him with my right hand (I'm severely right-handed!), he blocked it easily. I know I have to work on that, so that's on the agenda. (I should also work on adding in some weight lifting to work my triceps, but that's another thing I have on the books...)

After the combinations, we moved into doing our forms. We did the Kee-cho forms one after another, then did Pyung Ahn Cho Dan (which Amanda now tells me she "remembers" finally!), then Pyung Ahn, Ee Dan, Sam Dan, Oh Dan, Sah Dan, Bassai, Nahainchi Cho Dan and then Sip Soo. I didn't work on Nahainchi Ee Dan because my memory of the form is fuzzy at best. We'll look at practicing that hopefully next class.

Friday night is the test and I'm looking forward to that. I'm working at it. I have to be there as an instructor, because I'm working with the Little Ninja and Young Warrior class with Mrs. T. It's going to be fun. My kids are both testing at that test. I hope they do well. I just want to make sure they know their material and can do it well enough to pass the test.

Thursday

Wednesday was a lot drier than Tuesday was. It was a better day, work-wise...or it was up until later in the afternoon when we were short handed (more so than normal!)
I got to martial arts and took out a LOT of frustration on a few bags. It's amazing how well you can kick a bag if you're stressed out and need the release!! I was supposed to go into the 6:00 class and work with them (helping out) but there were a lot of instructors there, so I didn't bother with it. I went in where Mr. T was instructing someone on Pyung Ahn Oh Dan and I started beating on the bags. I figured it would be good to practice kicking and work out some aggression. I actually threw some good roundhouse kicks and front snap kicks. I didn't do a lot of side kicks, but I definitely got in a few good round kicks!

In class last night we did some serious sparring. I sparred with Ms. F and Mr. T tonight as well as B and S. I couldn't spar a lot with B because she'd had some stitches in her leg and S hasn't been through enough classes to get into sparring. Plus, if we spar with her, we have to be very careful. She's super tiny. It wouldn't take much of a hit to knock her down or hurt her which we don't want to do!

I've got bruised knuckles on my right hand after the sparring. I have a tendency to throw punches with my right hand exclusively. Mr. T figured me out and kept hitting my arm with his hand. I have to learn and he's one who can teach me. I WILL learn or will be taken down if I'm not careful!

One more day of work. I'll get through it. I just have to hope like crazy that everyone shows up and that it'll be a quiet day!

Happy Dance!!

It's Saturday, I had a great weigh in (shhh, I didn't go to WW but I DID weigh in!!)--my total is now 44.1 pounds lost!! I'm so happy about that!!! Now I want MORE gone! I'll get there, I know!

We had the Scouting for Food drive this morning with the Cub Scouts. Our pack did very well. We had 78 bags that were delivered to the food bank. That was despite the weather, which was rainy and cold. I was the official "counter" of the bags, so I got to stay at the school and wait for everyone to come in and deliver their cans. While we were there, I showed my daughter (who was waiting with me) how to do the Kee Cho forms very slowly. I also tried to show her the opening to Oh Dan, which is the new form this testing cycle. I still need to talk to Sa Bu Nim because she's expressing absolutely no interest whatsoever in practicing outside of class. This isn't what I was expecting. For a girl who was begging me to let her take classes last year, she sure is being resistant to practice. That's why Sa Bu Nim is getting involved. He's got to talk to her. All I get is eye rolling when I try to talk to her. That's what happens when you have an almost teenager in the house! LOL!

I am currently listening to tracks by one of my favorite artists who isn't a huge name artist. His name is Michael e. He's out of Sheffield, England. Very soothing, "ambient" music. I was just listening to a track called "Sunday" which is absolutely wonderful. It's the kind of music I listen to while I drink coffee in the morning. Definitely a good thing to listen to.

Setting goals

I am going to set myself some goals. I have issues with keeping myself on track with water, so one of my goals is to drink no less than 48 ounces of water in a normal day. Today, I've made that goal and have had 72 ounces of water. Not too bad. I think it's okay. That's one goal.

Another goal is to practice my forms daily. I need to make sure that I am doing everything correctly. Yesterday I actually ran through Nahainchi Cho Dan and Sip Soo. Today I have only worked on technique, but it WAS a practice. I practiced high knife hands, cat stance and moving forward in a cat stance. That's a new "game" I've created for the kids called "Ninja walk". You get into a cat stance, where you've created an 'L' with your feet--you put all of your weight on your back foot and have just the toes of your front foot or the ball of your front foot on the floor. The point of it is to be able to spring forward to pursue an attack if needed. If you turn your front foot, almost into a ballet stance, then ROLL as you shift your weight from the back foot to the front foot. This puts you into the correct position to perform a middle chop or something along those lines.
It's another technique that requires exact form. I *finally* have the "ninja walk" down!!

So, today I only worked on technique, but tomorrow, to escape the frustration of the people I work with (very stressful, that group!), I'm going to work on Bassai and then work my way back. I need to practice Oh Dan, Sam Dan, Sa Dan (and do Sam Dan correctly!), then Ee Dan and go backwards to Pyung Ahn Cho Dan, etc. I also need to practice Bong Hyung Il Bu at some point.

First re-cert class-January 05, 2008

The first of 8 weeks' classes is over. I'm wiped out too! This morning has been VERY busy! I got out and went to WW (lost what I gained last week so I'm back on track!). I stayed for 20 minutes of the meeting, then raced out to the car and headed back to Allen. I made it to class with *minutes* to spare. I had my uniform in the car, so that was an easy thing to deal with--just grab and go! I got changed in nearly record time and was a minute or two late to line up, but not enough to freak out. What's really embarrassing to me is that I am an instructor and can't be late as I'm in the front row. The Cho Dan Bo's see me walk in and they must be wondering why I was so late! I've got to refine that process. I can do it.

We worked--HARD--for two hours. My friend Susan brought the coffee, so I was thrilled to pieces with that! I didn't have breakfast, so there were a few points where I got light headed and dizzy. Today's work out was advanced forms and weapons. I hadn't picked up a bong until last night when I was showing the guys at work how we worked with it. I now have to create a work out schedule/log and stick with it. I want to ace that form (Bong Hyung Il Bu). I have to work on the other forms too, the non-weapons forms. I can do Sip Soo well. I should as it's my newest form, but I REALLY need to work with it. We did Sip Soo, Nahainchi Cho Dan and Bassai today. Wait, we also did Pyung An Sam Dan, Oh Dan and Sa Dan. I know where I need to improve and that's something I'll start doing on my own at home. If he expects an hour a day from the kids, he'll get it from the adult in the class too.

I'm excited. I can already see how this is going to work. I am able to get many of my chores done Friday night, so I'll have Saturday as a "free" day after my class. Just need to figure out WHAT to eat that will give me energy and not sit heavily on my stomach when I go to class. I can't take another dizzy day! I ate when I got home and have finished my first 30 ounce glass of water for the day. MORE water! LOL!
I'm in a great mood and I'm sure this is going to carry over into the next week.