Only the legacy remains...

I hadn't realized that the last time I wrote on here was in November 2008.

After testing for my 5th mid-term in the 1st degree curriculum, I called it quits.

I had been trying to balance my new job, at the time, that was about to increase its hours with TKD time and family time. It just wasn't working. To add to that. I was just not finding TKD that much fun anymore. My body hurt too much, between my knees and back. It was time to walk away.

That was in December 2008.

It is now March 2010. I don't regret walking away. While I miss my friends at the ATA, and I still enjoy martial arts, my body is just not in any shape to do it anymore. I did gain some weight after stopping, and I'm working on ways to get back in shape that won't tax my knees so much. I know that I'll always be welcome to go back, but I don't forsee that anytime in the future. Ironically enough, I ended up getting laid off from said job, and so I suppose I could go to the one or two day classes, but it costs money I don't have right now, and even if I did, I'm putting my energies elsewhere trying to find a new job while going back to school. Right now, my intellectual education is more important than my physical education.

Do I regret my years in taekwondo and the ATA? No, not at all. I do regret that Drew doesn't continue with it. He was able to graduate to brown belt before he quit. And yet, due to his great love of Star Wars these days, runs around doing martial arts moves worthy of any great Jedi, but doesn't want to go back, even if it's a different martial arts school or form. Oh well. Maybe he'll change his mind.

For both of us, I think we learned about a great way to physically exercise and learned how to discipline ourselves. There's times that Drew will snap into place with the "Yes, ma'am!" or "Yes, sir!" or have a take charge attitude that he would've learned over there. I find myself still acting like an instructor trainee outside of the do-jahng. So in that respect, we got some good out of it for both of us.

For myself, I think the accomplishments I made were ones that I needed to make. I needed to earn that black belt. I needed to earn those titles, especially that state championship. I didn't think that I could ever do that. My black belt certificate is framed and sits in my dining room. It is a reminder that I can achieve many things if I choose to do it, and put the work into it.

Now, instead of trying to get to my 2nd degree black belt, my goal is to earn a Master's degree in Professional and Technical Communications at NJIT. I'm still getting through my first semester of the graduate certificate program first, but I think I'm on my way, and just have to remind myself that if a person at my age with a bum knee could earn a black belt and a state title, then I can definitely earn this Master's degree as well.

To anyone reading this who is interested in martial arts, don't see this as the end of a story-- it's the beginning. If you love martial arts, keep doing it. While I really can't practice it anymore, I still believe in the power of learning it, and how it really can enable you.

Decision...for now

After some thought, and consulting with the hubby and my good TKD buddy Sandy, I came to the following decision. Drew will take his break. It may be permanent, and it may not, we'll see. I decided for myself that I will continue for the next two months (which equals a cycle), at least until the end of the year, and then make a decision about myself, whether to continue or not. I guess on the plus side, I can go back to adult/teen classes again, and have to contend with a bunch of grade school kids all the time. Even when telling SW that Drew was taking a break, I didn't say anything about myself other than applying Drew's tuition to myself next month instead. She pretty much responded that it wasn't a problem, that Drew is one of those kids that needs breaks and he always comes back doing better, so it was fine. She also added that she didn't want me to feel that just because Drew was taking a break that I needed to take a break too because "you like it for yourself", as she said. I didn't admit to her how I haven't been too thrilled for months and the temptations of stopping or going somewhere else. I just nodded and said that's why I'm still going, and at least perhaps with the adult classes, I might have the cameraderie back with the teens and adults, and I'll be more challenged again, even with the "boring stuff". We'll see. I'll take it one week at a time.

So there you go. Perhaps the winding down of an era, perhaps not. Only time will tell.

TKD dilemma, shredder style

(Crossposted from my regular blog with some edits.)

I'm upset tonight about Drew and TKD. Or should I say, Drew and not TKD. Drew had been good all day on his day off from school, according to his father, no problems. He was even cooperative when I got home and had him getting ready for TKD class. I don't know what happened completely, but when we got to the ATA, Drew had some sort of misconception that today was the Weapons Camp (which is not until the day after Thanksgiving). I don't know where he got that idea, and he flipped out. When I explained it was regular class today, he continued to cry and flip out, and even in getting him to calm down and try to talk about it, he kept saying that he hated TKD, and wanted a break. Well, I tried to convince him that he wouldn't be allowed to go to Weapons Camp if he didn't go to classes, but he didn't care. No matter what I tried to do to get him to take class, it just wasn't going to work. The best thing to do was just to pack up before even starting class, and go home.

On the way home, I kept asking and giving him leading questions as to why he didn't want to cooperate. He constantly gives mixed signals. He likes class sometimes, loves the weapons especially, but hates doing the other stuff. He wants to be a student helper, but he doesn't want his black belt. He doesn't understand why he has to do Songham #4 form again when he's done it already and it's "easy". (Well, for one thing, he only did the half form before...but I digress.) We didn't come to much of a resolution in discussing it in the car, so the conversation was continued when we got home.

Once home, we included the DH in the conversation, and I was trying to get Drew to make a commitment that after a cycle break (2 months), he'd start again in January. He was hesitant, and saying he hated it. Now, the kid's got some talent in this, and can enjoy it, some I'm getting frustrated and confused. DH was reminding me that's he's 7 and doesn't know what he wants, and we'll make him. I reminded DH that he doesn't take Drew to TKD classes, and doesn't have to fight with him when things go awry. I'm just tired of Drew going in and out, in and out for months at a time. I have no problem giving him a summer break, or giving him a break now and then as long as he can be committed to classes. Otherwise, why put me through a 2 month break only to have him go for 2 months, then take another break? I'm tired of the years of see-sawing, adjusting my schedule constantly, and working my butt off to pay for classes. And if he didn't do TKD, I want him to do something else, but what? DH agreed that it shouldn't be a team sport, and that he should do something that will make him focus on what he's doing.

I also pointed out that if we pull Drew permanently (or, I like to think optimistically, for a long break, as I really hopes he can get back into it eventually), where does that leave me? I still like it, even though I don't have the energy or motivation as of late. Once I started with my new job, my schedule and energy levels changed dramatically. I'm not as entrenched as I was before. And while it can be seen as a compliment that I am fairly self-sufficient in my martial arts studies, it was getting boring, and I wasn't getting the kind of attention that I felt I needed anymore. I had to ask for help constantly, and things that were wrong with my form were being corrected after doing them wrong for a YEAR. I know my weapons half-form is pretty ugly, but functional, if that makes sense. But that's because I didn't get a lot of help when learning it. So, I can understand Drew wanting to do something different; however, I have a certainly loyalty to the place, and I feel like I'll be losing a huge part of my social life and friends there that I've made over the almost 4 years we've been there. I've worked hard to be able to afford classes and gear and such for both Drew and I, and I feel like he's throwing it down the toilet for the both of us.

DH is convinced that Drew doesn't mean it when he says he never wants to go back. Fine, I'll let him argue it out with Drew instead of me. It's a little too gut-wrenching and emotional for me.

In the meantime, just because DH was more interested than me (although I will admit I was mildly interested), we went to the new gym nearby tonight. We have some friends who are over there and like it, and know one family that sends the kids for swimming lessons there. It's a nice facility, very up-to-date. We checked it out a little bit. We saw the gym, got the basic info about the swimming classes for kids, saw some of the gym without the full tour, and that was that. I looked at the website a little more when we got home, and I know they have TKD there as well. Not the style that I've learned, but at least there'd be a TKD option there, while still being able to use the weight equipment and such (which is usually how I've lost weight-- weight training). Of course, we don't know the pricing. And the pricing for 2-1/2 hour classes/week vs. the 1 hr/week of TKD twice a week for Drew is different-- the swim classes would be slightly higher, but not by a lot. So, it's something to think about.

This whole thing has just has me ripped to shreds. I really don't know what to do in this situation. It's too much too fast for me this time, so I think I'm going to let DH handle this. He understands why I want Drew in TKD or some other discipline of sport that can help him focus his mind and his self-control-- he agrees with all the reasons I want Drew in martial arts. But as I said, where does that leave me? Try a new place for kicks, (no pun intended), yet feel like I am betraying the place that "brought me up", and where my friends are, where I know I have emotional support if not educational support? Or do I stay, and just voice my concerns that I want a little more personal attention? Or do I just try something completely different, like join this gym and do Pilates instead? I feel a lot of stress with this. I recently went through a very emotional and stressful time dealing with a problem with my family (parents, siblings, etc.) and it tore me apart to make some painful decisions about my relationship with them. But the decisions in the situation were pretty clear cut. This time, in this situation, it's not as clear what I need to do. And it's really eating me alive.

We're still here!-- again!

I know, I haven't written much in months. Drew and I are still taking TKD. I took a month off in August, and in September with the new school year, we started back up, and just had another graduation this past week. It's amazing to think it's been a year already since I earned my 1st degree black belt. If I hadn't taken some breaks this past year, I would be about halfway to my 2nd degree black belt by now, but it's not a race, as SW would say. Drew is definitely evidence of that. Due to circumstances and breaks he has taken, he's far behind some kids who started after he did-- they are earning their black belts now. He's not quite there yet-- BUT he's getting much closer now. He finally earned his brown belt this past graduation. He broke his board for permission to test (and I didn't think he would), and he held his own doing Chung Jung #2 (the hardest color belt form) as a blue belt.

And then, there was freestyle weapons. Weapons are Drew's favorite thing to do. And this cycle, he was able to do his favorite weapons, which is the Jahng Bang.

Observe:


Drew's JB moves!

Okay, so he dropped it, but a big part of the success of this routine is that he didn't freak out for all the times he dropped it, and he didn't have a meltdown afterwards because of it. And he actually has some decent moves in there for a 7 year old, if I do say so myself.

Drew is a total contradiction when it comes to TKD. He wants to be in Leadership so that he can be an assistant/junior instructor trainee, but he claims he doesn't want his black belt (and yet he's so close now!). He also wants to train only on weapons, as that's his favorite, and is not so cooperative about doing the forms, sparring and board breaking. He's actually very good at sparring too, but it's not his favorite. Well, it doesn't work like that. You have to do it all, after all. Oh well. I just get him to plug along, and if we can have a day where he doesn't fight or argue too much, we're happy. The other day he was pissed at another kid for not holding the pad firmly still for a drill. So rather than freak out, he actually just went to the side of the mats, and sat down and sulked. He didn't cry or anything. He kind of put himself in a time-out. Hey, that was fine. It was better that he did that, and started back when he was willing to cooperate than have a total meltdown/freakout that disrupts the class. We'll take what we can get, after all!

My own studies are going slowly. I finally have the first half of the BME form down now. It's far from perfect, but it's acceptable. I know the second half is mostly the same thing but doing it with the left hand. That's going to be quite the challenge, as I've rarely done anything left-handed with the BME. So that will be interesting, but at least it will be easier now that I understand the first half. In looking at the 1BD curriculum, it's okay. I always do the same form, and each cycle, I make a change with weapons, spar, and I don't have to board break again until I'm ready to get to my 2BR level, and then again at 2BD level.

So, we're plugging along, and there's not really that much to report. But we're still here, and still doing taekwondo! Ai-yah!

Olympic TKD from an ATA perspective (at least mine)

I started TKD more than 3 years ago, so I had no reason to watch Olympic TKD the last time around. Now that I've been involved in the sport for a while, it's interesting to watch it on the Olympics, albeit online instead of on TV. (All hail the mighty internet!)

I've been watching the women's 49kg competitions for almost 2 hours now, and I'm still trying to get the hang of it. Okay, so it's 3-2 minute rounds, there's no punching involved, and it's all about the kicking. But I see more "dancing" than kicking. The refs actually have to tell these people to "fight" rather than keep dancing around each other. And I don't see combo kicks or jump kicks. What's with that?

So, I sent an email to the online commentary guy, and he said that punching is allowed, but harder to do. No punches to the face, naturally. And no kicks to the back of the head. (AWWWW!) But definitely lots of kicking. I also notice that they keep their hands down instead of a ready to spar stance like we are taught.

It's certainly interesting to watch and try to understand. The online guy is also explaining the scoring, which has to do with how many corner judges agree in one second if a point is made, and they actually have to see AND hear contact. THe mens' competition started, and now I'm starting to see some action. Some decent combination and jump kicks. Why is it that women are so wimpy in this kind of sport sometimes? I do know women who can be as aggressive as the guys, so why am I not seeing them here at the Olympics? Oh well.

To watch, go to http://www.nbcolympics.com/taekwondo/index.html, and check to see if there's live video. There are matches starting at 9 PM EDT, and they started today. Hey, if you can't watch it on TV, at least it's online!

Olympic Motivation

There's something about an exciting sporting event of any kind that motivates people to get up and move. The Olympics are no exception.

I have been sidelined for a few weeks due to my hip injury, and well, general malaise about TKD lately. I was somewhat grateful for the injury, because it allowed me to take a break and step back for a bit.

I just had my 40th birthday two days ago. As much as I would've liked a lot of hoopla for it, it was a pretty toned down day. I had the opportunity to meet up with my TKD buddy, Sandy, to indulge in some ice cream and some craft shopping (our other commonality) the afternoon of my birthday. Sandy's been out with a much bigger injury, and it's such that it looks like it's probably going to permanently sideline her from continuing TKD at this point. But she pointed something out for herself, and I find it true for me too, which is that sometimes I don't like the physical activity, but I definitely miss the social scene of it all. I think for the past couple of months, that's been true, although I was even feeling a little burnout from that too.

I think that's starting to change. While I certainly miss the personalities at my do-jahng, I think I'll be ready to go back in September. Why the change of heart? Well, one that is obvious is that my hip doesn't hurt as much now, so that helps a lot. But I think that watching Olympic swimmer Dara Torres did it for me. As she has for a lot of "older" women, she inspired me to at least keep trying. Granted she's a professional athlete, who even in retirement was more in shape than any of us regular folk. But she's 41, asthmatic, had a baby 2 years ago, and she just won her first individual medal-- a silver, no less-- in her whole career. She didn't win her first individual medal as far back when she was in her "prime"-- she won it NOW. I mean, that's incredible!

Then there's me...just turned 40, asthmatic, with a bad knee and overweight. While I don't think I'll ever be remotely close to anything of Olympic caliber in my lifetime, it doesn't mean that I can try to do my personal best. When watching Dara Torres, or Olympic god Michael Phelps, they weren't out there to just win. They concentrated more on beating their own personal times. And if they won in the process? Then that's peachy. That's what I have to do. I have to get into that mentality. The only person I have to keep up with or compete against is myself.

So starting in September, I will do my best to go in with a renewed spirit. I will relearn my form, relearn and finish learning the first half of my weapons form, and I will get the flexibility and speed of my high kicks back for sparring. If I feel ready in November or December, then I will compete, and just try to place in my new age grouping. If not, I need to just keep challenging myself, and not try to keep up with anyone else.

I really hope that someone posts the TKD matches from the Olympics online. So far, I don't see that there will be any broadcasts on TV (cable or otherwise), so I really hope that something will be online instead. I've been in this sport for 3 years, so I wasn't into watching it during the last Olympics. I'd like to watch at least one sport I actually understand and have played other than volleyball.

Definitely sidetracked again.

Oh bleeh.

I finally went to the chiropractor, because I felt like those Active Release Techniques would possibly help my hip. Well, it did, but it's just starting to help. I had to go to two sessions this week alone. The chiro I saw (I go to a pair of chiros, who actually specialize in sports chiropractics and use PT as well in their treatments) checked it, and the spot where it hurt actually hurt to the touch as well as from the inside. Yikes. As the chiro was touching the site, I would actually yelp in pain, which he's rarely seen me do like that. He told me there was definitely some sort of knot going on in there, and said that they will try some treatments to help loosen this knot up again, and if their conservative methods didn't work, then he agreed that I should see the regular MD about it. So, after a pretty thorough adjustment, he applied some extra heat therapy with the vibration things (he normally puts those on my back or shoulders, but this time it was on my hip), and then later worked some ultrasound on it to help loosen it up. I was then advised to get some moist heat on it, and continue that to see if it helped. So, I've got my first heating pad now that's stuffed in my shorts as I write this. I went for more ultrasound, and he said it seemed to be getting better from the feedback he was getting on the device, and it does feel a little better as well. When I asked if I could go to TKD yet, he advised not to go for a while, so as not to undo what we are finally fixing after a few months. Fair enough. The timing is right, as I'm finishing up this month, and between vacation and not being able to attend classes due to this long standing injury, I'm taking August off. It might be for the better. I'll have several more weeks to work on my weapons form when I get back, especially in light of my frustration with learning the form.

Sometimes, you get an injury for a reason-- it might not only be because you weren't careful when exercising or have an accident. It also be a chance for you to take another break, like a mental one, so that when you start back, you will be ready with both your body AND soul.

Possibly Sidetracked again

I haven't usually let an injury get in the way of my training. Well, at least not too much. Oh yeah, I will say, "Sorry, I'm not doing that and modifying that because I'm afraid of injuring my knee/back too much again," or something because my asthma makes me slow down. But I try to keep moving, and as far as doing actual kicking and punching, I'm fine. It's when you start sticking in the cardio, or excessive jumping that I start to have problem.

So I've had some sort of injury since January. I think it initially started after we had a class (and I remember, it was January because I was still taking day classes, which I miss), and we were working on some sidekick stretches/exercises. Everyone's hips were hurting something awful, including my own. I just figured that in time, like any other muscle pull, it'd go away eventually.

Fast forward to now. During the past months, it's been okay, I still feel some soreness in my hip, but it's usually when I've been sitting for too long and then get up, it creaks and hurts for a little, but once I get moving, it's usually just a mild annoyance. But this past week, it's been tough. I can still walk, but the hip hurts enough to really bother me, and no amount of moving around will help. I've taken it easy, skipped classes so far this week, and even went to the chiropractors who specializes in Active Release Techniques (that helped with my bad back injury a year and a half ago) to get some help. Dr. B said there was definitely some sort of knot there, but I know it's bad because now it's something whereby if you touch that part of my hip, I'm starting to writhe in pain. Not good. So, some work was done with ultrasound and heat and adjustments to see if that helped. I go back tomorrow for some more of that. I also bought my first heating pad based on the recommendation of the chiro. (Hey, we get enough injuries around here that I figured it was about time I got one.) The decision was made by the chiros and I that if their methods didn't work, then I'd go see the MD. I'm just slightly afraid of what might be going on. It could be something as simple as some sort of muscle tear that just hasn't healed quickly or properly, and it's agitated now. But it could be something else.

Geez. As much as I've been frustrated with getting my BME form down, and even though I haven't otherwise been too inspired to go to class otherwise, I'd hate to think that this may sidetrack me again, since I took some time off for a little bit. I would like to at least get through August before I take another break, so I can at least get my mid-term in, y'know? It's a good thing I'm not competing, because THIS would not be good.

If anyone has any other ideas of what sort of thing this could be, I'm open to suggestions. It feels like a bad bruise from the inside when you touch it from the outside, if that makes any sense. There is no visible bruise on the outside, and besides, it's about 6 months old! I just hope I don't need a cortisone shot or something like that. I can deal with needles, but they are just not fun nonetheless.

It's been a month already? Gee....

I hadn't realized that it'd been a month since I last posted here. Well, then again, it doesn't seem like there's much to write about. About a week or so after the last graduation, Drew did "boot camp" in which they cram the whole summer's curriculum in a week, so that way they can take the summer off and not lose any momentum in moving up in ranks or midterms. It seemed like a good solution for Drew, and he was ready this year. It was also good daycare for a week as well! He lost so much ground not going for 6 months last year, that I didn't want him falling behind too much, especially when he's finally starting to get with the program, so to speak. He was excited to do CJ#1, I know that. I was sad that I didn't get to go to the graduation for the boot camp. SW put it at 11 AM-- what drug was she on, especially with most parents working? So JC went and took some photos and video. As usual, JC doesn't know what he's photographing or filming, so it wasn't much. But what little I could tell is that he generally has pretty good technique, and just has to have it smoothed out some more. Since they technically can't give them the belts until the actual regular summer graduation (which I didn't know), Drew was very upset and disappointed that he didn't have his blue belt. But, he should be a blue belt. He did the work, which is good. He's now halfway through his curriculum, and now that he isn't a Tiny Tiger anymore, things should move a lot faster now. Depending on how things go in the next year, he should get his 1BD this time next year or so.

For me, I'm a little behind because of taking that break a couple months back. And to be honest, I haven't had much motivation other than I paid for the services that I should actually show up for class sort of thing. (I'm still on the premium plan, unfortunately.) After finally getting past the midterm with the board breaks (no sparring--yay!) and the single SJB, I finally get to move on with the single BME. Sandy was kind enough to lend me her "fancy" BME, which is balanced very differently than the one I've been using. It feels better in my hand. If fate decides that she is to no longer take TKD, I'm thinking of offering to buy it from her. In the meantime, I've decided that there's no way that I can do the August tournament. It's only 2 weeks away, and for me, the purpose is to compete in weapons, even though you have to competed in forms and sparring too. But they are not my forte', weapons are. And I don't even have that much of the form down. I was having the same problem that I was having when I was learning the sword, namely that I was getting too many different versions, and it was confusing the hell out of me. I was actually happy that SW was there, because a)weapons is her specialty, so she knows it VERY well, and b)being the head of the school, her way is the ONLY way in the end...her version will always be the official/right way. So, she backed me up, and only got me up to a certain point even thought I learned more. My problem, as usual, is transitions. I swear as much as I was looking forward to doing this form, there's no way I could learn the whole thing in two weeks. At this point, I'll feel lucky if I learn half of it by the August graduation (which is about a month away). I'm just feeling very stupid right now that it's not coming to me more quickly. Oddly enough, SW was talking tonight about gaining better self-esteem in learning and practicing certain techniques, and sure enough, I wasn't feeling any of that. In my "regular" life, I've been gaining a lot of self-esteem in my new job, as my new boss loves me and doesn't want to lose me. After being a SAHM for 7-8 years, I'm finally back in the IT world, and found a perfect fit for me for where I left off, and I'm doing pretty well with it. So imagine going to TKD, where I've done fairly decently for a while, and between feeling exhausted physically and mentally from the new job, running around to camp, and then trying to not be bored with the rest of TKD, that the one challenge I have I can't master. Now, it's not that the moves are hard. It's still very new, but for some reason my brain isn't absorbing it as fast as I really should be learning it. It's incredibly frustrating that I found myself fighting back tears tonight being so angry at myself and feeling so stupid. I know I'll get it eventually. Once I master it, I MASTER it. I passed on sparring, a) because my knee has been hurting again, and I'm afraid to tempt fate, and b) I wanted to try to work on this section of the weapons form instead, because that needs more help than my sparring.

Just to break this up a little, I found the form on YouTube (after some searching). I'm not even a quarter of the way through this, and after watching this, man, I have a lot of work to do to make it look THIS good:


I guess the good news from tonight was that I mastered two new board breaks. The first one was a hand break-- a punch. Yes, an outright punch. The trick was to use the knuckles of your index and middle finger, and having the twist, speed and technique. SW had me do it on wood as well, just because if I missed on plastic, it would hurt like the dickens and it could still break even if it wasn't perfectly centered. Additionally, it doesn't hurt that wood is a little more pliable, one could say. (You know I'm a big advocate of wood.) The good news is that when I finally went to do it after a few painful practices, I did it, and about as close down the middle as you can get, so that was good. Unfortunately, as I mentioned, it was rather painful. With a glove, it'd be easier, for sure. I was afraid that perhaps I had done hairline fractures of my knuckles (I've had them before, but from volleyball, believe it or not, so I know the signs), and my knuckles didn't swell too much, and I could still move them quite a bit. After some icing when I got home, they are fine enough to be doing this typing! :-P So that was the first one.

After class, there was a board breaking seminar that I went to check out. JK was running it, and it was mostly kids, but there were enough adults. I was probably the second highest ranked adult there over the age of 18. ;-) The other adults were BU, who is a 2BD, and the other three were color belts. We had some good drills, and then we were encouraged to try a break from the next rank up or a variation of something you already know. Since my hand was busted up from the last class, a hand technique was out of the question. And besides, my heels and the balls of my feet can handle a lot more torture than my hands. I need my hands more than my feet, I've learned over time! LOL Anyway, it was suggested that I do a reverse hook kick, which didn't seem like it'd be too hard since it's much like a reverse side kick...with a hook at the end. So, I gave it a whirl, and fortunately, that came pretty easy-- with a plastic board, no less. So, I was pretty happy about that. I was also asked to help the little kid color belts with their breaks. I was helping one little girl we'll call BSM (hyphenated last name with the last two letters). Drew is not a fan of her older brother T, and she has a younger sister as well. I could tell that she really wasn't learning the sidekick technique that she wanted to do completely properly, so I slowed it down, and knowing that she takes dance, and was trying to get her to understand that one of her feet was in a ballet 1st position, and that's how you form the T, then I reminded her of the "table" when she chambers her kick, and then had her be more aware of her doing the break with her heel and not her toes. I think she was starting to get it more as we did it, and when she was finished practicing and did her actual break, her method was more dead on that it had been, so I was feeling a little proud about that. I was also helping coach another little boy named MO, who has this horrible habit of rushing things as well as checking for the approval from his parents, and not really thinking about what he's doing. His dad is one of those, "Do what they say, M! Yell loudly, M! etc." Kinda of like a sideline dad, but the difference is that when I do it from the sidelines with Drew, I actually know what I'm talking about, and this dad doesn't. I had to get M to focus on where his body was in relation to the board. He was doing a reverse elbow. This is not a break I do well because the back stance you need to do this break effectively is one that hurts my knees, so I can't do the break. BUT, I know where I would be making mistakes, and MO was making them worse, so I had to make him realize that he wasn't doing a side elbow, but a back elbow, and had to get him to understand that back stance, and lining up the direction of his arm with the line on the board where he had to break it. I explained it to his parents that he was looking at the board too much. He has to look at it out of the corner of his eye, or else he twists too much in the break. Once he did it the way I showed him, he broke it properly, which I was happy about as well. Maybe I do have the teaching thing in me. But to cram my material and all the color belt material in again would be hard, so perhaps teaching will continue to elude me for a while still.

So, that's about the extent of what's been going on. Classes are on hiatus for Drew until the Fall, and for me, they are not that exciting, to be honest. Yes, the BME form is proving to be challenging, and that's the only thing that's keeping it interesting, but frustrating at the same time. Oh well. Just have to keep chugging along. Send some karma that this form-- or at least the half of the form I have to know for the next graduation next month will actually be learned and retained successfully!

And for your ATA TKD pleasure, here's my favorite ATA eye candy, Taekwon Lee, in the video intro to the 2003 World Championships:

Another milestone passed

Okay, so I haven't written here much lately. Well, there's not much to tell most of the time. Drew and I have been working hard on our stuff. Drew had In Wha #2, BME freestyle, and sparring to contend with, and I had to prepare for my #3 midterm, namely form, SJB form with freestyle, and board breaks.

First, let's start off with Drew, who is now a new Purple Belt:


Yes, he's very proud, and he should be. It was the first testing that he was no longer a Tiny Tiger, and had to do the full form. I know that SW is not 100% strict, especially at his age, with having it precise, but let me tell you, he had it more precise than most of the kids in his group, and many of them were several ranks above him! He goofed up but would quickly correct himself, and he didn't get upset once about the moments he'd goof up. But the moments that he had the form down pat-- oh, he shined. He really has beautiful technique. Even parts where he really should be using two handed techniques he was where the others weren't. I was really proud of him. He did wonderfully. Same with his freestyle. It was creative alright, but instead of just flopping around and waving the BME around, he actually had some kicks and real moves in there, even if it wasn't the "freestyle" form that the instructors were teaching. Again, he had beautiful technique. I really think all of this is finally starting to click with him. Same with sparring as well. He was making sure of doing "no contact" sparring, and at the end he just stopped because he was tired, but that's okay. What he did do was good.

As for me, this was an important midterm, as there are about 12 of them, and 3 of them count for points, and if you don't have enough points, then you don't get promoted to the next rank (as in 2BD). This was the first one that "counts". I was very happy to hear that I didn't have to spar since I was board breaking. Hooray! My form went okay. A fellow adult student, KB, mentioned that I had some really high kicks tonight. I told her that I saved them for graduation so as not to mess up my knee too much. ;-) I felt like I was almost blanking out at times while doing the form, I've done it so many times, but I didn't and there was no-- or very little-- loss of continuity, or at least I covered it up well. I was told by others that I did well with it. Tonight I also had my last time of having to do SJB for testing! Hooray! I had to do a freestyle, and in my freestyle, quite often I would not catch my SJB to do the move I wanted to do. But tonight, I did, and I heard a "Whoa, that was cool!" from the peanut gallery, and I think it was some of the adults, especially a 2nd degree or two. ;-) I pulled it off, and that's what matters. It's done! It's over! No more SJB until 2nd degree! Then, I had to break boards. I had it set up right, that I know. It was all me. I was still doing the side kick and round kick with my left foot, and front kick with my right. Now, you have up to three tries to get the job done. On my first try, I got the round kick and the front kick. On the second try, I got the side kick. That was better than when I tested for 1BD! The side kick was because I was having problems with feeling comfortable with distancing. But, in the end, I didn't get a bad score, I'm sure, and I passed, and that's what counts. I don't have another midterm for points for a while. (It's numbers 3, 6 and 11 that count towards rank, and naturally #12 is the big jump to 2BD.)

So, it was a successful night overall. The next cycle should be interesting. Drew is taking a short break, and will be going to TKD boot camp during the first week of July, and receiving a crash course of the summer's curriculum, in which we will receive his blue belt at the testing at the end of the week. At that point, he'll take the rest of the summer off from classes, and start up again in September. Being a blue belt, he'll be halfway through his curriculum towards his 1BD, so perhaps this time next year he'll be getting that. That will be exciting. Part of me wishes that he'd take a little time off again, so that we could time it so that he takes his 1 BD and I take my 2 BD at the same time, but I don't think that'll happen. Oh well. And during the summer, since I have to work and can't go to boot camp, I'll be continuing classes as usual. At least with the hot weather, everyday is T-shirt day, so that will help!

Onwards to the boot camp and that graduation...

Good medications and surviving Mr. Lee

I know I haven't posted much lately, but there really hasn't been much to post, even with my return back to classes. Graduation/testing are coming up in a couple of weeks, so that push to get all your material crammed into your head and everything practiced so that you do okay is going on at the TKD school. For me, most of it's pretty boring, and won't start to get interesting again until the next cycle, when I FINALLY get to switch weapons to BME.

Drew's been doing well generally. He's paying attention in class, and behaving himself, not getting too out of control during sparring. He's doing well enough with forms that he's leaning towards bypassing his permission to do one last Tiny Tiger testing and going for a full testing instead. He's turning 7 next week, which is when you are no longer a Tiny Tiger that performs half the form along with an instructor and gets half a belt for the effort. Since his birthday was so close to graduation, SW said she could test him one last time as a TT, which was an option for Drew. But I think he likes the second half of the form, and he knows it (or at least I think he knows most of it), so I asked if he wanted to do the whole form in a group with the other higher belts instead, and he said yes. I've given him options to bail back into the TT since it's the last time he can, but he's stuck with his answer. As long as he's doing it in a group with the other boys, I think he'll be okay. He'll still be able to watch the other kids a bit, but I think he generally knows the form anyway. Hopefully he'll be helping to lead them instead.

I have only two big things that I've been working on, namely my 20 second freestyle for weapons and my board breaks. I think my form is about as good as it's going to get at the moment. Knowing my kihaps and smoothing out transitions are the only stumbling blocks in my form at the moment (like the spin hook kick is an awkward transition), so the others can take some precedence. Wednesday night was the first time that I actually set up my three breaking stations for my testing board break. I was thankful that SW was teaching that night and made sure that I got the practice in, because, as I said, while I've practiced individual breaks, I hadn't set up the stations before to know how I wanted to set them up for distance, etc. For a first time, it wasn't too bad. I think everyone must think I have legs a mile long or something, because they kept standing too far away, and I'd have to pull them in closer. The only mistake I made in setting them up the first time was angling the board for my round kick. (Oh, the combination break I'm doing is a sidekick with my left foot, a roundkick with my left foot, and a front kick with my right foot.) Once I got that, it was fine. So today, I was able to get another chance to practice and set up, and while I didn't get the sidekick on the first shot (I did on the second), I got the angle of the roundkick right this time, and the frontkick was a snap (literally and figuratively). And to think this is all on plastic boards, which I hate, of course, but that's the way midterms go, unfortunately. If I could do wood, you know I...would. ;-)

Drew delayed going to class until tonight, since we don't have Cub Scouts again until September, and said instead of Tuesday class, he wanted to go to Friday class with Mr. Lee. (I can use that instead since that's a pretty common name for a TKD teacher, if you think about it! :-P But really, that's his name.) Neither Drew nor I had seen Mr. Lee in a while, so he was impressed to see how much Drew had grown, and I'm sure he was impressed with how much better Drew behaved compared to the last time he saw him. One thing about Mr. Lee is that you either love him or hate him as an instructor. Personally, he's a sweetie and I certainly consider him a friend. Really nice guy. As an instructor, he's brutal. Drew loves going to class with him, and I generally tend to avoid his classes, because they are too aerobic for my asthma. But, I think that due to taking some better asthma meds and allergy meds as of late (OTC Zyrtec for the allergies, and the Symbicort with my Singulair for the asthma), I've been able to breathe a little more easily and having been having asthma attacks as readily as before. Anyway, both Drew and I took the class with Mr. Lee today. And I can say I survived it. I'll probably be feeling it in the morning, but I'm sure I'll be okay. I was able to keep up for pretty much the entire class. I'll admit that I didn't do sparring tonight, since I didn't want to overdue it, and by the time I finished my boardbreaking, there wasn't a lot of time for me to gear up, it was just as well. I had done a lot more aerobic work tonight than I usually do, and kept up, so I was happy enough.

I also made a change in my 20 second freestyle. There's a transition that I was making to get the SJB from my left hand to my right that I didn't like, and I changed it to something going around my neck instead. Much easier, and looks more razzle dazzle. And you know I'm all about the razzle dazzle. I can't wait to be done with this damn thing! And since Sandy has lent me her nicer BME for a while, it'll be nice to work with a better balanced weapon when I get to it next cycle. I need to learn the whole form by August. I'm sure it can be done, but I technically don't have to learn the whole form just yet. I'd only have to learn it for competition purposes. So I have to think about that. If I learn it all now, then I'm going to be bored again. At least I think I will be bored again. Then again, BME is a much nicer weapons that I like, so perhaps it won't. I guess I'll have to see.

I've taken my two classes this week, but Drew hasn't, so he's going to forms class in the morning. I'm actually feeling okay enough with my board breaks in the last two days that I don't feel like I need to take boardbreaking class tomorrow. I think getting in a few more practices next week will be fine. As long as I break the boards within three tries, I'm fine, and both of the practices I've done, I've done it in two, so that's not bad. I'm not over-confident, mind you. But at the same time, I've practiced the individual breaks enough times over the years that they are second nature, and by just focusing, I can usually get the job done within those three tries. And seeing that on the first attempt to set up the boards I was doing fine, I'm feeling okay about it. I just have to take my time, that's all.

So, that's the update for now. We're both sailing along for the most part, and just trying to make our way to the next graduation. After that, I'll be continuing classes through the summer, while Drew will do Boot Camp the week after graduation, and then take the rest of the summer off until school starts again. We just have to push ourselves in the next couple of weeks to make it through!

Plugging away and ice cream

Not much to say for today. I went to Drew's class as he asked me to, and I didn't mind doing color belt stuff, because it keeps that stuff fresh if I should even go for my next collar, as well as it's just good for a workout. Somehow the Tuesday classes, which used to be small, have ended up being huge. There were about 20+ people in there, 3 of us being adults. We're a little more adaptable. The kids all seemed out of sorts tonight in general, and just couldn't get with the program. Some were attentive, but most weren't, and most just seemed unfocused. NK was a little pissed about it, understandably, so she took sparring away (Yay! I mean, AWWWWW...) I will say that Drew general stayed focused. You had to snap him into place a few times, but not much. There were actually kids who were worse behaved than him! There was one boy whom NK actually had him sit on the side until he could behave. And it wasn't Drew!!!! He was proud of that when I pointed that out. We did split the class in half, and Drew went with JZ while I stayed with NK. I had to choice to work on my own stuff, but I was fine doing the color belt stuff. I also helped with board breaking rather than do it myself. The one little boy who has transferred in from Pennington wanted to do an elbow break, but he was doing it completely backwards. I had to show him the basics, and eventually, he got it. Oy. Makes you wonder what they were teaching over there with certain instructors. :-S So many from there have transferred to Princeton it isn't even funny. Anyway, after class, I asked Drew how he behaved when he went to JZ's side, and he said he was very well behaved. I asked him if I could verify that with JZ, and sure enough, she did. She said his focus was really good today, and she high-fived him. I'm glad. As I've said before, it's only taken 3 years to get him to this point! But he felt good, too, that he was one of the better behaved kids in class, and considering he's the youngest boy there and behaved better than some of the older boys, he was proud of himself, which he should be. He's starting to make that connection in focusing in class and good behavior result in confidence and a job well done. Yay. To reward him for his good behavior, in which he told his dad on the phone that "you would be impressed, Dad" (LOL), I took him for some ice cream at a Carvel that just reopened as a treat. He was very happy to earn a Crazy Cotton Candy ice cream cone. (Yes, that is a flavor evidentally.)

In the meantime, I was just reading an article in Yahoo that says that in a few years, a musical about Bruce Lee is going to be produced for Broadway. At first I thought that was one of the most ridiculous things I had ever read. I think it's because my first thought would be the traditional musical comedy genre. But after reading the description, it could be pulled off, if done more like a musical drama, more in line with "Les Miserables" (not comedic at all, having seen it at least 2 or 3 times) or a later Andrew Lloyd Webber production or something like that. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens, whether it's actually decent or a farce. It's certainly something to think about. How would YOU translate the Bruce Lee story into a Broadway musical?

Smash the Pumpkin

It seems to be a reoccurring thing that Drew wants me in class at the same time as him. He used to have fits if I tried to be in class with him to keep him under control, and finally I gave up, and let the teachers try to do their job. It's always been hard to not say something from the sidelines, but I would be nipped in the bud too many times, and I'd just get frustrated, because as his mom, I do know what works and how to get him to comply more often than not.

This whole year has been a growing year for Drew. This time last year, he not even taking classes, because he had such behavior problems. It was a nightmarish time. Being in TKD Fun Camp helped, because SW set a precedence with some personal attention that made him understand that his behavior wasn't going to be tolerated, and she'd be giving him timeouts (with my permission) often at first, but less as time went along. All year, both in school and at home, he's slowly but surely been coming around. Being that he has ADHD and all, it's still a problem to keep him focused all the time, but he's come a LONG way from a year ago. Some of it might even just be maturity as well, but it's been a better year as we all persevered.

Today was a good example of that. Drew actually likes having me in class. Not that we weren't bonded before, but now we're much closer than before, and it's finally clicked that having a mom with a 1st degree black belt is very cool, and that she's an instructor trainee/in leadership helps in that he can get individual attention as well. I can say to him, "Drew, pay attention," more often to keep him focused than the instructor can during class. He likes working with me as a partner, and I can make sure that things he's been doing wrong and overlooked get corrected.

He's been making good progress in In Wha #2. I know for me, I like it MUCH better than In Wha #1, and it appears he's starting to agree with that as well. Since I was in class, and RA was teaching, we worked on a few of the hand movements that were the "tricky" parts to the latest section. But since I was in class, RA made sure to single me out, and make me do 1st degree stuff, rather than just go get a workout doing color belt stuff. That's fine, I didn't mind. I just didn't feel he HAD to feel obligated to do that. Whatever. Anyway, since we were by the mirrors, there were a few times that I had to remind Drew to pay attention, and he would listen and do so until he was distracted again. But for the most part, he stayed focused. After doing a few drills with the arm parts that were the "tricky parts", I was sent off to work on my form with JK along with a 1BR, which was fine. I didn't need as much attention, and I did do my form a few times. JK gave me a few recommendations on some things that needed smoothing out, but he said that otherwise it was looking good. I pretty much know the worst parts of what I do, which is mostly the jump kicks and the two spin hook kicks. A lot of that has to do with my bad knee.

But anyway, I was separated from Drew, and I didn't hear him being yelled at to focus or anything. The section of IW#2 that they were doing was the "Show the cookie, take the cookie away, smash the pumpkin" part of the form. Drew really took to that section, as he learned it this past week, and he's really getting that section down. Then again, he's getting all the sections down.

Before you knew it, class had ended (it's only a half hour class), and I can from the other floor and we bowed out of class. I asked how he did, and he said he behaved himself very well. LS, who was at the front desk, said he really behaved himself well today, and even RA said that he was doing really well today. RA said he was getting tired by the end of class, but he was doing great. Drew even returned RA's high five when offered, which is not something he used to do in the past.

I think it's not only that Drew is finally behaving in class, which has been 3 years in coming (yes, we started with this whole TKD thing 3 years ago already), but I think the whole TKD thing is starting to click for him. He's starting to actually pay attention and learn the forms and the new moves. He's actually starting to see that with each graduation, he gets to a new goal of getting to the next level of learning. He's starting to feel personal success not only in being recognized in behaving better in class, but also in learning the information and acting like a much better example of the black belt attitude. And that's what makes me happy. He's finally starting to like TKD. I don't believe in pushing children, but sometimes they do need to be strongly nudged. I did give Drew some breaks from TKD. He's even getting one for most of the summer. He'll have the intensive "boot camp" at the end of June, but then he won't be taking regular classes for the summer (hence why he's going to boot camp). He'll get a full belt in one week, which is cool. When he returns in September, he'll be at the halfway mark in his color belt curriculum. So, depending on how ready he is, perhaps this time next year, or at the summer of next year, he'll be ready to test for his black belt.

Yeah, having Drew's favorite part, "smash the pumpkin", and understanding it, and knowing the form and where that goes, is priceless.

Exhausted

You know I tend to be a glutton for punishment. I'm fortunate that I have an instructor that will run you hard, very hard, but will never run you so ragged that you totally break down. And thank goodness for that, because in taking three classes (or most of three classes), I could barely stand up and had to be careful driving home I was so tired!

At first, I took class with Drew. He's doing better, and I found that when I take class, generally he behaves better. So I asked him if he wanted me in class, and he said yes, so I asked SW if I could take class with him, and she said sure. There was one other black belt kid in the class (he was at the same level as me, but now he's one cycle ahead of me) and otherwise, all color belts. Well, the first drills were all about running drills, and SW told me I didn't have to run. She knows it's hard for me, with the weight and asthma, as well as just returning and being out of shape. But, at least for the first few rounds, I did run, and could keep up with the kids for the most part. But then there was a point where I was really getting winded, and she said I could take a break or step out, and it was good timing. She doesn't expect me to keep up with kids who are anywhere between ages 6 and 10 in energy level, thankfully! But for the most post, the rest of it I pretty much did the same as the kids. I didn't do sparring because a) I was tired and still needed to take two more classes, and b) it was taking too much time to get Drew ready let alone get myself ready, and to spar kids, so it was just as well. I didn't break any boards either, and I think I really need to get into board breaking class if I am going to prepare for my midterm in a month. Seriously! Anyway, during the sparring, I was watching Drew during the first round, and he was up against the black belt kid, who's about the same height as he is. (I think the other kid is a few years older as well, by maybe 2 or 3 years.) The other kid popped Drew with at least two kicks in the head, which fortunately Drew just shook off. SW advised him to better protect his face, and he did, but it was a delayed reaction. I yelled, "Kick HIM in the head, Drew!" and sure enough, he got his own kick in the head to the black belt. Boy, did he feel proud! In the last round, he got a hard kick just shy of his groin (thank goodness for "fighting underwear", as we call it), and he started to cry, because it hurt understandably. But I was able to distract him in reminding him that he kicked a black belt in the head successfully, and that worked well. He was proud of himself.

The second class was really big. The big joke of the night was that a) if you owned a Y chromosome, you generally were going to be a troublemaker for the night, and b) if you had said Y chromosome and were either a 2nd or 3rd degree black belt, it was a guarantee you were going to be a troublemaker. SW often says that her worst behaved children are the high ranked adults in the school-- and she's right! (I'm one of them these days, but not as bad as some others for sure.) We did more of the same drills that were done in the Master's (Drew's) class, but also had some time to work on our own stuff. I got some good sparring in, but I didn't go into it as fully as I could since I was starting to wear out. But it was still a fun class.

Leadership was good too. She talked about the drills that we were doing, and also did some more self-defense sparring techniques, and that was interesting. You can imagine that by the end of the night, I was spent.

It's a good tired, don't get me wrong. And I'm sure that there are a few body parts that will be feeling it more tomorrow. I know my knees are feeling it tonight, but I think the new inhalent prescription I'm trying has been helping, as my wheezing wasn't as bad as usual. I know I have to work out more, and at least, I'm getting started back into that direction. I think I need to get to more classes, but I think I'll have to start that after the next graduation when our schedule changes with the end of the school year. I gotta get back on track.

First night back

Well, no one had to perform CPR, so that's a good way to start! :-P

I arrived for my double classes, thinking that there might be a possibility that I wouldn't stay for both, depending how I got through the first class. Well, I made it through the first class alright. We did some drills in the beginning to warm up, and then we practiced forms. It was a large class, and I was stuck with a bunch of 10 year old boys. Oh joy. As usual, I ended up having to do things on my own, although NK made sure to check on me at least once to make sure I remember the form. I do remember it--I do it at least once a day while waiting for Drew at the bus stop, so I didn't forget. But I was tired already-- I'm not used to doing this after a long day. I practiced my SJB, as I have one more cycle with that. Well, I really need more help with that than the form. I remember it, but I still suck at it. I just want to get through this midterm so I can be DONE with it. Board breaking, which I REALLY haven't done for a long time, went okay. I did a sidekick with my left foot. Got it on the 2nd try, since I need to get back into judging my spacing in relation to the board as I approach it. We then did sparring. I did alright with that too.

So that was that for the regular class. Except for one thing.

Click on this sentence, and you'll find out what happened to me during drills.

Yes. That happened to me. Either the pants, which are all cotton, have shrunk a lot, or I've gotten heavier, or both. :-S How embarassing! Fortunately, my jacket is long enough to cover my tushie, and I was able to get a spare lightweight pair from SW. I could've gotten it for myself if she said so-- I didn't want to just grab it. But she first gave me a pair that was too small. I knew exactly what size I needed, so that's what I ended up getting. Oh well. I have two lightweight pairs now. She said she could order me a heavyweight pair, but I guess I'll have to see if that's really what I want, or at least wait until the fall for the heavyweight pair. The warm weather is coming, and I tend to get extra hot! ;-) But I survived, and just jumped right back into class as soon as I changed. I'll have to take a photo of the damage when I'm not so tired.

Instructor class was very small. It was just four of us, well, five if you count JK, who is training to get his red/black collar-- possibly even his red/black/red, I'm not sure. Anyway, he's working on bumping up officially. So it was me and a bunch of teenage boys, except for one who is a little older, maybe college age? Anyway, we worked on the one steps for S#3, which includes my favorite, "Pizza Dude". So we worked on that, and then worked on S#3, which I could do, but it's been a long while since I've done it. We also worked on the new "freestyle" BME, which isn't too bad. It's good that I learn it so I can help Drew figure some of this stuff out. While he can do whatever he wants, it would help if he knew SOME of it, at least. It went well, and a little slower paced, so that was good. After class, I asked SW if I could start learning the 1BD's BME form, even though I'm on the 3rd midterm, because I'm thinking of competing in August, and I'd rather learn and do the BME form than SJB, knowing how much I suck at SJB and would have half a chance at BME, since I like that weapon better. Heck, I'm thinking of even investing in a new BME just to have a better balanced weapon. SW also just got back from a ProTech camp (Weapons camp), and among the new "toys" she has, she has...I don't remember the exact name, but it was something like a "wind bo". If you ever watch the Avatar on Nickelodeon, it's just like his weapon-- it's collapsible, and when extended and whipped around, it makes a great whipping, windy sound. Ma'am learned about being an Air Bender! (I know, Mom Geek.) So that was cool.

So, despite the mishap, I got through. But I have to say, I AM tired. So on that note, I'm going to bed!

Back in the saddle

Well, while Thursday was technically the first day of May, thus the first eligible day of going back to classes, I decided to start back today. And yes, black belt classes are early in the morning, but sorry, Saturday is usually one of the few mornings (Sunday being the other day) that I can try to sleep in a little, so I certainly try. I still needed to get back into it, so I asked Drew if he minded if I took his color belt forms class with him, and he was cool with that. He's better about that sort of thing now. I also figured that since I really haven't been working out since February, even though I've practiced my own form now and then, that starting with a lower rank class was a good way of getting warmed up again on this stuff.

I partnered up with Drew, because a)he wanted it, and b) I knew that I could keep better tabs on him and getting him to cooperate and do what he's supposed to do. We were working on #1 hook kicks, then the hook kicks followed by a round kick. It's not difficult for me, but it's part of their form, and I have hook kicks in my form too, so it worked. I discovered in the process that while I think Drew understands what's required of him, he's not executing it quite right. He swings his leg out to do the hook, rather than the proper execution, which is doing a sidekick, then bringing the "hook" in to kick the pad. The other thing was that instead of hitting the pad with his heel, he was slapping the pad with the whole bottom of his foot. Maybe this is part of his "global" apraxia that he has, whereby his motor planning is not exactly that good. I would show him on his foot where he had to hit, and yet he'd still slap the pad with his foot. Oh well. The other thing was that he wasn't holding the pad correctly. Nobody ever seems to bother to show him. And granted, he was holding for an adult,and that's harder, but he was doing things like not stabilizing his hands or arms, not holding it straight back after the kick is executed (so I'd miss the pad altogether), and holding it near his face (which is a safety hazard). JK asked if it would be helpful if he held for me, being that he's a teenager at adult size, so it'd be easier for him, and Drew got frustrated and walked away. I got my drills in, but it was okay. I had a talk with Drew later and explained that JK was only trying to help, and that it IS hard to hold for a grownup, and it just takes practice.

After the drills, we learned the new segment to IW#2, which incorporated the hook kick/roundkick combination in it. Between BP, who was leading that part of the class and myself, we were able to keep Drew on track. RA was also helping to teach the class, and just to make it more interesting for the kids, he made it into a slight contest. He wanted to see who could do it the best, and he had a tie for doing it in the first direction. The prize was that the person who "won" got to choose which instructor had to do 10 pushups. The boy who got it had JK do it, and the boy got to count the pushups out. The kids liked that. So, RA had them do it on the other side to see who could do it the best. This time around, RA decided to let the best improved person do it, and he chose Drew! Oh, Drew was very excited, but he earned it, for sure. He chose RA, and was very excited that he could do that, as well as be recognized for his good work. BP was relieved that none of the kids picked him! :-P At the end of class, Drew asked if there were any stars or awards that needed to be delivered, I think because he was hoping he'd be rewarded with something. RA decided that since all the kids did well today in class, they all got paper stars, which Drew hasn't gotten one in a long time. (If you get 10 paper stars for good behavior in class, then you get a fabric one for your uniform.) Drew was very excited. When another little boy asked if they could trade stars, just because they were different colors, Drew said sure, and did it happily. He really had a good class.

I had a good class too. My balance is a little off, as I discovered in the drills, but otherwise I've still got it. Not that I've been away THAT long. But it was a good class to go into so I could work on my teaching skills as well get back into the active swing of things, instead of just being on the sidelines. I think Drew is finally starting to make the connection and not be jealous of the fact that I have my 1BD already, and he doesn't. He's catching up, slowly, but surely. By this time next year, hopefully he'll be getting closer to his own 1st degree black belt, so that will be good. And upon hearing that, I think he's starting to feel better and like TKD better too.

When I told him he did a good job today, and I asked him why I thought he did better today and why RA thought he was the most improved, he replied, "Because I participated." That was a good observation. He really WAS participating, and that's a big part of it. He also felt that he had good manners and I reminded him that he had better FOCUS. I also reminded him that if he does all of that all the time, he's going to continue to do really well and be great in TKD. He might think he's good in TKD and knows everything, but sometimes what he does is almost right, and the instructors-- and Mom-- can help him get it ALL right, so he needs to continue to listen and learn. He seemed agreeable to that. At least for now. ;-)

So, I think I'm back to a good start. It was slow and easy, but I still felt like I had a good workout without overdoing it right off the bat. I'm a lot more out of shape than I thought I was, so it's going to be a little tough for a while, but I'm ready. And perhaps if I continue to do this with Drew and be his "mentor" in some classes, then I think he'll start to improve too.

It was cute last night, as we were waiting for Cub Scouts, we bumped into our new neighbor, Mihak, who studies Kung Fu and was going to class with his bo staff. Drew was excited to show Mihak the amount of IW#2 that he knew already, and Mihak was gracious enough to say, "Good job!" (he's a teenager himself). I think when Drew does focus and participates, as he said, he really does enjoy TKD. It's when he doesn't do those things that it's not good.

Rev'ving up for a return

I discovered something today. I found that if I "google" my name, "Windsornot", a zillion hits for things that I've done come up, including several of my online blogs and postings. Geez. So much for anonymity! But interestingly enough, most of them were linked up to this blog. So if you are linked up to this and haven't said hi, please do so! I didn't know I had a "following" until I did this search. ;-)

Well, it's been two months since I took my long needed break. As mentioned, Drew's continued to go, and he's doing okay. Yesterday, I finally said something to JZ about Drew and being by the mirrors, and that it was okay to yell at him. I told her that I know she can't be disciplining him constantly because she has a whole class to focus on, but it's okay to tell him that he's not acting like a black belt, or saying that something is unacceptable behavior or something short like that, and he'll usually whip back into shape-- usually. I also suggested that when she does drills, see if she can pair him up with someone in such a way that he gets away from the mirrors. I know that we often will rearrange people in class so that people of more similar size and aptitude will be paired, so in her rearranging people, he wouldn't know that he's being singled out for being pulled away from the mirrors. When he's away from the mirrors, he tends to focus better, and not get distracted by making faces at himself and such. It was like that this past Saturday, and when she got him away from the mirrors yesterday, he did much better than usual. He still had his moments, but not as bad as usual. He actually paid attention a little more, and that's a good thing. He needs to learn to do it, because after the next graduation, no more copying the teacher at graduation! He was having some problems with his feet (somehow he contracted plantar warts on his feet--yuck-- and we finally figured out what they were to treat them, and now the skin on his feet are a little sensistive), but we worked around that as much as we could, and generally, it was a better class. Thank goodness.

In some ways, I haven't missed going to class. I like being able to not huff and puff and feel the pain in my lungs and my knees. I like having the extra time to myself. But at the same time, I'm feeling less agile than I was before, and I feel the need to get some exercise in again. I've still been practicing my form so I wouldn't forget it, so no worries there. I know I'll have to work on perfecting it again. I also have started thinking about the mid-term in June, whereby I need to practice breaking my boards, as well as getting that darn SJB routine down and get it out of the way! Bleeh! I really want to start learning the BME form that is needed for the next set of midterms. Additionally, there's a regional tournament in August locally, and I would rather do a BME form for competition than do the SJB. SJB is just not my weapon-- never has been. I'm sure if I ask, SW (or someone) will start teaching it to me so I have it by competition time. It's not like I'm raring to go back into competition, but this time, I'm not even going to expect to rate well at all (unlike last time, I thought I had at least a fighting chance with my CJ#2 form), but if I put the pressure on myself to get it perfected a little more, then there's a chance I'll push myself enough to get back into fighting shape, literally and figuratively. It's a thought, at least.

I started my payments for myself again for May, and technically, that doesn't start back until tomorrow! :-P I can't go tonight, as we've been having scheduling issues between my husband and I, but this should be the last week of such conflicts. I might start back on Saturday, perhaps taking the color belt class just to get warmed up again. And then next week, it's back in the saddle again.

Yikes.

Drew and In Wha #2

Today, we had a good day in TKD class. I know I don't write often, but when we have a successful day in class, then it's worth talking about.

Being that it's Saturday, I take Drew only to the forms specialty class. Yes, he should go to some of the others, but it's tiring, and he's not always the most cooperative, so if he's going to take any, it's going to be forms class, as that's what's most important at this stage of the game.

So today, they did several drills. I wasn't watching most of the time, but he generally behaved himself. I think part of it is that he wasn't by the mirrors to distract him so he could make faces at himself. He didn't listen to directions only insofar as when BP told him to put the pad down on the floor, he continued to toss it up and play with it. When BP removed it from his hands and put it where it was supposed to go, he kicked it away. Drew's partner, a very sweet little boy whose mother was signing him up for Leadership today (and this little boy will be great for it) went to get it and put it back. Drew kicked it again. I scolded him from the sidelines for that. He needs to listen! He does a lot of that sort of thing these days, whereby he hears you, but he won't listen, or at least obey what you tell him. It's getting rather annoying to yell at him constantly for that.

Anyway, after doing drills and some additional warmups, they did the first segment of In Wha #2, the new form of the cycle. After bowing in, etc. you turn to the side into a front stance, do an X-block, pull your hands back to load for a twin upset punch, do a jump-front kick, land, upset elbow, and reverse punch. Simple enough when you learn it. It's a little more challenging after the last cycle, but it's all good. Well, Drew took to it like water. He loves this form so far! He likes doing the jump kick especially. I also noticed, that again, when he's not by the mirrors, he actually pays attention, and so when BP was asking, "Okay, what step comes next?", Drew would actually answer up and answer up correctly. He was actually paying attention, and he was picking it up CORRECTLY. Last cycle, I really resented that I was fixing mistakes that he shouldn't have been making. I think I will be telling JZ in class on Tuesday to a) stop ignoring him altogether when he acts up, but rather whisper sternly that his behavior is unacceptable, and just to work with her as best as he can, and b) have her move him away from the mirrors during class. I know often he races to be by the mirrors so he can be one of the attendance card collectors, but after bowing in, she should move people around and make sure he's not near the mirrors so he can't goof off. It's a waste of her time and my time and money if he's not paying attention.

But Drew had a good day today. He was even practicing the form at least once on one side after class, he liked it so much. Let's hope it continues to go well like this for this cycle...

He's movin' on up!

I know, I know, this blog has seemingly died since I stopped classes for a bit. Life has been just too crazy, but I'm hoping that I might be able to start classes again in May. But I'm glad I've taken the break. I needed it. And after having a visit with Sandy the other day, who started back this past cycle at her school (where things are really changing a lot),and so much of what we talked about was TKD. Of course, she was teasing me that she's a cycle ahead of me now, and naturally, I reminded her that if I hadn't taken the cycle off, I'd be tied with her, thank you very much. ANd when I told SW that conversation, she teased that Sandy and I are worse than some of the kids. I retorted, "But she started it!" and SW replied, "See? There's my proof." :-P

Anyway, Drew has still been going to class, and tonight was graduation night. Before the graduation, there were a bunch of kids, some of them older and higher ranked than Drew, who were running around on the mats and goofing off. There was one boy in particular, I think his name is HL, who is a real troublemaker and he's a half-orange, half-white (which means he's just bumped up his first rank). I've seen him in his class while Drew takes his class on the opposite mat, and this HL kid seems to be trouble. Several times, I actually got up and yelled at these kids, especially this HL kid. When he got in Drew's face and tried to attack Drew, and I could tell that Drew wanted to retaliate REALLY badly, I got up and told the kid off, then instructed Drew that if HL acted up again to tell SW or one of the other instructors, because they would discipline him and tell his mom. Sure enough, when NK started to yell at the kids herself, Drew was sure to tell her about HL's antics. Not in a tattletale way, but rather factually. She appreciated him telling her, and she told me later that she was glad that he said something to her rather than get in trouble himself. That was a big step forward for him.

So, graduation started, and he was one of the first to go up with little JS. JS is a little girl (and I mean tiny!) who just turned 5, and whom Drew has deemed as "very cute". Even JS's mom teased, "Hey, is your son trying to pick up my daughter?" :-P Even though JS has a big brother who is a 1st degree black belt (he's 11, but he's not much taller than Drew, and he's a nice kid who tries to help Drew during classes), I think Drew thinks of himself like a big brother to her. He's very gentle and sweet and careful around her, knowing that she's a lot smaller than him. Both of them are "Tiny Tigers" (Drew just for one more cycle, then when he turns 7, he won't be anymore), so they end up doing stuff together very often. Anyway, they had to do their forms and weapons together, and I reminded Drew not to crowd next to JS, as they had the WHOLE floor to use. Well, they were doing great, and Drew was answering up and everything, showing great discipline.


Here's Drew getting ready to do his form. (You can see JS next to him.)


Power move!

Anyway, at one point, Drew actually got a little carried away in the movement he was doing (I believe it was an inner crescent kick followed immediately with a reverse side kick), and he lost his balance and fell. I was afraid he was going to start crying or have a meltdown, but SW just assured him it was okay and to just get up and continue. And sure enough, he did. (I think the "power move" above happened right after that.) He got through, and finished nicely. He did a decent JB freestyle form (aka freestyle bo kata), where again, he dropped his JB, but he just picked it up and kept going. He got the whole back floor to himself. Hey, at least he got up and did it! At this stage, he isn't required to do weapons, but it's good practice, because when he IS required to do it, it will feel normal for him to do it.

Lastly, he did his sparring. JS and he were ready first, and Drew promised, as did JS (hee hee), that they would remember that it was graduation sparring, otherwise as no contact sparring, or for them, no touching sparring (no contact doesn't always compute in the mind of a little one, y'know). Drew and JS went at it, and for most of the time, Drew just let JS attack him. He did defend himself, but he wasn't aggressive towards her at all like he would be if it was another boy his size. I was really surprised, but pleased nonetheless. JS's parents were too. (Yes, I'm friends with the family at the school, as JS's dad also takes classes now, and we see them all the time. Nice family.) When it was all said and done, Drew had really controlled himself during the sparring, and even though he didn't show his sparring skills fully, I think that self-control was HUGE, and that in itself was noteworthy. In fact, JZ, who was judging the sparring, made a point of coming over and complimenting Drew on his actions and doing so well.

The rest of the graduation, Drew had to sit patiently and wait, watching board breakers and other people doing their forms. Normally, after a while, he'd get fussy and fidgety. Not today. He sat patiently and clapped for other people, and cheered the board breakers and everything. He behaved beautifully.

I was very proud of Drew today. We've had a lot of things going on whereby he has acted out lately, and there have been things where he hasn't, so it's hard to know when he's going to react to things. Today showed that he could be the good boy-- and have a black belt attitude-- when he puts his mind to it. I was REALLY proud of him. Super proud.

And naturally, he's proud of his new belt. He's now a half-purple, half-green belt (purple recommended). Next belt: Full purple. And his last one earned as a Tiny Tiger. After that, he will have to know full form from that point on, starting with learning stuff for his blue belt. No more half belts until red-black (aka 1BR).


Good Job!

What? There's a new post here?

Hello there people!

Yes, it's been rather quiet here at the Other Journal, and for good reason. I haven't been to TKD classes in a month. Even though I can't pay for lessons other than Drew's right now, and had the offer to continue training anyway, life has been just a huge mess. It's really not fun with "real life" gets in the way, but rather than get into the messy details (and believe me, if you knew the details, you'd think it was a South American soap opera or something), I'll just leave it at saying that it's been a terrible past month or so. To summarize, we had a house guest who, while a decent house guest, overstayed his welcome. Then, the bigger problems had to do with a property my husband owns and rents out, and it continues to be a problem, but we are hoping we are starting to see the end of the tunnel with that soon. As a result, I'd have to sacrifice my training time. It's okay for the most part, because the property issues are much more important right now. And I have needed a break. But I think I need to get back into the swing of things. I have been practicing my form, but told SW that I was opting out of this cycle's testing, even though she said I could still do it. It was only this past week that I was able to tell her about the insanity going on, because we, even as friends, haven't had much of a chance to catch up lately. But anyway, this cycle was a major mid-term, and while I'm sure I could pull it off, I don't think I would so a great job, just a good one, and I'm a slight perfectionist that way. I'd rather do my best than my "okay/passable". I think I'll try back again after tax time, as the graduation/testing is on tax day. My knee needed the break, my lungs needed the break, and I, for sanity reasons, needed the break. But I miss my friends, and I think I do need more exercise again, so I need to make time in the near future.

In the meantime, Drew has been continuing. This past week has been pretty good, since we have been on spring break for regular school, so things were rather quiet in do-jahng, which was good for Drew. Not as much sound overload, and he was able to concentrate a little better. Of course, he still has problems focusing, and he loves to watch himself in the mirror a little too much and makes faces at himself, but I supposed that's part of his immaturity as well as him being 6 1/2. But he's doing so much better in class, and not having meltdowns like he used to have. Even the other day, while I was talking to SW, he was starting to have a minor meltdown because he couldn't get his chest protector off, but someone else helped him, and it was nipped in the bud quickly. He's starting to help put his gear on and off himself, which is good. He's made a lot of progress overall. He knows most of the whole form, even if he only has to know half. And, he's learning to get less frustrated when things don't happen instantly for him, like learning some new board breaks. Of course, it helps that the instructors are patient with him, and he does get it eventually. I remind him that some of this stuff take practice, and as long as he tries his best and keeps trying, he'll eventually get better.

Things have been good enough, both in the do-jahng and at home with the reduction of meltdowns that I feel like I'm starting to have a "normal" kid. And believe me, that's a HUGE relief. Yes, I still have to put things in place to make sure that life runs more smoothly for him, and do my best to diffuse the meltdowns quickly and put him in his place when needed. But when proposing the idea of TKD Boot Camp to him, Drew was actually open to the idea. A year ago, I don't think he would've lasted. But this year, I think he can do it. SW and I discussed it, and she thought it'd work out great for him. He will have just gotten his purple belt earlier that month, and she said that getting his blue at boot camp would be an excellent transition. I still have to figure out the financial logistics of it all, but I will. He may also go to TKD fun camp too, which Drew was saying, OH YEAH, I want to do that again. The good thing about doing those is that even if I can't pay for it all up front, SW knows we are good for the money, and I will give her as much as I can when I can, and that I will consistently give her something. I've always been good that way. So both TKD Boot camp AND TKD fun camp (half day of TKD and half day of fun stuff?). Can't beat that! I'm just glad Drew is going to be mature enough to do boot camp if we can swing it schedule-wise. And that he's up to it! That's progress in itself.

So, that's what's been happening here. I wish I was getting this midterm out of the way, but I didn't feel like I had practiced enough, especially since this midterm was all about board breaks. The rest of it would've been fine. But it's not a race. And I DO want to get this particular midterm out of the way, because the sooner it's out of the way, the sooner I can move onto using the BME instead of the SJB for weapons. (We know how much I love SJB--NOT!) And in looking ahead with the midterms (I have a list of the requirements right here at my desk to refer to), I also get inside and outside flow/joint locks and JB to do before testing for my second degree, and even double BME drills for the 2BD rank test, so that should be good. It's something to look forward to, at least.