Connect/disconnect

I'm pleased to report that the adjustments I've made to my eating habits are working.  I'm down about five pounds.  I can't be complacent, though; I've got to stay focused on eating clean and drinking plenty of water.  I'm averaging about 2 1/2 liters a day.
I've gotten to know the junior masters a little better in the last few days.  Master Jung has offered to help me improve my skills in the way I want to improve them.  The bottom line is that I will devote my training time to the things that are needful and useful to me, not the goofy demo team stuff.  Listen: the demo team can do things I could never do, and I respect their dedication to their craft.  For my purposes, though, demo just doesn't appeal to me.  I like to see them, but it's not something I would care to do myself.  Anyway, I'm feeling like a student once again, and it feels good.
As the test draws closer I find myself getting more disenchanted with being an employee at WCT.  This isn't a new development; my philosophical differences with the people in charge have been simmering for years.  I'm just disgusted with the low standard of discipline there.  This is what I expect from myself and others: show up on time, behave, do your best, and don't waste time (yours or anyone else's).  If you don't want to train, stay home.  That's what I do.

Watch what I do

Feeling much better; the cold is pretty much reduced to a minor annoyance rather than debilitating headaches and congestion.  I'm back in the groove at ADAPT, so the conditioning is back on track. 
I have missed this week's TKD classes because my bad knee is being uncooperative.  I don't want to push so hard that I hurt myself badly before the test.  Frankly, the last couple TKD classes I attended had little to do with improving my skills.  I'm not all that interested in doing kip-ups, handstands, and other tumbling stunts. 
A couple years ago I met a TKD grandmaster in Tennessee.  She spoke of "the lonely path" of an advanced martial arts student; after reaching a level of expertise at several different styles, she found herself largely on her own when trying to continue learning and improving.  That's how I feel now.  The skill training I need is, at best, hard to come by; the other master candidates at my school (there are five of us) occasionally get together unofficially and practice techniques we have gleaned from various sources.  My master instructors are, frankly, not being much help at all.  That's the way it's been for several years, so this doesn't come as any surprise.  I'm on my own.
Having said that, I still am 100% confident that I will be at my best come May 15th.  I might not train the same way that other people do, but when I am training I don't screw around.  I don't have time for people who screw around, either.  And I don't have time for ineffectual classes.  Go ahead, question my heart.  I want you to.  Go ahead and doubt me, I don't care.  Don't listen to what I say, WATCH WHAT I DO.

A small wrench in the works

I only managed one TKD class and two ADAPT sessions this week.  I've got one of those colds that's mostly in my sinuses, so there are a lot of headaches.  Cold medicine helps a little.  I'm not feeling very masterful this week.

125 days 'till Christmas

One week in the archives.  Two integrated workouts; two strength training sessions (all calesthenics), one hour-long stretch; two TKD classes, one of which aggrevated my bad knee; one forms and weapons session at home, and a sparring class, my first in several months.
I've been asked to add four more TKD classes to my teaching schedule.  The money sure wouldn't hurt, but I'm never gonna get out of the dojang.  The more I teach, the harder it is for me to get up (emotionally) to train.  Four months of intense grind, then we'll go from there.
My weight didn't budge, so I need to be tighter with my diet.  More water, less salt.  If I'm still stalled next week I will go to a strict Zone plan.  By and large my body feels good.  The ADAPT workouts (plus the 1/2 cup of vitamins etc I take every morning) help me recover from everything else I do, so I'm not walking around like a large wound all week.
Here's my training plan.
-Mondays: 9:00 AM integrated class; 8:15 PM TKD
-Tuesdays: 9:00 AM strength class; home forms/weapons practice
-Wednesdays: 9:00 AM integrated class; 8:15 PM TKD
-Thursdays: 9:00 AM strength class; home forms/weapons practice; 8:00 PM open gym/private coaching with Master Jung
-Fridays: 9:00 AM stretching class; 11:00 AM forms/weapons practice with "the gang" at the dojang
-Saturdays: 11:15 AM sparring class.  I might spar on Thursdays instead of/in addition to Saturdays.

The countdown is on

Master Kim summoned me to his office tonight just before class.  "Is Saturday, May 15th, a good date for you for the 4th dan test?"  Sure is; it's also my birthday.  This is gonna be fun, testing to become a taekwondo master on my fifty-first birthday.

Day 3

Tuesday was kind of rough, physically speaking.  I didn't sleep very well Monday night due to some muscle pain running through my left glute and hamstring.  The 9:00 AM workout went pretty well; we did all bodyweight exercises.  I was very sore until after work.  Being on my feet all evening actually seemed to help. 
This morning was another integrated training class; it was pretty gentle except for there was some plyometric drills which I couldn't do very well.  Still a little stiff this morning. 
I'm going to rest a little this afternoon before work, then take another TKD class tonight.  The hardest part of getting to the classes is... getting to the classes.  I'm usually pretty mentally wiped out after work, so it's easy to talk myself into just going home rather than staying for class.  I usually enjoy myself, once I get moving.

Now the real work starts...

For January my goal is to cultivate the habits I will need to get the results I want.  My goals are to weigh 180 or less by May (today I weigh 204); be able to easily run the "misery mile" (a very nasty one-mile circuit in my neighborhood; there's a huge hill at the 2/3 point); 100 push-ups/sit-ups/squats on demand; knockout power on the fundamental kicks; perfect the forms I already know; and memorize the forms and techniques I still don't have down cold.  I don't want to squeak by on my master test; I want to kick its ass the way I did on my 2nd-dan test.

Today's routine: ADAPT "integrated" class this morning (one hour of alive cardio/flexibility/mobility training); forms and nunchucks for 30 minutes (yup, I still hate nunchucks, but I'm gonna kick their ass too); and a nice TKD sweat-fest at 8:15 this evening.  Those college-boy masters don't seem to know how to deal with me; they think I'm gonna clutch my chest and drop dead or something.  Koreans my age don't do TKD unless they're professionals, and the 50-year-old pros are 7th dan or higher.  Guess I'm just gonna have to show 'em what I'm made of.

My eating plan is pretty simple: five small meals a day, kind of a lazy man's Zone diet (I don't measure stuff, but I know what 3-4 ounces of protein looks like).  I've eliminated all liquid calories; no Cokes or Starbuck's calorie-bombs for the old man.  One day a week is free day; I can eat whatever I want.  I'm also taking a buttload of vitamins & minerals (Universal Nutrition Animal Pak), DHEA, and a lot of fish oil capsules.  Nothing weird or dangerous; I'm pretty conservative about supplementation (at least I think I'm conservative about supplementation).  Years ago I took creatine, but I've come to the conclusion that it just makes me hold water, plus it upsets my stomach.  For breakfast I have a protein shake because it's easy and digests well.  I'll re-evaluate my eating in about a month to make sure the fat is coming off at a decent pace.