This week's goal is to finish memorizing Palgwe #8. I'm 80% there right now. After that, there's only one form left to memorize: Pyongwon. I've walked through it with my teammates, and it's not nearly as intimidating as Palgwe #8. No worries. Also, I have only five more nunchuck patterns to memorize, then I know everything. ;-)
All of this has been made possible by my fellow 4th-dan candidates, Cathi and Andrea in particular. I've been going to our school's headquarters at West Union and practicing with them after the 11:00 AM class. Since our head instructor doesn't actually teach any of the advanced techniques we need to know (grr, long-running source of frustration), we're on our own. Fortunately Cathi has gleaned all of these techniques from various sources, so she's become the go-to person for the rest of us.
So, now the agenda for the test is set in stone. No more surprises, no more trying to guess what the Grandmaster expects from us. I'm not losing any weight (my eating has gone to hell) but my body feels good. My resting heart rate is dropping, and so is my recovery time (thanks again, ADAPT Training). My bad knee is what it is; not so much pain, but the range of motion is definitely restricted. I'm still confident, and I will be very ready on May 15.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
Three weeks later, I'm feeling fairly settled in at Saltzman. I'm enjoying getting to know the students, and I enjoy being a mentor for their martial arts journey. It's also been fun seeing the students from my first tenure at Saltzman who are still there. They have really helped me feel welcome.
Last weekend, I was telling my wife that I was a little bummed to be missing the belt tests at West Union. I feel like I have a stake in the students' success at the tests. Some of them struggle so much just to get ready for the test. I want to be there to watch them and offer whatever support I can. Imagine my surprise when, on Monday, Master Kim told me I was coming back to West Union to work at the belt tests. He likes the way I do the post-test announcements (promoting the summer camps, the annual trip to Korea, new class schedules for newly promoted students, etc). Saturday I'm back at Saltzman to work that belt test. So many of the West Union students let me know that they missed me. I miss them, too. No matter how frustrating The Job can be, the people are my family.
As far as my training goes, I have been practicing forms on a regular basis. Still have two more to learn; that shouldn't be a problem. Between DVDs and YouTube I'll get them. The nunchuck patterns will be harder. There isn't any recorded material on them, so I'm just going to have to find some time when I can take up master Jung on his offer to help.
Last weekend, I was telling my wife that I was a little bummed to be missing the belt tests at West Union. I feel like I have a stake in the students' success at the tests. Some of them struggle so much just to get ready for the test. I want to be there to watch them and offer whatever support I can. Imagine my surprise when, on Monday, Master Kim told me I was coming back to West Union to work at the belt tests. He likes the way I do the post-test announcements (promoting the summer camps, the annual trip to Korea, new class schedules for newly promoted students, etc). Saturday I'm back at Saltzman to work that belt test. So many of the West Union students let me know that they missed me. I miss them, too. No matter how frustrating The Job can be, the people are my family.
As far as my training goes, I have been practicing forms on a regular basis. Still have two more to learn; that shouldn't be a problem. Between DVDs and YouTube I'll get them. The nunchuck patterns will be harder. There isn't any recorded material on them, so I'm just going to have to find some time when I can take up master Jung on his offer to help.
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