TitanicX's blog: "Testing July 07"

So i decided a blog would be good here. I have not written anything post worthy (longer then a few sentences) for a long time so forgive my poor etiquette. The best topic I have to write on currently is my upcoming testing. I am a 3rd Kup in tae kwon do. That is a red stripe on a blue belt in our school. Basically I am 2 belts away from my Black, or 1st Dan (count backwards for the 8th Kup to Dan then up from 1st Dan to 10th Dan). It is getting progressively more and more difficult as I test higher and higher, as it should. The last testing pushed my limits pretty well as it was 2.5 hours of almost non stop work. This one is going to push me further as I am testing with my grandmaster. I have never met this man, but he is a 9th Dan, or 9th degree Black belt. The only other person I am aware of with at least this rank is his brother who is a 10Th Dan (im sure there are others, but Im also sure not many that have attained this high a rank). Grandmaster (GM) Choi has been a practitioner of TKD for approximately 40 years and my instructor has asked that he NOT go easy on us and make us earn our belts. Which in any case I will enjoy being tutored and molded by this great man, however there is always the nervousness that goes along with any test. In my preparation for the upcoming test (this Saturday) I have been practicing my Poomse (forms) diligently so as to make as few mistakes as possible. I have also been working on my stamina, which is in my opinion poor. This has been consisting of not only regular class during the week, but also working on simple things such as push ups, and other various exercises at home. Then at work I have been running the stairs we have here (5 floors). Once in a while I run the parking lot (quite large) but its so hot here that I don't care to do that much. In addition I have been trying to prepare myself mentally, which proves to be the most difficult easy thing to do. Its difficult to tell your mind to overcome the body as you work it, but it is the easiest thing to know how to do. Prove this yourself, do as many push ups as you can without stopping, then do 10 more go ahead, I'll wait...understand more now? Todays class will consist of Gyorugi or sparring. This is where you wear the Hogu (chest pad), forearm and shin/foot pads, head gear, and various other protective items (mouth, daddy part protectors, etc). Now usually I am the toughest person in class to fight due to my size, quickness and rank. I'm not heavy, but I throw a mean kick. there are a few exceptions, one would be my instructor who is fast approaching (and long overdue) his 4th Dan. Then there is John, he is a wayward friend of my instructor that comes off and on to our sparring class. He is a 1st Dan and is about 6'6" and has a kick that a mule could envy. Not only can he hit you fast, but he is so big that to come in on him is painful. These two provide me the best matches (i.e. I lose consistently, but learn the most). I look forward to seeing who will be sparring tonight and will be looking forward to being beaten down and molded in the proper ways of TKD. Tomorrow I shall report on my sparring and introduce you more to Poomse as that is usually what Thursday night classes consist of, usually...till then you stay classy Fubar!

Morning my soon to be blog readers! This is the last entry and report on my testing day (that is till I test again in a couple months!). I hope that you have enjoyed my little series here, and I look forward to any suggestions for my next series. Now, on to the report... Friday I had the privilege and Honor of meeting my Grandmaster. He is a 9th Dan, President and Kwan Jung Nim (head) of our organization. I was asked to spend the afternoon with him and my Instructor as he came in for and prepared for our seminar and testing. This man is one of the most genuine, kind and loving men I have ever met. The manners he had, the way he treated my instructors children even as they acted just as kids act, when they shouldn't. He is who I hope to be one day, an almost perfect balance between the 5 tenets (see these under my idol section, maybe I'll cover these next, hmmm..). I felt very privileged, and yet, very at comfort with him. Friday night we had a Gum Sool seminar, or Korean sword. This provided me yet another honor from my Grandmaster. We had 4 Dans' (black belts) with rank from 1st to 4th Dan as well as several other high ranking Kup (colored belt) and I was asked to help instruct the class of nearly 30 people! I took my GM instructions and helped translate as well as show then correct the students. This being an honor due to my ranking (on Friday night 3rd Kup) and how unusual it is to have a Non-Dan instruct a class. The first 30 minutes or so of the class I felt very nervous, I did eventually start to relax and at that point I was able to focus more and learn much more then what the class was able to learn. This was a fantastic seminar and If you ever get a chance to participate in such a seminar, don't let it pass you by. Look for part 2 for an update on the actual testing Saturday morning as I am out of time! Thanks for reading, and you stay classy Fubar!

Good morning again! Hope today finds you all well! I will finally complete this series today (started early enough to finish it today hehe) To continue regarding the seminar of Friday night. We went through many moves, some very basic, others that were a little more advanced, basic cuts, stances. moving with the weapon, how to carry it and how to properly ready the weapon for use. Over all It was a great experience and I look forward to learning more in the next several months as we are starting a sword/Hapkido class on Saturdays so we are better prepared to learn more advanced moves when our GM comes back in 6 months. Testing itself was a grueling five hours. We started at 10 and went until after 2. It was a long hard trip, but It was well worth it to under the tutelage of such a great teacher. We had one of our young men receive his 1st Dan Rank (black belt). My instructor received his 4th Dan as well as being certified as a Master-Instructor in the UMA TKD association. We had two other instructors (one from our school and one from another school) that also ranked up. Our instructor received her 3rd Dan and the other received her 4th Dan and is working towards her Master rank. I received my 2nd Kup (red belt) and am drawing closer to my Black belt. I was able to spar with most all of the higher belts. It was allot of fun, I can always fight against the two lower ranked black belts, but my instructor is another story..though I did get one good head shot on him hehe. Every time I spar with these higher belts they teach me so much, how to move, what to throw, when to hold back, when to just go all out and so on. One of my favorite parts to participate in during any of our testing is our board breaking. My daughter participated in this testing as well (and she double promoted! now ranking 5th Kup, Green belt) and she was able to break with a back kick. It took her many tries to break it , but she finally did and she made me proud. I was asked to break with a jump round house. It was a little intimidating, but I broke in one shot, so I was excited. Over all, I grew some more during this testing, I developed a greater insight into what it takes to be a martial artist for life, I saw the power and the respect that happens when one continues to develop in the arts. I am looking forward to moving onward and upward as I progress! I will start taking suggestions for my next series, so If you have any ideas, let me know! Till next time, you stay classy Fubar!

Good morning! Hope we are amazingly great on this wonderful Friday! Well unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances I did not make it to class last night, however I will still go further into the Poomse as I said I would. One great piece of news however is my instructor called me late last night and asked if I would accompany him to the airport to pick up my Grandmaster and have lunch with them, so I am very excited! Now on to the Poomse! Poomse, as I have said previously, are set patterns of movements, attacks and such. they go from the very simple to the very difficult and can contain anywhere from 16 to more then 60 individual moves. In my school we have 9 forms leading to black belt and then there are at least 10 black belt forms (my instructor is testing for his 4th Dan, Master level, so he is the highest we have). The forms are as follows: Ki Bon 1 Tae Guek Il Jang Tae Guek Ee Jang Tae Guek Sam Jang Tae Guek Sa Jang Tae Guek Oh Jang Tae Guek Yok Jang Tae Guek Chil Cang Tae Guek Pal Cang Then we move to the Black belt forms, these Im not going to really cover as I am not yet high enough to have learned them and so I don't yet understand them! If you would like to see these forms, and I have posted this link previously, see http://www.natkd.com/tkd_forms.htm We also use two other forms sparingly for low end, usually younger children, those fall into line with Ki Bon as 2 and 3. On the website these are listed as Kicho forms. (I have mentioned this before, but repetition is good for the memory) Each Tae Guek form is representative of not only fighting, but they hold a meaning. Il - Heaven Ee - Joy Sam - Fire Sa - Thunder Oh - Wind Yok - Water Chil - Mountain Pal - Earth These meanings are not only representative of the forms, but there is always a hidden meaning that can only come with practice and feeling. Il Jang is represented by Heaven. Since it is the beginning of you true training, you have left White belt and began that life long process that will shape you and mold you as you gain more and more knowledge. Ee Jang is Joy. This is the inner firmness that one gets when joyfully pressed and the outer softness that one expresses when happy. It is moving on, growth even. If you don't have joy by now in your training, then the next months and years will be a wear on your soul. Sa Jang is fire. or that hot, bright inner drive that moves one on. This is the beginning of where you start to be broken from your old self, old knowledge and start to rebuild into what will one day be a powerful inner spirit. Sam Jang is represented by the power of Thunder. This is a great symbol at this level. This is where either one moves on and creates that power and dignity that allows lower belts to start to look up to oneself and shows your instructor that you are starting to gain insight to what Tae Kwon Do really is. Oh Jang's wind shows us a mighty calmness. This represents might of spirit and body with the calmness that comes with confidence as you move on. Yok Jang is the water. Water is soft enough to be flexible, moving, yet hard enough to cut stone. This is the uninterrupted flow and softness that can create the Grand canyon and move mountains. Chil Cang represents the mountains. The strength, the firmness. It is that thing that starts to bring out the philosopher in us all, pondering on our TKD life cycle. This is a huge step forward toward our Black belt. Pal Jang is the earth. Firm, rooted in greatness. This is the beginning of life, and where the end is. The beginning of Black belt training and the end of being a child if TKD. This is where one either ends their training, or chooses to move on to Black belt and grow, or end the process and stop here. I have seen many that get here and cant handle the next steps required. These include the actual testing which can be 8-10 hours and the dedication that being a Black belt requires, it is a whole new level of learning, training usually changes at this point, less and less physical needs and more and more mental hardening. This is enough info for today. Tonight we don't have regular class as my Grandmaster is teaching a sword seminar. Tomorrow is the big day, I most likely wont be online this weekend to report back. So I will defer to Monday and hope that you are enjoying this! This next post will be the last in the Testing blog, so we will have to decide what to talk on next week, till then you stay classy Fubar!

Hello to my many reader! hehe. I hope the day finds us all well by lights end. Now, on to the post! I said yesterday that I would report and go further into Poomse. First the report. My instructor decided that we would not be sparring last night due to the upcoming testing as most needed help in other areas, but good news is that I did get one short, easy match. We have a few that will not be here this weekend and as such needed to test sooner, one tested on Monday, and one last night. The young man that tested last night is a 6th Kup or yellow belt, He was testing for his green belt (attempting to double promote to 4th Kup). In the course of his testing, since he was alone, I stayed and sparred with him. Being a much lower belt and still unsure of his sparing ability I took it very easy on him, invited his kicks, asked him to retry certain moves and encouraged him to try other types of attacks, in the course of this I avoided many of his hits, threw a few good strikes and kicks (most of them slowed) and made him realize how much better he can become. Now this young man (he is 17) is no small guy, he has about 2-3 inches on me and outweighs me by at least 50 pounds. Still he is a low belt, slow and unsure of himself. It was fun, I often teach at my Dojang (TKD school) and so I enjoy helping others grow, so a faux match to help a lower rank rise to the occasion is wonderful thing to be a part of. The other great part of testing that I also was able to participate in was the board breaking. Usually I, being one of the oldest and highest belts in my school, am designated as the board holder. Some may question why we break boards, as Mr Miyagi said, board no hit back. Breaking a board is a part of moving up and out of oneself. A way for the instructor to see where the mental and physical has combined. There are many, many types of breaks that can be performed. We use 1" thick hardwood boards and depending the kick/hit they are held by one two, or even three others. Last night he was asked to break twice, again due to him trying to double promote. The first break was a simple back kick, picture a mule kicking (on two legs hehe). He was able to break his board in one strike. However, the second hit which is actually an easier break gave him (and my hands) trouble. It was an axe kick, picture your leg as an axe coming down hard with your foot as the axe head. He was unable to break the board, however he may have broke my finger..jk. After 5 hits with two landing directly on each hand my instructor kindly stopped the carnage before I did get hurt hehe. Now a failed board break is not the end of the world at our school. Our instructor feels its more important to learn then to criticize. over all this young man did well and will move on and continue to grow. Before the testing with him we had our regular class. Last nights class consisted of allot of Poomse work. Poomse is the art of forms, or set patterns representing various moves. There are many types and styles of forms in the world and these vary widely from style to style, even school to school. Anyone in martial arts can recognize the moves as for the most part they are similar in one way or another to each other. My school is part of the WTF (World Tae Kwon Do Federation). This is what you see most often when you see sparring online, at the Olympics, most tournaments etc..This is a fast moving non stop style, focusing on moving and striking. The Poomse our school uses are the Tae Guek lineage. If you would like to see these, and many others, see http://www.natkd.com/tkd_forms.htm as a good reference. There are a few forms that we use outside the Tae Guek line, but these are mostly low end, white belt, or beginner, forms. These are known as Ki Bon forms. On that site they are listed as Kicho forms, not all are listed there that we use. But the main forms are there with video. My current rank places me at the top of the Tae Guek forms and getting close to the black belt forms. Poomse is one area I excel at, I have a sense of balance, an ability to learn quickly and I practice non-stop. Currently I am Utah State champion in my division as well as winning at the Utah Summer Games. In the 6 tournaments I have been to I have only finished second once. (I wish I were so good at sparring to say the same..). SO needless to say I get to help teach them most often. My current Poomse is Tae Guek Chil Jang. Its a beautiful form with allot of different stances and moves. This form is represented by the name of Mountain. Steadfast, strong, powerful, wise. This form is a good contrast of power and grace. In the course of practicing the form I was able to assist one of our young ladies who is also learning the same form. She is a promising girl as she had broke her foot and still cannot participate in allot of things, but she is diligent and practices often. She just learned her form last week and has most of it already memorized. Now this is an accomplishment since she has a hard time remembering her forms that she learned previously (going to work on that). Over all I was very proud of her work. My family was also there participating in my class and we worked on their forms as well. It was a very good class, while classes like this don't tend to teach me much new, they help me refine my skills and allow me to become a better teacher each time. Tonights class will consist of much the same as we have tonight and thats it to practice in class. Tomorrow our GM is having a sword seminar on Kumdo (Korean form or Kendo) and then Saturday morning is the big day! I will write more tomorrow on how tonights class goes, While Im sure it will not be as exciting, or news filled as this posting was, I will make it informational with more about the different Poomse, meanings and moves. Till then, you stay classy Fubar.