Candidate Journals

I hear there are games going on tonight. I for one do not follow much of college sports, but I do enjoy watching them live. I guess thats the west coaster in me. Don't hold it against me too much. I have embraced the southern ways and love it. I just can't get into college sports. Katherine (the Mrs) is supposedly a big Duke fan, passed down by her father. They love their Duke. Though she doesn't follow them or has a clue how they did this season, I would not be allowed to turn on the Carolina game. A long time ago I asked her father who in the family went to Duke. Would have thought I grew a third eye on my head the way he looked at me. "Boy, you don't have to go to heaven to know that you want to go there" was his answer. I...

  On sunday when I was with my dad me and him played on my ps4. When we picked teams I picked Golden state warriors, he was the Milwaukee Bucks. The score was 103-101 I was up then he mad a three. The score was 103-104 I had to make a shot with klay tompson but he missed the three and we lost.

Today was the first day back at school. It went pretty smoothly and I think the rest of the week will be good.

Went to class today. Basically mastered by Bolo form. I should work on that along with my staff form tomorrow.

Did my first weight class since injuring my hip last week. Kept the weight light, and everything went well. No pain. Ready to keep on working and getting ready for testing.

Wow! No more Saturday black belt classes before testing. The reality is closing. I suppose there will always be more to do. Could have, should have...I wished I would have done this one differently. 

Hello candidates, Master's, fellow students, and foreign delegates. Wanted to thank you for what looks like a big turn out for the King Tiger service project coming up this Saturday the 9th. Those who are on the cycle, were of course voluntold, but we seem to be getting a lot who just want to help out. Here's a little about this organization. It was established in 1944 by Rev Childers. It was a private place to help abuse, neglected or any child in need. The residents at the ...time, was a mill town, raised $10,000 to make it possible for children to have a safe and loving place to go if needed. The Church of God Children's Home is still a private, non-profit Christian facility and will remain so as long as the generosity of the community deems it so. Most of the children (to my understanding) go home on the...

Last day of Spring Break. We came back from the beach today and on the way back I was crammed in the back of the car because we had to pick up one of my dogs.

Hello, sorry i haven't journaled in a while. I guess i really just took spring brake off. I did get some running though. Today i went to some batting cages and practice hitting for baseball. Then I went to the field to catch fly balls and do suicides. It was fun, good night.

Yesterday I went to spare time.  At spare time me my dad and his girlfriend all went but me and my dad did putput.  Then I did the arcade. Then after that we got my favorite food ribs. I had a fun day yesterday .

Hello. Today's going to be pretty busy for me. I have a spanish project to finish and I want to read about our next class in European History, it's a very reading-extensive class.

Awesome instructors training this afternoon! I should try to do better and break out of my comfort zone. I also need to make a point to meet someone new each time I go to the dojang and then keep up with them. It is hard with so many. I missed working with the student I have been working with each Saturday after family class. I hope he's on vacation.

Two more days of spring break. Can't wait for school! (sarcasm)

Yay! I finally finished creating my creative poomsae today. Now I just need to learn it and remember it, so it looks as if I have been doing it for a long time. I have in my head, for trying to come up with it, but that's totally different muscles. 

If there is one part of my life I could just skip, it would be tax season. God Bless accountants because I don't know how they do it. Looking at pages and pages of numbers, forms, rules and whatever else. The stuff makes my large intestine do a yoga position. I remember taking Accounting I and Accounting II in college, and you know what I learned, hire a good accountant. Every year I do an extension because of the dread of completing the 80 page booklet my accountant gives me to fill out. And every year I tell myself I will start earlier and get them done prior to March. When pigs fly. Or how about when pigs own a breakfast bar and fry bacon. Weird but tasty. So, stay healthy cycleillans and be sure to wash behind your ears. You never know when the IRS will want to meet you.

Happy April! Hope for a great month with testing coming up!

  Yesterday me,dad,cousin went to go work out. Will they were working out I worked out with my trainer. Then after that we all went to go run 2 miles. It was hard for me because we went to go run right after I got done with my training. So I guess yesterday was hard.

Not much happened today. I have my piano lesson then Tae Kwon Do. I'm not sure if it's a the dojang.

Spent yesterday feeling like an old man. Hurt my hip pretty badly, probably from doing deadlifts. Never had this particular injury, so hoping that ice and rest will heal it up in short time.

Today the family with all the boys came and it is going to be chaos.  

Had a great day at the whitewater center with the kids. All the arms work on the ropes courses sure makes pushups, burpees, and pull-ups that much more challenging. My left arm is more sore than usual. I was probably holding the ropes too tightly. Gotta love the zipline! Back to reality tomorrow. 

Regular day today. Worked on a spanish project with my friend and we went to see the Batman vs. Superman movie afterwards. It's really not bad, I don't understand what the fuss is about.

   Yesterday I lost a tooth. It was really bad. It was bad because when I pulled it out it had skin and this weird thing on it. When I tried to pull it out it hurt so bad that I started so much that my eyes turned so red that it was darker then my dark red blanket and my blanket is dark trust me. Also after I pulled it i had a smile on my face that's how much it hurt. 

Our friends have left and we are now getting ready for the next family that is coming.

No matter how much time there is, it never seems to be as much as I need. Hopefully tomorrow will be a nice day for ropes courses and zip lines at the whitewater center with the kids. 

The Air Forces slogan, at least in the past, is Aim High. When different services meet, like the Army and the Air Force work together, we would have fun with their slogans. I always remembered the "Aim High when you shoot low" joke. In retrospect, it makes some sense. You picture yourself succeeding at anything you do. Then you go for it. You might fail miserably, but if the right mind set was in place, you do much better the next time. I like believing that I can conquer anything. Even if the reality is so very different. It's why we continually do the things we do. Not because we are good at it, or were born to do it. We do it because it's something we haven't mastered it yet or even tried yet. Imagine the first guy to climb Mount Everest. I bet he was the butt of every...

For our friend's last day, we decided to go to the beach. Everyone has sunburns now which really hurt.

Its been a long time since I recorded a journal. My dad has been travelling a lot lately. Last week we had our friends come from Michigan to visit us. We had a blast. We went to Atlanta to see the aquarium and then in and around Charlotte. They left back home yesterday. My sister and I have spring break this week and we kind of finished all our assignments. I have been working on the small details which Master Randle and Master Ritchie told me last week. I finished all my requirements and even though I keep doing my stuff I stopped logging in the numbers. Maybe I should login the numbers again. I am super excited to get back to class from today. Felt boring without Tae Kwon Do the past few days.

Getting to the finish soon. The last weeks always seem to go by faster than the first few weeks. Still much left to do. I went to class in Belmont today. I never know what to expect in Master Shin's class. It's always fun and challenging and today we tried taegeuk poomsaes with staff. That really makes you think about what you are really doing. 

Sometimes I forget how the simpler things in life give the greater reward. This weeks been nice and a good time to reflect. Connor is getting that age where he's contemplating how the world works and his place in it. Trent has a friend staying overnight, Mateo, who lives in a apartment complex in Ohio and doesn't have a back yard or a dad. Today was a blast as he and Trent spent the day in the creek in the back with their shovels and rain boots getting soaked from head to foot. Later we made a camp fire and roasted some marshmallows. It's awesome to see the look on his face just from being in the woods and doing what boys do, get dirty, wet and run around like nutty dingoes chasing a plumb rabbit. Tomorrow we'll send him down on our neighbors zip line. No waivers needed. We just...

Failed to get 200 lbs twice trying to get a 1 Rep Max on Push Presses. Got 195 lbs WOD: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 TNG Cleans (115 lbs) Pullups TNG Jerks (115 lbs) Touch and Go movements with no pauses. Every pause requires a 100 m run/sprint

One of my friends and her family left today but my other friends are staying until Wednesday. Then on Thursday another family with only boys are coming.

Hello folks and Happy Easter. I titled this one Hope as that is what Easter is, a new beginning and hope for something more than this world. I really like the part that I will be seeing my family and friends in eternity once I do my final swan dive and kick the bucket. My forever hope is that you will be there too, practicing martial arts with me and kicking some devil butt. Not the Duke kind of course. For those of different faiths, we share similar goals; after life, reunited with loved ones, and a sense of purpose. Without purpose, what's there to do. For example, for the last two days I have been installing a new stereo and speakers in my suburban. It looked real easy on You Tube. So, after much tedious wiring and rigging, because the parts didn't fit right, I finally got it all done....

One of my friend's family are leaving tomorrow because their school system is different than mine. It was still fun though.

I forgot to journal this weekend. I did some yard work earlier today, which is super fun. It's a good break from reading for Biology of European History. I've got quite a bit of things I need to finish.

Busy day today. Not sure if I will have time to get a run in. Family Easter dinner today. Need to keep it real and not eat poorly.

Chopped down two trees in my backyard, and cut my Crepe Myrtle back. Then spent hours trimming bushes and cutting firewood with my axe. Pretty exhausted. Going to feel this tomorrow.

Today our friends arrived at our beach house. I hope to have a great time here with them!

  On one day it was pi day and I got 21 words. I forgot the words but at least I got the numbers right in class. The numbers were 3/14 that was the day that is celebrated .

Today is the first official day of Spring Break. My family and I are spending it at our beach house. It is going to be really fun!

I found out I have a new nephew today, on my sister's birthday. How exciting! I look forward to meeting him. I have some catching up to do. Let's see how productive tomorrow can be. 

Practiced a lot of dynamic kicks yesterday. Trying to get my 540. Legs and back are so tired. HSPU and weighted plank holds (45 lb) today WOD: 50 calorie row 50 pushups 100 squats 50 push press (95 lbs) 50 calorie row

  Today our school had Tech Field Day. It was early fun but the part when we had to learn. we did recess,slideshows,art,and music.It was really fun. The most fun part of all of it was when we went out to recess.

No work out this morning with Master Evins...so went to the Dojang and worked on poom saes.  Did my requirements.  Got caught up on some emails.  Looking forward to the MAIA seminar this weekend.  

Alright, I'm about 36% done with my school work given to me for the break. Of course I kept into account the projects teacher are going to give us the last day. This is just a very busy week.

Had a good work out day yesterday...Crossfit in the am, then ran 2 miles with Ms. Theresa (she makes me go "fast").  Then joined in with the adult class for some kicks and poom saes.  Master Schneider was able to join us, so we worked on all the Black Belt Pooms so that she could get up on the modifications.  It really helps me learn the poom sae better, when I get to teach it.   Worked out with Lauren this morning...cardio and strength.  Looking a work out # 2 at 6:30 tonight.

Think I will work on some dynamic kicking today. Want to get my 540 back (and better). More work on hurricane hook kicks. Black Belt class tonight, and PMAA

As I have made a list of homework assignments to complete before the break, I have 25% done. This does not include studying for tests and out of school work. I'm looking forward to when I have all I need completed.

We made it, spring is here officially. Enjoyed a good day of work, transferred my tools to the new car, and soccer. It definitely feels like spring. Ever wonder why we look forward to spring so much when all we do is increase our work load with yard work, house and car washing, and all the kids sports we run around trying to make. I was going to hop in the hammock for a few minutes when Katherine yelled down from the back deck, "What are you doing?" Apparently, I'm not doing enough. What was I thinking not having a shovel in my hands to provide the earth with much needed azellya shrubs. Those Jone's might get ahead of us with their planting if I close my eyes for a minute. Shutter the thought. That's all for now. Drive fast, take chances.

The cycle is almost over and so am I. All I have left is a mentee session and running. Yet, at the same time, I feel like it will be a year until the cycle ends. It's only a few weeks away but feels like it will take forever. I just can't wait. I want to say good job to everybody at the physical and written test. You all did a great job. I am very happy for everybody that has gotten this far and has pushed themselves beyond their limits. Congratulations to all!

Back from taking a week off sick. Felt good. 5 lbs short of a PR on Strict Press WOD: 400 m Run 30 OHS (115 lbs) 400 m Run 30 Lateral Burpees 400 m Run 30 Slam Balls 400 m Run

Was not happy with the chilly day today.  Supposed to warm up again this week.  Using my new lap top.  It has been a frustrating couple of weeks...computer-wise. Proud and happy with the Physical and written test this weekend.  The next month will fly by!

If you ever have the opportunity to go alpining, I highly recommend it. It's such an inspiration to stand on the highest peak around and look out over the world around you. That's what Saturday felt like as my fellow cyclist turned on the juice and slam dunked it. The effort, sweat, and drive was motivating. Watching little (but fierce) Tiger smoke that run, Jaylen never backing down on the plank, and the rest of the gang kicking butt and taking names. It made for a very manly day, ladies included. Three more weeks and we get to have that sleep over at the North Charlotte Dojang. Don't forget to bring you favorite pillow and your fluffy Ninja Turtle slippers. I hear there will be story telling with some hot cocoa, smores, and a good game of duck duck goose that Master Evins puts on. I heard we might have to...

It feels good with the physical test behind us. I'm pretty sure I bettered each thing except I did one less burpee. I thought that was pretty good especially considering I didn't run before the pretest. I even felt good doing plank. What got me there was more my wrists. It was great that Jeremy came and ran with me, was very encouraging and even stayed for the rest of the physical test. Spent the evening with the Moody Blues in Cherokee with my husband. 

Great Job everyone on finishing Part 1.   Not over yet....   I was looking through facebook to see I if I broke my records and I did. But when I was doing I forgot all about the challenge videos Master Evins posted. I missied one so I got 5 random credits and 1 leadership credit. I used 4 on Sparring and 1 on BB Saturday. Then I used my leadership credit which I had one of which you help out in class. Those credits came in handy. I didn't use them before because I wanted to see what I really needed towards the end. And those where the ones. It helped out in the long run!!!!!!  

Woooh!! I survived my pre-test. Ran my 1.5 miles in 9:28mins and got a perfect score in my written test. I beat all my numbers in push ups, sits ups and all. Feels good. Been a really long day today. Came back and helped my dad with the lawn and garden and played basketball with him. Finished few assignments and now ready to hit bed. Great job everybody. Have a good night!!

Today I had my physical and written test. I think I did pretty good for my physical. I was never told a grade so I'm just hoping. I know I did good on the written test. I was told I got a 104! I was very happy. Congratulations to all on the tests. You all did a great job!

Tomorrow....   I am sure everyone will do well.....   Study Written Test.......         Good Luck :)

Studying for the written test and finishing up my book essay.  

Went to class today. I broke both my legs and my arms. I drove home afterwards. 

Well it is crunch time... Only 1 more day until physical and written test. Never have I felt so not prepared. Been studying but I swear my brain has turned into a pasta strainer... Full of holes and nothing seems to be staying in! I have 1 more essay to finish tomorrow and then the last one will have to come after our community service project. My shrub is still alive in the backyard so that is all good! Atleast today it didn't take me an hour and a half to go 10 miles to class. 

Nothing interesting happened today. I went to class, came home. My 5th toe on my right foot is damaged. And my friend has bilateral pneumonia.

I have finished all of my essays but one. The only thing I have left to do is my living hero. I really need to make up my mind quick. If I can't find a living hero, I might have to do another non-living hero. I need to do that really soon. I have to finish that tomorrow. Well, good night.

Don't start no war with me... I have the scoop. I finished my book. Very interesting read. Sun Tzu's book is supposed to be the benchmark by which all military leaders must adhere to acheive success. Most of it seems like common sense type of stuff, but, who knows. We see leaders all the time seem to exhibit no apparent common sense.

Did my Physical test on Wednesday am with Master Evins.  3 minutes faster on my run and did better on everything else except my sit ups...which was the same.  Funny, because the only thing I was worried about going in was my push ups.  I am not going to say that I rocked those out, but I did significantly better with the push ups.  So, I was surprised that I couldn't get in a good rhythm with my sit ups.  Pull ups are still at zero....can't even hang from the bar.  Gonna keep working on those. 

Still sick. I am going to go for a long run today to see if that helps a bit.

Well this is a bit strange. I'm down to 47 journals. I guess the more I journal they start removing them instead of added them. That or they aren't very good and they won't be counted, kind of like my hook kicks. I can picture Master Evins reading them and saying out loud, "AGAIN!" then delete. It's all good anyway. I'll just keep on keeping on. Talk about some great weather tonight. I wanted to go jump into my hammock and lay there under the stars. I thought now that I was completing most of my requirements, I would start to take it easy, but Ryan and Tiger are bringing their A game, and I can't let those young whipper snappers beat me. Well, I will at least give them a run for there money.

Cool news today. I basically set up a schedule of all the work I have to do before spring break. I find it pretty cool. 

Took my physical test today, since I am unable to attend early on Saturday. Feeling pretty sick, but I was able to get through. Running was the hardest part. Couldn't beat my pretest time (7 sec slower). Hope I feel better tomorrow. Too much work to do.

  There is this drink that has alo in it its called exposed original. It is so good it at earth fare. Its right near my school so me and my mo go there some times. But luckily My mom bought me some exposed drinks from amazon. Thank you amazon.

I am still sick. I am staying home from school today. Even though I am sick, I plan to still do my workout.

  My mom makes me do all these thing to make me responsible. Like she makes me go attest a day by keeping my things organize. then after a wile I'm responsible so i can now take care of my little brother Ethan by myself.

I thought I was done but apparently not. Today was a day that seemed to drag on and on, why isn't it Friday already? Got stuck in traffic on my way to class but that didn't seem to matter because no one was at sparing. Went to help the family class but only 3 people showed up (1 Bo Cho Dan and 2 White Belts) so ended up taking that class instead of helping out. I like instructing more than I thought I would. It also seems to help with memory retention of self defenses. 

When my wife went to get her massage therapy license, I thought, great, now I have to be a ginny pig. And I was, a lot, and believe this or not, I really didn't like massages in the past. But, after some sore back pain, bad shoulder pain and leg pain, I started really appreciating the free massages. I started thinking, this isn't bad, I can go play rough and tumble and she can fix me. It was redefining our relationship. Until she caught on. Drat!! Now when I come home with a bad shoulder or something, she looks at me and says, "I'm tired, maybe tomorrow I'll take care of your shoulder." Next thing you know, I will have to go her website and schedule a massage. Not to mention pay her. Well, like all things in life, enjoy the good stuff while it lasts. I'm going to stand under...

  There is this one game called return man 3 the season. It is really fun. I would rate it a 100/10 Its that good. Its like a football game many people play it. These are the coolest controls in the game a,s,j, thats it. I hope the people that made the game make another one better than that,how could they beat that though?

Busy week trying to finish up some essays and study for my anatomy test. I am not great at anatomy.  Watching Hannah do her bolo forms right now.  No one showed up for sparring class....I guess it is just too nice outside!

Nothing much is happening today. I plan to finish all homework before spring break starts.

I have been feeling a bit sick the past 2 days. I hope I can get better before testing.

No sleep Sunday night. Feeling like I had to throw up most of the afternoon. Still able to work and do some make-up tests. Feel better today, but still not 100%. Got my physical testing tomorrow morning, since we are not able to attend Saturday morning. Hope I feel better tomorrow.

We are nearing the final lap and that light at the end of the tunnel is not a train. It's looking like Mr. Ryan is pushing hard with his numbers, throwing down the gauntlet and letting the others smell his exhaust. Well Mr. Ryan, let us commence with the game. There's nothing better than a good competition. There's an old military saying, "What you got in your pack, is what you got in your pack." You might need to let that one marinate a little. It basically means what you bring to the fight or game with you, is what you got. Simple but effective. Can't wait to see you all on Saturday. Let's do this thing!!!

This should be my last journal entry and I am not sure how much I can write since I am also doing my essays right now.  Class today was great! So many new belts that need to learn their new poomsae and self defenses. It makes the classes go by really fast because you aren't trying to think up random things for them to do. I will be happy when cycle is done and I can focus more on the students and less on myself. 

  Today my mom went to work today. I know she works really hard at work because she is always hard on me about working hard. Also she is a good mom but gets on me a lot. She also does a lot for me that I'm really  grateful for everything.

Good work out at Crossfit this morning. Hard morning at King Tiger since my computer is dead.  Frustrated without it.  On my second Spark and its only 3:00.  Need to work on essays this week.

I have a lot to do this week and I really don't want to do any of it. I've heard making a list helps. I'm pretty good at pullups now

Went for a run this weekend, and stopped a few times to get in sets of pushups, situps and plank holds. It is not unusual for me to add burpees or pushups, etc. to my runs. This time, however, I did my situps on the concrete, wearing only shorts and a tshirt (no jacket). I now have two abrasions on my tailbone from the concrete. Bad idea. 

Nothing interesting happened today besides me slaving away at homework and projects. I better be at class tomorrow or Master Chelly will skin me alive.

Yesterday was a good day. Did mentor session with Master Randle in the morning. Reviewed my questions with her. Did BB class and the Instructor Dege helped me with Bolo form. Kind of have the form done but need to practice more. Next week is testing. 2 weeks away from spring break. My dad's friend and his family are visiting us during spring break from Detroit. It will be cool.

Well this is the last week before the physical and written exam. Hopefully it goes by slow so I can get all these essays done. Have most of them done but just a few more to go! 

Helped with Jr tigers this morning and then family class. I worked with a relatively new student in family class who took the Jr tigers class first. She seemed to pick up quickly. I worked with Daniel mostly on self-defense and sparring combinations. He did not seem to want to work on his poomsae. I guess it is because he doesn't know it, so he would be going outside his comfort zone. We worked on several palgwe forms in black belt class. I can get through palgwe oh chang now. I might still get confused, but I think I will get that soon. Now to work on double stick 2. The other part of black belt class was empathy training with Instructor Auerbach. We each taped one hand and the first challenge was trying to tie our belts. Many were successful and some were not. We worked on various blocks and...

Today I am doing my empathy training. So I am currently typing this with one hand. Kind of annoying, but in the end, it will all be worth it. I got two essays done and will hopefully get another two done tomorrow. Today I played football, ate a hotdog, and played with only one hand today. Football was probably the hardest. Well, good night. 

  On Friday I went on a field trip to myrtle beach. It was really fun we went to ripleys ,and the aquarium.  we didn't get back till 12 i went to sleep when I got home. We had to get up by  4:30 and get there by 5:10 I had so much fun at myrtle beach I wish we could do  that eve very day.

Good morning everybody. Yesterday had a lot of tests in school and did pretty well in all of them. I came back from school and played basketball with my dad. Then had my dinner and started working on my written test. I am almost ready. Will be in Tae Kwon Do at 10.30m to do my mentor session with master Randle and show her all my written test answers too!!! See you all soon!

Today I read that daylight savings is coming up with time to change the clocks. The article was related to sleep and daylight savings messes up the body and the two days after we change the clocks there are a lot more strokes and heart attacks. The article suggested sleeping in the next morning and taking a nap in the afternoon. I find it interesting that something as simple as changing your sleep schedule could cause such drastic health problems. I don't know how those working various shifts keep a schedule that is healthy. 

Hello my fellow Cyclists, If you missed the Facebook post, I'm sending it here as well. We have a service project. It will be on April 9th starting at 9 am and ending at 12 pm. Location: Church of God Children's Home 3485 Orphanage Cir Concord, NC 28027 Anyone can attend. We will be performing yard work and doing some painting. Please bring gloves and some garden tools if you have them. Please wear your King Tiger t-shirt but bring a spare work shirt as well in case you are painting. Also bring a lunch. This is a home for children whose families cannot care for them full time. The kids are usually home on the weekend. They are an awesome group of people who work there. I will be your POC if you have any questions. My contact info is below. Thanks Brian Foster 704-577-3140 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

I would say my creative form is half done. Need to shoot a video and post it to the facebook site. 16.3 at the box this morning. 5 rounds of 10 hang power snatches (75 lbs) 4 rounds of 5 C2B pull ups Also interesting to do the strength training after the WOD. 2 x 5 thrusters 2 x 3 thrusters (125 lbs) Finished with some ab work, pushups, and stretching.

Yesterday was good day. Went to Kumon and swimming class. Very tired day though. I did not write my journal yesterday as my dad was travelling and he is back this morning. I need to make sure I am prepared for the test next week

I got my hair cut! It is super short now and I am really happy!

While the days are winding down there is still a lot to do. Looking forward to the empathy training class this weekend. Also looking forward to the community service project in April. Thank you Instructor Foster for putting that together! 

Very busy at the moment. I did half a workout today, I'm pretty annoyed about it. I'll do the rest tomorrow with my tomorrow's workout.

Worked on HSPU, C2B and ring dips 400 m run 100 wall balls 400 m run More dynamic kicks with Master Evins Testing at Lake Norman tonight