Aim High's Demo Team Rocks!

During and after Fitblast tonight I was lucky enough to watch the demo team rehearsal. I just have to say that all of the kids on the demo team are so amazing; not just as athletes, but also as kids in general. I have written journals about this topic before, but I just can't stop being amazed at how focused and goal-oriented many of the kids at Aim High have become. I do not have any of my own children yet, but someday I hope to have a couple, and I will not hesitate in bringing them to Aim High. It is such a great place for kids to learn about themselves, set goals, and practice discipline in life.

I am so proud of each and every one of the kids on the demo team, and all of the kids at Aim High who strive to focus on the valuable lessons they are learning. :o) I hope that someday, they will instruct my children.

Wensday... was awesome

The review test on wensday really helped but was really tiring. All my partners were great and reallly helped out. Now I'm really confident for the test and know I will pass. I can definitely tell from BBT how I have progressed. When I use to get hit I would cry and sit out and be all drama. Now I have learned to just take it. For instance I was punched in the face in sparring not pointing fingers (BSBN John) and I took it we just kept sparing. Also today I got hit in the face by a basketball but I didn't cry, however my mouth got ripped apart by my braces. Well I can't wait for the test go Dare to Dream.

Bruise Catalog new entry

Not as dramatic as Sam or Chelsea but bruises none the less! I'm ready for Saturday!

Phase 2

The Pacific Jewel is coming up soon so I have been training a lot. The second phase is almost over and the third phase is just around the corner. DTD has done a lot together and I hope we all are going to finish strong this phase.

My favorite training...

I'm really glad we're doing the Saturday conditioning still.
Honestly, I think that's where we really get to know each other, cause half the time we're running and it makes running a lot more enjoyable and easier when you're talking to someone.
Plus, it's been really cool watching people who attended the conditioning last year improve this year. Seeing everyone be challenged in a new way and rising up to meet it is awesome to watch. Personally, I've learned a lot about myself in those trainings, some things I like, and some things that need working on. We're all a work in progress. And we all react to situations in a different way. The important thing is, are we willing to face the challenge head on, or do we fight it?

Of all the trainings we've had, Saturday mornings are my favorite. Except for the waking up at the crack of dawn...that's not so fun.
I think it's my favorite because they're the most challenging. Plus, I love the feeling of having a really good workout. And I'm super happy that the 2nd degree testers are joining us 1st degree candidates. The more the merrier! :)

Thanks, CGN Brandy for coaching us again. Thanks for pushing us beyond what we think we can do, and show us that we can be better, faster, stronger than we think we are. :)

Running

Wednesday we did the wellness run at my school. It`s length is Seven tenths of a mile. If your time is 4:20 or lower, you get a free t-shirt. My time was 4:19! I got the t-shirt, and i even beat all the 8th graders in my group. But because i barely got the t-shirt, im going to have to work real hard to improve my time. THats why i like conditioning. It helps me to do more things, and makes it easier to do things i already do. I cant wait for saturday. See you all there!

Busy Week

This week is a super super busy, but fun week. First thing is I had to do is the rest of my Aim high stuff (numbers) Next thing is I have a lot of homework and other stuff. Also I'm doing a dress rehersal for Demo Team(Going to be awesome). The last thing is that on Saturday I wake up 6:15 go to aimhigh to do conditioning,then the actual test.Pause now it's 9:00 next I'm helping teach classes untill 11:00. Then I have demoteam for 2 hours then OGA for one hour. now what time is it 2:00!It's not to stressful because I'm good with my numbers and schools ok. Overall it will be a very exciting and fun week WOOOH!tehe
~Noah Prins

sunday...

this blog isn't really related to our journey, but i'm meeting up with an friend on sunday.  we haven't seen each other since, like middle school, so it's going to be really exciting to catch up with him and to see what he has been up too.  it's funny how you grow-up with someone, spends endless hours running around causing trouble, and when one moves... you loose contact with them.  =)  it's going to be a great sunday!!

A few updates

Goodness, the last couple of weeks have been super busy, full of great things happening, but also a little stress. I haven't had time to journal for a while, so I thought I would fill everyone in now.

Saturday, April 16th -- Went to the tournament in Salem. It was a very full day of watching some of the Aim High kids compete; very well I might add--CGN Taylor got first on traditional forms! I also got to judge some sparring, which got a little intense, but it was a great experience. Spent a lot of great time with CGN Brandy & CGN Chandler, Molly, KJN, BSBN John, Tina & Sam, Taylor Berglund's parents, and the ???. I also competed Choomo 4 in traditional forms against one other female black belt and only lost by one tenth of a point. I'm counting this as my public performance, as I had horrible stage fright performing in front of a bunch of people...I'm working my way up to an actual public performance...maybe Pioneer Square...kinda scary.

Friday, April 22nd -- Help SBN Dan out with the Earth Day PNO; there were 14 attendees! I was quite suprised by the turnout, and I was very pleased when the kids actually had fun playing the games I altered to a Earth Day theme and playing with cardboard boxes for over an hour! They built a fort...complete with a stockade. :o) Kids have interesting imaginations. I also gave them a worksheet to complete over the next week. If they complete three environmental acts a day, and turn in the worksheet, they will get a bonus stripe! I'm counting this partially towards my environmental act for the phase.

Saturday, April 23rd -- I took CGN Zoe and Clark with me to help clean up Bull Mountain Meadows Forest in Tigard. We found a bunch of random things in the forest: a car door, an office chair, and more. CGN Zoe talked about this in her last journal, so I'm not going to go on too much. I will say that it was great to spend time with her and Clark. They are great kids. :o) This is the other part of my environmental act for this phase. Both have to do with Earth Day.

The last week of each month -- I wanted to let everyone know that every last Monday and Wednesday of the month, I will unfortunately have to miss all or most of the black belt trainings due to meetings I have to attend at work. On the last Mondays, I have to lead our staff meeting, and on the last Wednesdays, I have to attend our BOD meetings. So, that means that I will not be there tomorrow evening, but I am trying my best to make up the training time before Saturday.

Hope everyone had a good training on Monday, and has a good training on Wednesday.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow I have my pre ACT test. I am sort of nervous because this is sort of a wake up call to remind me that I am close to college! It's only a few years away! Going to go to bed early and eat a big breakfast to prepare! See you all tomorrow

Balance.

 I seriously need to work on this whole "Zen" balance sort of things. I really hate it when i have to skip Aim High because I have homework. I understand that school is more important, but i know that I`d rather be training at Aim High. It really gets irritating when i don`t have everything balanced. Because when im not balancing my life, i forget things. And they`re usually really important. Like journaling. Or a 500 word rough draft that is due the day. At least im good at getting work done quickly. Sometimes i feel when im not balanced, i don`t "have my head in the game", or im not doing things to the best of my ablitlity. This bothers me alot sometimes, because i like being a perfectionist. When my assignment didnt look very clean and i was 3/4 of the way done, did i finish it and turn it in? Nope, I started it all over from scratch. Though when i was done, I felt a whole lot better about it. This is how I sometimes feel about balance. When im rushing myself, i begin to get sloppy. But when i slow down and take a step back, i end up performing a whole lot better.

Difficulties are opportunities to better things; they are stepping-stones to greater experience… When one door closes, another one always opens; as a natural law it has to, to balance.

~ Brian Adams

Lesson Learned

You can learn a lot by going to class ... You can learn that your hip will all but separate from the rest of your body when you get it crushed by grappling Sbn Dan. Thank you Sbn for not killing me, grappling is not my strong point. You can also learn how to help your hip flexors (or however you spell it) by talking to Cyrus about different stretching exercises that you can so this is less likely to happen to you again. Thank you, Cyrus. You can learn how to keep your guard up so you don't end up with a black eye or a broken nose. Luckily I just learned the black eye part. ... yeah, that was fun... Thank you Mr Lower Level Belt who felt bad when it was my fault for not keeping my guard up... Then there's extra credit: Running on your own and to keep going until you're sure you're just going to drop, but you don't, so you keep running, and then you run just a little bit more. Thank you, Brandy for teaching us endurance. You can learn why good is not good enough and that only your best is... for you and your team... Thank you, Kjn Jeremy. My point is, everyone has learned one valuable skill or another from someone else within the walls of Aim High... Thank you! :)

Class Today

I really love that the 1st and 2nd degrees are training together again. It is great to see everyone from last year, as well as have such a big class. Sparring was a lot of fun! The tournament circle was very intense, but thats what makes it fun! Sparring with Speedy Gonzalez(bsbn john) made me realize that I need to throw more combos! I am hoping to make it to class tomorrow night to get some rounds in!

See you all Wednesday!

Onward.

My affirmation is Onward. The term "Onward" inspires me to go beyond limits and try new things. I got this term from a Starbucks book called Onward. It is the story of how starbucks regained its core values and heart after it had turned into a corporate company. At the end of all his memos, the CEO of Starbucks would label his endings "onward" asking him,  his equals and everyone under him to strive for a new horizon, and to be the best you could be. This is what Onward means to me.

We will move forward, we will move upward, and yes, we will move onward.”
Dan Quayle

My Environmental Act!

               Last Saturday, at 8:30 a.m., Sam (girl), Clark and I went to the Bull Mtn. Meadows Forest Cleanup to help...well clean up! Honestly when you think polluted the first thing that pops in your head would be soda cans, plastic bags and lots and lots of plastic bottles. ( well that's always what pops in my head! ) I was completely wrong. Sure there were stuff like that, but this forest took polluted to a whole new level. Sam and I found a car door just chillin' by a tree. ( honestly who dumps a random car door by a tree? ) Later a whole group of kids and adults found an old, huge, orange, rubber raft in the middle of this small creek. We sent someone to swim in the lake and try to retrieve it. ( this someone owned a water suit so don't worry it wasn't like taking a morning bath. ) They pulled out the raft only to discover how old it was. It was OLD. All I know is it took a lot of people to get it to shore. Sam found a brand new black, office chair that was only missing two wheels. I swear it was like natures Walmart in that forest. Seriously. ( I found a brand new Ipod touch charger and my brother found a toy solider ) There was several large pieces of wood just nailed into random trees. It was really sad to see how disrespected this forest was. All that matters though is that I helped and made the forest a better place for us, plants and animals. After the clean up Sam took us to this pasta place and in the car Clark fell into a pasta coma. ( he fell asleep ).  And that pretty much ties down my Saturday.  :)

     - Z0E     

PHASE 2!

I can't wait untill saturday! I'm very excited. This phase has been for new ideas and risks. It was to find what works right and what doesn't. I think the speed and power theme has helped me to push with all my speed, strenght and power as aperson and a martial arts. In class it's how fast how hard can I hit this, so much drive. Outside of class it's how well I can do something is it to the best of my ability did I give it all my stength. So thats helped me to get through this test. There is still 6 days left but there is still alot more everyone can do. Mabye extra pushups, journaling, more repetitions whatever is possible to make this test the best. Also the speed and power theme has helped to say I kicked hard that time but I can kick harder the next, and the same thing with the written part of the test, I did that pretty good but I know I can do even better. This phase symbloizes that strenght, courage, and will power to suceed. That is pretty much all I have to say thankyou everyone whos supported me so far.

Easter

What a great day with my family! We woke up early together, went to church, had a family lunch, and spent the rest of the day having fun. It was great to have everyone having fun! I enjoyed spending time with my youngest cousin Evelyn. We played lots of tag together! Only 5ish days until the test! Can't wait!

Wow!

K, so running 4.5 miles wasn't so bad... I ran for what seemed like forever, but only ended up being 2.6 miles. So I went out and ran another 2 miles. I ran the first 2.6 miles with Adam riding his bike (he tried to run me down once or twice). Then since the understanding husband is supposed to be getting regular exercise, I talked him into riding his bike while I ran the 2nd 2 miles. But I kinda conned him because I told him I was only running to the next street up... and then I kept going... and going ... and going. Heh heh... The 2 miles on a bike is a nice little start for him and I ran farther than I have before, so it's all good. Do I get points for making my family exercise too? ;)

SUNSHINE!

WoooHoo! It was s unny day! Too bad its going to be back to the usual gloomy rain clouds starting tomorrow! Last Saturday, I landed my first back tuck! To top it off, today, I landed a round off back flip!!! I was sooo stoked! All the work that the Demo Team has been putting in at OGA is making a difference. Also, today I had a good practice for the pacific jewel demo. Its going to be a great show!
I Hope everyone has a great Easter!

Checking in! :)

               Hi! I haven't blogged in a while so I decided to blog now! First I wanted to say HAPPY EASTER! :).
 Anyway I came in to help with the studios spring cleaning on Monday and found by the end of the day that the studio looked safer, smelled good, looked good and most importantly that other people were helping out! Chris and I had the pleasure of cleaning all the black marks on the walls, but by the end of our cleaning the wall smelled like swimming pool. ( really heavy duty cleaner is what I should say) ( that's a good smell to smell once you're done cleaning )  :) Any who I hope you 1st degree testers are doing good on your progress and what not! Please comment and let me know what's going in your workouts! I love hearing all the things you are experiencing or going through so far. :)

                                Thought I'd blog now while I have the extra time! :)    KEEP IT UP BLACK-BELTS!
                                                               -Z0E   

Daves Tournament

You know how i said i was going to judge at the daves tournament? Well i was about to then they said they needed no more people. So i just watched everyone compete instead. And watching was probably funner than standing there and judging in my opinion... Everyone that was from our school did great. and they all really won atleast one trophy! So since i didnt judge then i will hopefully judge at aim highs tournament when they have one.

A message to DTD...

hey team,

thought i'd hop on and say some things....this is shaping up to be a pretty amazing year with all the events on the calendar and willingness of the aim high community to jump in and lend a hand! remember, no matter how small your deeds may seem, they may have a huge impact on someone....

now, onto other things....you all are headed in the right direction, some faster than others, but all at a steady pace....keep in mind, this test was not created, designed or thought up to overstress and overwhelm, but to demonstrate and remind how much you already do in your everyday lives as advanced martial artists! going into this, i had already assumed that most of you would be fulfilling a good portion of your requirements just by being you....by doing what you are normally compelled to do. acts of kindness, environmental acts, stretching, conditioning....these are all things i would assume that you, as an aim high black belt or candidate, would already be doing. there are, of course, some things that are out of the ordinary and are there to push us out of our comfort zone a bit and help us to remember that we are all capable of great things.

with that, i ask that you take another look, if you haven't already, at your numbers and attendance and ask a couple questions: what do i already do in my life that satisfies some of these requirements? am i putting in quality training time as opposed to quantity? am i being consistent with my training, or am i waiting until the last minute to fulfill requirements?

most of us already have a lot going on in our lives: family, work, sports, etc. and would be completely overwhelmed if this test were absolutely required to be separate from those activities...instead, we should ask how this test can help us remember the importance of balance and the happiness that brings us....

-kjn

Cool Quote

Yesterday evening, my mom, sister and I were watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition when the father of the family, former pro baseball player Carl Hall said something to his team that was so touching. I wrote it down and planned to blog about it last night but, never got to it. He said; "You should work hard at the things you do well but, you should work harder on the things you don't do well." ~ Carl Hall

This quote really motivated me to work hard on my requirements and get them done but, most of all it reminded me to work even harder at the things that I need to work on to get better at them. I hope this motivates other too. See everyone tomorrow!

open form...

chanman and i completed our open form on sunday... whew!  now we just have to continue to practice it so that 1) we don't forget it! and 2) make it look sharp! gotta look good... =) lol 

we made our short sticks about a week or two ago, so we'll be practicing the lock and block this afternoon as we could only remember 1 and 2 on sunday and didn't have the laptop to look at the video!  i also need to practice 9 count sinawali as i've only done it just a couple of times... seems like when we do weapons, i'm either out of town or we never get to them... 

the sun is out!!  yay! 

During the 7 hours in Salem.......

Today was the Dave's Tae-kwon-do tournament. It was pretty cool. We just got back home half an hour ago. It was a long day but everyone did awesome. Taylor B. and little brother J.D. did so good with their bow staffs, and CGN girl Sam did great with her form; Choomo 4. I also competed and took first place in my 12-14 traditional forms advanced division. It was fun. This takes care of my tournament and public performance requirements.

Demo team is going so great. The electro-luminescent wire came in this week. Now, we have to get it on the uniforms. The TRON theme was such a fun and interesting choice for a form. Thanks for the choice KJN!!

See everyone Monday!

The talk

Thursday I talked to KJN Jermy. I talk about my strengths and weaknesses and how I’m doing so far in the test. I also told KJN how I am already done with this phase requirements. I think that this phase was harder than the first one but I pulled thru.

DTD Recon Final Episode

But it is really only the beginning.....

Judge at Dave's Tournament

on saturday im going to be judging at the Dave's Tournament and im not nervous about it im worried of judging since it will really be my first time doing that. because if im judging sparring or somthing then what if im not paying attenetion and i miss somthing thats really thats really the only thing im worried about.

Saturday....

I'm pretty nervous about this weekend.  I won't be competing like some of you in the tournament, but I will be judging... something I've never done before.  I'm praying to god I don't mess up and give someone an inadequate score...  =)

Overtraining...hmmm

Today at the end of training with the advanced belts and candidates, KJN talked about over-training. I know I can be guilty of over-extending my resources in so many areas of my life, and I know it when I wake up with a sore throat, stuff nose, and headache. Grrr! I just got over a cold at the end of February! Plus, my legs are so tired...not just muscle soreness, but muscle exhaustion...I went for a very short jog today and struggled immensely. I jog frequently, so I know something is up when i can't go a mile without walking. Even with a break on Sunday, I am still feeling the pain. I just keep telling myself that there's one more day of black belt training this week, and then Thursday i can rest a little. However, then I remember that I'm competing at the tourney in Salem this weekend, and now I know I need to practice Choomo 4, and I've got all these push-ups and other requirements to do....it never ends. When KJN said it only gets harder, he was so right.

I know this sounds a lot like complaining, but really I'm just venting to people who understand what I know we're all going through. I'm tired, but so are some of you. This is where the support of a team comes in handy. I am very glad that KJN is making a decision to merge the 1st and 2nd degree testers back together. I know that I need the influence of martial artists like Hunter to keep a light heart, and the support of Melissa, and the challenge of trying to keep up with Jackie. I've been trying to train with them on Tuesday evenings since February, and I think I've only missed a few. It'll be good to have all the first degree testers back on Monday and Wednesday evenings. :o)

Wow. Wow.

Well what else do you say except Wow. My Wow was a lot of work and Wow I'm glad it is over and Wow would I do that again? Yup. 150%. If you don't know for my wow I worked with several other area non profits who serve people with disabilities to host a community forum where citizens of Washington County could come to together a collaborate on creative ways to deal with budget cuts (like pooling resources, networking etc). Our goal was to create a grass roots efforts in four areas: housing, employment, recreation and family support. My specific task was to provide an overview of the statewide delivery system of services and Medicaid funding in just 15 minutes. Participants needed to have enough information about how we are funded in order to fully participate in the small group discussions. The publicity in the Oregonian and Portland Tribune helped us pick up some of our 80 participants last night. The place was packed and we had several elected officials. My presentation was first - I was so nervous - wanted to get it right - and it went fine. Many people came up afterwards and asked me if I would do it again so they could video tape it. Good Sign! The families and self advocates who presented were very moving. The personal stories are so powerful and illustrate not only the need but they motivate you to want to do something about it. Small group discussions were a hit. No one left early. No one snuck at out the back. In fact at 9:01 our MC cut us off and I swear the room could have kept going for another hour. That is always the way you want to leave people. Wanting more. So - I pushed myself last night in a good way. I'm told I am a confident public speaker. I guess I am but inside I am usually all butterflies and shaking. I hate doing it but it is such a huge part of my job I just literally make myself. And I am very glad to be on the other side of this one! Now on to the blood drive!

Palgwe 3 and competition

So earlier today I was talking to CGN Zoe and she mentioned wanting to learn Palgwe 3 (as did I). So I looked it up on YouTube and I now realize why we don't do Palgwe 3 at Aim High. It's super easy and reminds me of Kumo 1 as far as easy level goes. There are literally 22 moves. I counted. No kicks whatsoever.

So CGN Zoe...if you want I can show it to you, but it's boring.

And while we're on the subject of forms...

For the Pac Jewel, I'm gonna compete in traditional forms. The form I'm gonna go with is Koryo. The hard move is the double side kick. Other than that, I feel confident. Main thing I need to work on is my presentation to the judges and walking on/off the ring.
I'm excited. I can't wait to compete. One of my favorite things about competing at tournaments is it shows me where I stand against other martial artists at my level.

Conditioning

Today it was a fun conditioning class because SBN Dan was there. It’s great to see him train with us as a student not as our instructor. I hope he can come to conditioning classes more often.

So Much to Journal About...

I'm not really sure where to start. Today was such a beautiful day, and I made the most of it. Having worked all of last weekend and quite a few long hours at work lately, I took today off and made myself have a three day weekend. So far, so good. Much of the time, I always have SOMETHING to do...like many of you.

Today was a day of relaxation. I went for a walk through Forest Park with my best friend, and carried her 25 pound child on my back for about half of it (getting ready for the backpacking trip). We talked for over two hours as we walked along the trail--it was refreshing, as her and I normally do not get to spend that much time together.

Being outside in the sunshine and enjoying nature was exhilarating. It made me very glad I spend the time volunteering to help keep Forest Park looking nice. Not sure if any of you know, but the English Ivy that I help remove actually can cause trees to become unhealthy, and block out beautiful native plants such as Trillium (look it up). If the work parties didn't constantly work to remove it, the plant would take over Forest Park and the landscape would change drastically.

I'm looking forward to special training tomorrow morning, and I need to get to bed soon so I don't feel tired. Tonight's fitblast class was short, but intense. CGN Guy and BSBN Corey rock with their insane workouts. If any of you want extra conditioning, I highly recommend coming to fitblast on Monday and Friday evenings.

I hope everyone else enjoyed the beautiful day, and I look forward to training with you tomorrow!

Gonna Stand My Ground.

Perserverance. Perserverance is the key to anything worth doing. Sometimes things will get hectic with different requirements and the many diffferent things happening with dare to dream this summer. Backpacking, camping, tournaments, and other activities. I know I for one am going to have a very hard time getting all my requirements completed. I know I have to "Keep Moving Forward". Perserverance is something I feel is embodied in one of my favorite songs.
"I Won't Back Down"

[Verse 1]Well I won't back down, no I won't back down
You can stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won't back down

[Verse 2]
Gonna stand my ground, won't be turned around
And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down
Gonna stand my ground and I won't back down

[Chorus]
Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out
Hey I will stand my ground and I won't back down

[Verse 3]
Well I know what's right, I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin' me around
But I stand my ground and I won't back down

[Chorus]
Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out
Hey I will stand my ground and I won't back down
No I won't back down.

Monday is my WOW

My WOW picked up some press today from the Oregonian. Follow the link to read the story! I'm nervous but excited. Hope we get a good turnout. ~ Jessica

http://www.oregonlive.com/beaverton/index.ssf/2011/04/washington_county_non-profits_schedule_forum_to_find_creative_solutions_to_state_budget_crisis.html

Forms, acts and video journals

       The Pacific Jewel is so close and with that in my mind I am pumped for competing! Every time before I go up and show my form I always get nervous and excited at the same time. It's a weird feeling, but I always do amazing when that feeling turns on! I can't really explain it, but I love it! I'm so looking forward for the earth day event. I'm going to count it as my environmental act!  My form is coming along great I just have to finish the last few moves, pick a song and then preform it! I also have to post ALL of my video journals. They're on my flip camera I just need to post them.

                        Well That's My Week So far - Z0E


                                       

Sparring Week!

Another one for the catalog of bruises...DTD 2011.

I have only one thing to say...
I missed sparring. Wish we had it more often. It was wonderful to spar.

sparring

sparring on monday was a lot of fun. i havent spared in a while. so it was a lot of fun. i wish we could have black belt trainings like that a lot more often. i wonder what we are going to do to night. i can't wait.

sparring...

i've never been a big fan of sparring, but when we spar like we did monday night (except for the injuries), that's when i really like it.  we still kept it intense but we had the 'fun' to go along with it... which makes it much more enjoyable when hitting someone! lol :)

DTD Recon Episode 13

ZIP LINE! :-)

Just keep moving ...

So in a nut shell, the world came crashing down around my family this week. To say it's been a bad 24 hr period would be a tremendous understatement. If I had the option, I would have pulled the blankets over my head for the day and cried. But that wasn't an option. Like everyone else, I had a job to go to and day-to-day things in life that needed to be taken care of.

I managed to hide at work most of the day, but then it was time to go to class. I'm working on going from assisting with the adult beginners class to actually instructing the class. Instructing seems to be instructing the instructor, in this case. It's amazing how much you learn by instructing a class! It also really brings out how much you've learned over all of the time you've spent doing martial arts... over and over ... practice and practice... Then you realize that all that info has been sinking in all this time!

What I'm trying to say in a not-so-eloquent way (due to only 3 hrs of sleep last night), is that I may just finally be learning to just keep on moving forward when things go south in a big way. If you do something that requires all of your focus, then you don't have time or energy to think or stress about anything else. Highly recommend it. ;)

Major act of kindness

Yesterday I did my major act of kindness. I attended a program named Love Letters For Kids. There, I made cards for two kids with problems in their bodies. I had a fun time making cards for them.

How the Hamilton's spend their Sunday

DTD Recon Episode 12

Hiking out - tired and dirty but the sun was out and hey...we had SBN Cinda approved snacks!

Open Form...

So working on my open form this afternoon. It's definitely going to be different than the one I created last summer. I don't want to do that one, and even if I did, there'd be a slight problem-I don't remember it. So.

I think I've narrowed down the songs to two-ET by Katy Perry (yes, I will admit it, I do like her sometimes) OR Going Under by Evanescence. Two very different songs, two very different feelings. Not sure which one I prefer. Think I'm going to go with Going Under. I kinda like that one better. Sides, it'll be more challenging with what I want to do, which means I really have to work technique and strength with flexibility.

I just hope it works.

Sacrifice

Hey yall!
CGN Sarah here!

OK, so today, i made a pretty big sacrifice (if you ask me).

Lately, Being at demo team has gotten more and more important. as the days pass, we get closer, and closer to may. And what comes in may?.... the pacific jewel tournament. As the last 4 weeks approach, the challenge is on to finish choreographing the last half of our tron Demo.

3 weeks ago, my soccer season started. Soccer is like my life. its as a much a part of me as martial arts is (even if i am not there as much as I'm at the studio). i practically breathe soccer during the seasons (fall and spring). i look forward to my practices all week long.

my first game of the spring season was today at 12-1
demo team was today at 11-1
i skipped my very first game of the season.
it was the only game that interfered with demo team.
i plan to go to the rest of my games (unless i die or something... then i wont go)

i figured that demo team was more important because the competition is so soon. besides, i have like, 6 or 7 more games anyway.

ttfn!!!

CGN Sarah

DTD Recon Episode 11

7:00 AM motivational run anyone?

Responsibilities

      Today I got up at 9:40 a.m. and the very first thing that pops in my head is Saturday training! I slept in. :(
 I totally spaced!! I forgot to set my alarm and stuff, but I decided to blog about this the minute I got up. I will also try my best to make it up by doing extra push ups, sit ups, rows, going running with my dad today and running the Liberty High school's stadium stairs. I feel so bad for missing this! I really wanted to get up and work out with you guys! I guess the positive way to look at this is that I'll learn from this mistake and hopefully not make it again. Sorry I wasn't there to support you guys...

                                          Zoe :)

What a week..

This week has been very up and down for me! On Monday night, I got really sick. I got home at around 630, and fell asleep at around 630 and woke up many times throughout the night... So, I missed school Sunday. However, I spent the whole day doing homework, so I wasn't completely slacking off =) Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make class either. On Wednesday, I had my first golf tournament of the year. I had the lowest(thats good) score for my team! Next week, I will be playing in my first varsity tournament! That's big deal for me.

I've been training at going over second phase stuff in my garage with Noah. My numbers are going well, and I'm looking forward to that phase 2 test!

Teaching

Today, I got to teach Andrea Pearson how to do palgwe 2. First I had her do stances, and to work on some chambers. Then we started palgwe 2, everything was going pretty well until about halfway through after the upperblock then middle punch things went wrong but I helped her get through it. So far so good we do palgwe 2 again same problem. So then I think what would kwanganim do. I know single out that part so we did that part over and over again until she pretty much got it. Basically she struggled and turning and punching, but overall good. Sometimes it's really hard to be a teacher if you don't know how to fix something and your student is super bored because we did the same thing over and over. Hopefully she gets her stripe just needs to work on turning.I guess my point was to show that it's not always easy for teachers, and that it can get frustrating. I think the main key to teaching is patience.

DTD Recon Episode 10

Ahhhh Campfire. The smell that never leaves your hair, your fingers, your clothes, your nostrils. All this and more can be yours on the DTD Backpacking trip 2011!