I'm not really sure I should refer to my current condition as an injury. There was no incident of injury, but it hurts really badly, and it's different from any previous back pain I've suffered through. Usually when my back hurts it's because I strained it somehow, and the muscles in the lower back are in spasm. A lot of rest usually has me all fixed up, but this has been entirely different. The pain is localized primarily in the back of my hip around my sacroiliac joint, and it occasionally shoots down my leg. I've decided to document my experience here in the event that knowing something of my experience may be of some help to someone else.
Week 1: A sharp pain around my sacroiliac joint had been pestering me on and off for a few weeks. It bothered me mostly when I was running laps at the start of my taekwondo classes. It was only occasionally annoying, so I just ignored it, hoping it would go away. By 10/14/2010, I decided that it wasn't going to go away without help. Assuming that I had pulled a muscle, I asked my taekwondo instructor for a stretch that might help. I took a week off taekwondo.
Week 2: A week of rest didn't help, so I made an appointment to see my primary care physician on 10/19/2010. She prescribed some anti-inflammatory medication, some muscle relaxants and an x-ray.
Week 3: The x-ray came back inconclusive, so my primary care physician ordered an MRI. The anti-inflammatory medication worked great, but the prescribed dosage diminished each day, and the pain came back, so my physician refilled it. I actually competed in a tournament 10/30/2010. I took first in sparring.
Week 4: The MRI was a horrible experience. I had to stay very still in a very uncomfortable position for what seemed like a very long time. I guess it was loud and crowded, too, but I didn't notice. The results came back for a bulging disc, so my physician referred me to a specialist. The specialist turned out to be a surgeon, and he couldn't see me for three weeks, so I went back to my physician. She refilled my prescription for anti-inflammatory mediation and she referred me for some physical therapy.
Week 5: I had my first physical therapy session 11/08/2010. It was pretty intense. The therapist was attempting to determine the nature and extent of my condition, so she ran me through a thorough series of tests which were exhausting and rather painful, but in the end she determined that my bulging disc was not the source of my pain. Instead she determined that the source of my pain was some tension in the nerve running down my leg and some instability in my core causing certain muscles to do jobs they were not really designed for.
Week 6: I had two more physical therapy sessions. In the first (11/15/2010) she tried to bring more mobility to my joints. In the second (1/17/2010) she tried to help me build up some strength in my core. She taped my sacroiliac (SI) joint which helped a lot. It was great.
Week 7: At my physical therapy session, I received an SI belt (11/23/2010) which did very much the same job as the tape. I was also counseled against doing any jumping in my taekwondo classes. I was told that jumping created too much compression on my spine, and I just needed to lay off a bit. I actually decided not to go to any classes this week. I was in too much pain, besides the school was closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.
I also saw the surgeon this week (11/24/2010). It was mostly a very disappointing experience. He did not seem to consider the possibility that the bulging disc was not the source of my pain. He mentioned physical therapy as a course of treatment only once but not seriously. He really gave me three treatment options: (1) do nothing, it might get better on its own, (2) receive a cortisone shot to deal with the pain while it gets better on its own or (3) let the surgeon trim off the bit of the disc that is bulging. I told him that I wanted to go with the least invasive treatment first, and he agreed that was reasonable. He said he would call me in 30 days to see if I wanted the cortisone shot.
Week 8: I had two more physical therapy sessions this week in which my therapist discovered a lack of mobility in my knee which was effectively making one leg shorter than the other - not good for core stability.
Week 9: I arrived on Monday (12/06/2010) morning a little late and too sore to do very much real work. I was really worried about being able to perform at all during my belt test that evening, but my therapist was able to straighten me out and get me moving smoothly again. I was able to perform very well during my belt test, but I decided that I would take at least two weeks off to focus on my therapy. Later this week I fell which created an upslip in my hip, but my therapist was able to correct this as well.
Week 10: After a full week off taekwondo (and no falls),I arrived for my session much less sore, and we were able to do more work. My therapist discovered that my pain had localized over just one vertebra, my SI joint and my knee. This was a sign of good progress. I also asked if she though I might be able to enter a tournament in February, and she said yes. I'm very excited about that - 54 days away.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
My seventh belt test
My eight-year old daughter and I have been studying taekwondo at World Champion Taekwondo in Scappoose, Oregon for 21 months now. Monday night (12/06/2010), we had our seventh belt test. We leveled up from blue stripes (on green belts) to blue belts. We are looking forward to taking our black belt test in April 2012.
The morning of the test, I woke up really very sore. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to test. I've been battling back pain for about eight weeks, and it was really flared up this Monday morning. Thankfully, I had an appointment scheduled with my physical therapist, and she was able to straighten me out a bit. I was still sore, but a few hours seated in front of my computer at work, a little aspirin and a little ibuprofen had me moving smoothly by late afternoon.
Our test was scheduled for 7:00 pm, but the two previous tests had each gone a bit long, so we got off to a late start. Master Byong-Cheol Kim and Master Je-Kyoung Kim were both in attendance to score our tests. We started with some calisthenics to warm us. He asked us to do ten jumping jacks, but my physical therapist told me not to do any jumping, so I just sort of hopped a little. After 20 pushups and some stretching, Master Jason asked us to sit on the floor with our eyes closed. I don't think he's ever asked us to do that before. One of his substitute teachers (Joon) had us do that in class once, but this was a first for a belt test. While we were sitting quietly, he told us that our test would be short but intense. He encouraged us to do our best and above all, to yell loudly (at the appropriate times).My guess is that even though we were starting late, everyone wanted to get home on time, but he wanted to assure us that our test would be worth taking and we would really be earning our belts.
We started with blocks and punches. I think we did eight of each (four to the left and four to the right), but it was intense. Master Jason kept a quick pace, and we moved from one block to the next in rapid succession. We performed: low block, middle block, high block, and palm block down, palm block side, palm strike, elbow strike, c-strike, chop, reverse chop, single punch, double punch, three punches, four punches, five punches, ten punches and 50 punches. At the end we were getting a little horse, but I think some of us got louder as we noticed others were getting quieter. Good team work.
Then we did stances with our hands behind our backs. We took four steps forward and then four steps backward for each stance: walking stance, front stance, side stance (aka horse stance) and back stance.
Then we did kicks: front kick, axe kick, round house kick, face-high round house kick, circle kick, side kick and back kick. I had a little trouble with back kick. I couldn't quite work out how to get from the finish of the kick back into sparring stance for the next kick, but I was getting pretty tired by then. It was time to kick targets. We kicked the hand-held paddles. Eric held for my group. We did combinations: (1) roundhouse kick + round house kick + face-high round house kick, (2) front-leg roundhouse kick + jumping double roundhouse kick, and (3) ten roundhouse kicks. I probably shouldn't have done the jumping double roundhouse kicks, but I didn't want to be the only one, so I did them, and I was fine.
Next we did self-defense and one-step sparring. The green belts went first. Ms. J.T. took Master Jason down really hard, twice! It was awesome! My group (the blue stripes) went next. I got my self-defense a little mixed up. I yelled before I punched him, but he just smiled at me. Finally, Jared, our only red belt performed his self-defense and one-step sparring with Dominic, our youngest black belt. They did great (as always), but then Master Jason had them do 30 seconds of non-contact sparring. That was new. We don't usually do sparring in our belt tests. Then, Jared had to fight Dominic AND Robert. Then, he had to fight Dominic, Robert and Eric, so he was exhausted when it was time to do his form.
Jared did his form first. He did great. He was breathing heavily the whole time, but he did great. Then we (the blue stripes) did our form. I was so nervous. I hadn't practiced that day, so during the 15 seconds that I'm standing there waiting for him to tell us to begin, I was frantically trying to remember the first step, but I didn't forget anything. I was slow (as usual), but I didn't forget anything. Master Jason called out the stances as we went, which was really nice of him because he knew those had been giving us trouble. Finally, the green belts did their form. There are only five of them: four adults and a preteen. They always do their form so sharp. It's neat to watch.
After forms, we lined up with our boards. We read our philosophies and our bad habits. The green belts broke first with hammer fist. Then we broke with chop. I wish we had practiced more. I knew that I was supposed to hit the board with the edge of my palm and not my fingers, but I failed to execute that move properly and I crushed the tip of my smallest finger. It only turned a little purple - not too bad.
My daughter was the only one to earn ten black stripes this time and receive a trophy and a gold star, and she just barely squeaked by, earning two stripes a week for the past three weeks. There were fewer weeks this quarter than most, and my back pain discouraged me from helping her during most of the quarter.
After the test, Master Byong-Cheol Kim approached me to compliment me on how much my kicks have improved. I felt about eight feet tall. We took a group picture, but we didn't have our new belts. That makes for a rather anti-climatic ending, but they should arrive next week.
The morning of the test, I woke up really very sore. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to test. I've been battling back pain for about eight weeks, and it was really flared up this Monday morning. Thankfully, I had an appointment scheduled with my physical therapist, and she was able to straighten me out a bit. I was still sore, but a few hours seated in front of my computer at work, a little aspirin and a little ibuprofen had me moving smoothly by late afternoon.
Our test was scheduled for 7:00 pm, but the two previous tests had each gone a bit long, so we got off to a late start. Master Byong-Cheol Kim and Master Je-Kyoung Kim were both in attendance to score our tests. We started with some calisthenics to warm us. He asked us to do ten jumping jacks, but my physical therapist told me not to do any jumping, so I just sort of hopped a little. After 20 pushups and some stretching, Master Jason asked us to sit on the floor with our eyes closed. I don't think he's ever asked us to do that before. One of his substitute teachers (Joon) had us do that in class once, but this was a first for a belt test. While we were sitting quietly, he told us that our test would be short but intense. He encouraged us to do our best and above all, to yell loudly (at the appropriate times).My guess is that even though we were starting late, everyone wanted to get home on time, but he wanted to assure us that our test would be worth taking and we would really be earning our belts.
We started with blocks and punches. I think we did eight of each (four to the left and four to the right), but it was intense. Master Jason kept a quick pace, and we moved from one block to the next in rapid succession. We performed: low block, middle block, high block, and palm block down, palm block side, palm strike, elbow strike, c-strike, chop, reverse chop, single punch, double punch, three punches, four punches, five punches, ten punches and 50 punches. At the end we were getting a little horse, but I think some of us got louder as we noticed others were getting quieter. Good team work.
Then we did stances with our hands behind our backs. We took four steps forward and then four steps backward for each stance: walking stance, front stance, side stance (aka horse stance) and back stance.
Then we did kicks: front kick, axe kick, round house kick, face-high round house kick, circle kick, side kick and back kick. I had a little trouble with back kick. I couldn't quite work out how to get from the finish of the kick back into sparring stance for the next kick, but I was getting pretty tired by then. It was time to kick targets. We kicked the hand-held paddles. Eric held for my group. We did combinations: (1) roundhouse kick + round house kick + face-high round house kick, (2) front-leg roundhouse kick + jumping double roundhouse kick, and (3) ten roundhouse kicks. I probably shouldn't have done the jumping double roundhouse kicks, but I didn't want to be the only one, so I did them, and I was fine.
Next we did self-defense and one-step sparring. The green belts went first. Ms. J.T. took Master Jason down really hard, twice! It was awesome! My group (the blue stripes) went next. I got my self-defense a little mixed up. I yelled before I punched him, but he just smiled at me. Finally, Jared, our only red belt performed his self-defense and one-step sparring with Dominic, our youngest black belt. They did great (as always), but then Master Jason had them do 30 seconds of non-contact sparring. That was new. We don't usually do sparring in our belt tests. Then, Jared had to fight Dominic AND Robert. Then, he had to fight Dominic, Robert and Eric, so he was exhausted when it was time to do his form.
Jared did his form first. He did great. He was breathing heavily the whole time, but he did great. Then we (the blue stripes) did our form. I was so nervous. I hadn't practiced that day, so during the 15 seconds that I'm standing there waiting for him to tell us to begin, I was frantically trying to remember the first step, but I didn't forget anything. I was slow (as usual), but I didn't forget anything. Master Jason called out the stances as we went, which was really nice of him because he knew those had been giving us trouble. Finally, the green belts did their form. There are only five of them: four adults and a preteen. They always do their form so sharp. It's neat to watch.
After forms, we lined up with our boards. We read our philosophies and our bad habits. The green belts broke first with hammer fist. Then we broke with chop. I wish we had practiced more. I knew that I was supposed to hit the board with the edge of my palm and not my fingers, but I failed to execute that move properly and I crushed the tip of my smallest finger. It only turned a little purple - not too bad.
My daughter was the only one to earn ten black stripes this time and receive a trophy and a gold star, and she just barely squeaked by, earning two stripes a week for the past three weeks. There were fewer weeks this quarter than most, and my back pain discouraged me from helping her during most of the quarter.
After the test, Master Byong-Cheol Kim approached me to compliment me on how much my kicks have improved. I felt about eight feet tall
Saturday, November 20, 2010
My friend's black belt test
Dominic has been studying taekwondo at World Champion Taekwondo in Scappoose, Oregon for at least a year now. Saturday (11/20/2010), he was finally able to take his black belt test. I was very pleased to be able to attend and cheer him on. I’m looking forward to taking my own black belt test in April 2012. I offer this description of the event to anyone who might be wondering what a black belt test is like.
World Champion Taekwondo was founded by Grandmaster Byong-Cheol Kim, Olympic gold medalist, 1992. There are five campuses: Portland, Lake Oswego, Saltzman, Murray Hills, and Scappoose. The Lake Oswego campus is owned and operated by Master Je-Kyoung Kim, also a gold medalist at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. Students from all five schools attended this test. I counted 25 students testing for the 2nd or 3rd degree (dan) black belts certification; 24 students testing for a junior black belt (less than 13 years old); and 37 students testing for their first dan.
I think that kukkiwon regulations: divide black belts (dan) and junior black belts (poom) at age 15, but our school draws the line at age 13. Technically, Dominic is 12.75 years old, but he tested for a "regular" black belt today. Anyway, there were about 87 students testing today.
We began arriving at Reynolds Middle School in Fairview, Oregon at about 9:00 am. The test was conducted in the gymnasium. I was surprised they did not put down the mats. This is the same location that we use for our friendship tournament twice a year, and they put down mats in this room for that, but today the students tested on a hardwood floor. Friends and family were seated in the balcony. They did not set up the bleachers on the floor. This gave them a lot more floor space, but it made it harder for us to get very good pictures. A zoom and a mono pod would have been handy accessories.
The test began at 10:00 am. Master Andrea led the stretching. Master Andrea received her 4th dan certification last May, at the same time our instructor, Master Jason, received his. At 10:15, they broke up into three groups: (1) those testing for 2nd or 3rd dan, (2) those testing for junior black belts, and (3) those testing for 1st dan. There was some small drama about getting Dominic into the right group. Technically, he was about 12.75 years old on the day of the test. His masters had agreed that he should test for 1st dan, but he divided himself up with junior black belts by mistake, but Master Jason remedied the situation quickly.
From this point, it was really three different tests being conducted in the same room, and I mostly observed the 1st, 2nd and 3rd dan candidates. I couldn't really see the junior black belts from where I was sitting. They started with endurance testing. I had always thought of this portion of my belt tests as the warm up, but it was listed as endurance testing on the program, and it's basically calisthenics: jumping jacks, pushup, squats and crunches. I didn't pay close enough attention to note how many of each exercise they were asked to do, but I did notice one poor guy with sprained or broken wrist. He wasn't able to do the pushups, so he just kept doing more crunches. I'll be he wished they were working on mats.
I was impressed that no one appeared to be doing pushups on their knees, but otherwise, I was not impressed with the quality of the pushups, even among the 2nd & 3rd dan candidates. Somewhere I got the idea in my head that a black belt ought to be able to do 100 pushups, and I've been working on that goal myself on and off for almost two years now. Most of the sit-ups I observed were VERY shallow. If I were ever in a position to suggest an improvement to the curriculum at World Champion Taekwondo (and I don't suspect that I ever will be), I would suggest bringing back the yellow stripe, and having it represent milestones in physical fitness such as pushups, crunches and squats.
A ten-minute break followed endurance testing, and then the students drilled through basic techniques: punches blocks and stances. They finished this portion of the test with three sets of 100 punches. The first set was very impressive, the second set less so, the third set was a little pathetic, everyone was so tired that no one was pulling their punches all the way back to their belt any more. This might be another skill for me to practice as I prepare for my black belt test.
The kicking drills were conducted much the same way as the basic techniques: lots of combinations. Dominic commented later that it was a little hard to hear and understand the directions. They finished this set with 100 front kicks.
Another 10-minute break preceded the sparring portion of the test. We had been sitting in the bleachers for nearly two hours, so we were ready for a break ourselves. We went downstairs and walked out onto the floor and chatted with Dominic as he put on his sparring gear. The master instructed all of the students wearing glasses to remove them, and then they were paired up and instructed to demonstrate their skills without hurting each other (light contact). Master Jason commenting that he always negotiated with his partners in belt tests to go ahead and kick each other full force because light contact is boring. It was quite chaotic with 20 pairs of competitors kicking at each other, so they asked half of them to sit down. Dominic out-classed his partners in a big way. He loves sparring. He's small but quick. There was another 10-minute break after sparring for the students to change out of their gear.
At this point it's about 12:30 pm. I'm glad I packed plenty of snacks because there was no lunch break. The next item on the program was forms. I was surprised that they included the basic forms. I had only expected to see the tae guk forms. I was also surprised to see them performed out of order. I will need a lot of practice to be able to do that, and some of the students testing appeared to be in need of bit more practice. To keep things interesting, they had half the students sit down at one point and watch the other students perform, and then they switched. Then, they had half the students perform one form while the other half of the students performed a different form.
At 1:00, it was time for nun chucks. The poom candidates and the 1st dan candidates sat on the floors to watch because only the 2nd & 3rd dan candidates learn the nun chuck routines. It was something like forms, but they were only just numbered. They didn't have names. They just worked through a series of pre-defined movements. It looked cool. Dominic is looking forward to learning nun chucks. He will pretest for his 2nd dan three times in the next two years. I think he has to learn the first four routines for his first pre test.
At 1:00 pm it was time for speeches. The masters previously asked four people to prepare a few words. The first speech was given by a 30-something woman who was testing today for her 1st dan. She described how she and her husband used to work out at different things until they started practicing taekwondo together. He was testing for his 1st dan today, too. Master Jason commented that he knew them when they first started, so I'm guessing they studied at Master Kim's Portland location on West Union Road.
The second speech was given by a mother of one of the poom candidates. She described her son as "bouncing off the walls." It made me smile. That's how I got started in taekwondo: looking for something for my son. The third speech was given by a father who over came spinal injuries in order to practice taekwondo with his son. His son has been ready to test for some time now, but he's been waiting for his dad to test with him. His dad is currently a brown belt, so he's about a year away from his black belt test, but he convinced his son to go ahead and test today. The final speech was given by a black belt candidate who remarked how much he hates to exercise. I could really appreciate this. I really hate running for example. I used to like weight lifting, but he also commented how motivational he found the frequent rank advancements, and I had to agree with that, too. When my next belt test is only three months away, I'm very unlikely to slow down or take a break. Even the black belts pretest every six months.
Finally, it was time for board breaking. It rather a long time to hand out all the boards. Each student had to receive their boards from their master, presumably because the cost of the boards was paid from the e testing fee which is paid to the head master of each school. This is perhaps an indelicate detail, but it's a detail lots of people need to know, so I will share with you that the belt fee for this particular test was $550.00. I'm glad I discovered that because my daughter and I will hopefully test on the same day, and that is not a sum I can come up with all at once, but a year is more than enough time to save it up.
Anyway, each student received eight boards. The poom candidates received thinner boards than the dan candidates. Students held for each other, and they seemed to choose their own breaking techniques. Dominic broke his eight boards with four kicks, two at a time. Master Jason had gone down to the floor at this point to help hold boards, and he had to make some special effort to hold for Dominic as others, trying to help, kept offering to hold for him.
The closing ceremony began with the distribution of new uniforms. These uniforms featured the familiar school logo on the back, but they also included the words World Champion Taekwondo on the pants in large red letters. To be more specific, the word World appears on the outside of the left leg, the word Champion appears across the back of the jacket, below the belt, and the word Taekwondo appears on the outside of the right leg. This led to some confusion in Dominic's family because from the back the students all appear to be labeled as champions. In addition, the 1st dan uniforms feature a single black line on the shoulder and on the outside of the leg; the 2nd dan uniforms feature two black lines on the shoulder and on the outside of the leg; and the 3rd dan uniforms feature three black lines on the shoulder and on the outside of the leg.
When the students arrived in their new uniforms, the masters called them up one at a time to receive their new belts. The belts were all embroidered with the students name and either the name of the school or the name of their master. I can't remember. There was also some Korean embroidery. The 1st dan belts included a single gold bar embroidered at the end of the belt, the 2nd dan belts included two gold bars embroidered at the end of the belt, and the 3rd dan belts included three gold bars embroidered a the end of the belt. I believe the poom belts included the same embroidery, but they were not entirely black. They were divided in half lengthwise and one half was red and the other half was black. I can't remember if the it was the top half or the bottom half that was red, but I do remember that those little kids sure were happy running around in their new uniforms and belts.
The final element of the closing ceremony was a group picture.
World Champion Taekwondo was founded by Grandmaster Byong-Cheol Kim, Olympic gold medalist, 1992. There are five campuses: Portland, Lake Oswego, Saltzman, Murray Hills, and Scappoose. The Lake Oswego campus is owned and operated by Master Je-Kyoung Kim, also a gold medalist at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. Students from all five schools attended this test. I counted 25 students testing for the 2nd or 3rd degree (dan) black belts certification; 24 students testing for a junior black belt (less than 13 years old); and 37 students testing for their first dan.
I think that kukkiwon regulations: divide black belts (dan) and junior black belts (poom) at age 15, but our school draws the line at age 13. Technically, Dominic is 12.75 years old, but he tested for a "regular" black belt today. Anyway, there were about 87 students testing today.
We began arriving at Reynolds Middle School in Fairview, Oregon at about 9:00 am. The test was conducted in the gymnasium. I was surprised they did not put down the mats. This is the same location that we use for our friendship tournament twice a year, and they put down mats in this room for that, but today the students tested on a hardwood floor. Friends and family were seated in the balcony. They did not set up the bleachers on the floor. This gave them a lot more floor space, but it made it harder for us to get very good pictures. A zoom and a mono pod would have been handy accessories.
The test began at 10:00 am. Master Andrea led the stretching. Master Andrea received her 4th dan certification last May, at the same time our instructor, Master Jason, received his. At 10:15, they broke up into three groups: (1) those testing for 2nd or 3rd dan, (2) those testing for junior black belts, and (3) those testing for 1st dan. There was some small drama about getting Dominic into the right group. Technically, he was about 12.75 years old on the day of the test. His masters had agreed that he should test for 1st dan, but he divided himself up with junior black belts by mistake, but Master Jason remedied the situation quickly.From this point, it was really three different tests being conducted in the same room, and I mostly observed the 1st, 2nd and 3rd dan candidates. I couldn't really see the junior black belts from where I was sitting. They started with endurance testing. I had always thought of this portion of my belt tests as the warm up, but it was listed as endurance testing on the program, and it's basically calisthenics: jumping jacks, pushup, squats and crunches. I didn't pay close enough attention to note how many of each exercise they were asked to do, but I did notice one poor guy with sprained or broken wrist. He wasn't able to do the pushups, so he just kept doing more crunches. I'll be he wished they were working on mats.
I was impressed that no one appeared to be doing pushups on their knees, but otherwise, I was not impressed with the quality of the pushups, even among the 2nd & 3rd dan candidates. Somewhere I got the idea in my head that a black belt ought to be able to do 100 pushups, and I've been working on that goal myself on and off for almost two years now. Most of the sit-ups I observed were VERY shallow. If I were ever in a position to suggest an improvement to the curriculum at World Champion Taekwondo (and I don't suspect that I ever will be), I would suggest bringing back the yellow stripe, and having it represent milestones in physical fitness such as pushups, crunches and squats.
A ten-minute break followed endurance testing, and then the students drilled through basic techniques: punches blocks and stances. They finished this portion of the test with three sets of 100 punches. The first set was very impressive, the second set less so, the third set was a little pathetic, everyone was so tired that no one was pulling their punches all the way back to their belt any more. This might be another skill for me to practice as I prepare for my black belt test.
The kicking drills were conducted much the same way as the basic techniques: lots of combinations. Dominic commented later that it was a little hard to hear and understand the directions. They finished this set with 100 front kicks.
Another 10-minute break preceded the sparring portion of the test. We had been sitting in the bleachers for nearly two hours, so we were ready for a break ourselves. We went downstairs and walked out onto the floor and chatted with Dominic as he put on his sparring gear. The master instructed all of the students wearing glasses to remove them, and then they were paired up and instructed to demonstrate their skills without hurting each other (light contact). Master Jason commenting that he always negotiated with his partners in belt tests to go ahead and kick each other full force because light contact is boring. It was quite chaotic with 20 pairs of competitors kicking at each other, so they asked half of them to sit down. Dominic out-classed his partners in a big way. He loves sparring. He's small but quick. There was another 10-minute break after sparring for the students to change out of their gear.
At this point it's about 12:30 pm. I'm glad I packed plenty of snacks because there was no lunch break. The next item on the program was forms. I was surprised that they included the basic forms. I had only expected to see the tae guk forms. I was also surprised to see them performed out of order. I will need a lot of practice to be able to do that, and some of the students testing appeared to be in need of bit more practice. To keep things interesting, they had half the students sit down at one point and watch the other students perform, and then they switched. Then, they had half the students perform one form while the other half of the students performed a different form.
At 1:00, it was time for nun chucks. The poom candidates and the 1st dan candidates sat on the floors to watch because only the 2nd & 3rd dan candidates learn the nun chuck routines. It was something like forms, but they were only just numbered. They didn't have names. They just worked through a series of pre-defined movements. It looked cool. Dominic is looking forward to learning nun chucks. He will pretest for his 2nd dan three times in the next two years. I think he has to learn the first four routines for his first pre test.
At 1:00 pm it was time for speeches. The masters previously asked four people to prepare a few words. The first speech was given by a 30-something woman who was testing today for her 1st dan. She described how she and her husband used to work out at different things until they started practicing taekwondo together. He was testing for his 1st dan today, too. Master Jason commented that he knew them when they first started, so I'm guessing they studied at Master Kim's Portland location on West Union Road.
The second speech was given by a mother of one of the poom candidates. She described her son as "bouncing off the walls." It made me smile. That's how I got started in taekwondo: looking for something for my son. The third speech was given by a father who over came spinal injuries in order to practice taekwondo with his son. His son has been ready to test for some time now, but he's been waiting for his dad to test with him. His dad is currently a brown belt, so he's about a year away from his black belt test, but he convinced his son to go ahead and test today. The final speech was given by a black belt candidate who remarked how much he hates to exercise. I could really appreciate this. I really hate running for example. I used to like weight lifting, but he also commented how motivational he found the frequent rank advancements, and I had to agree with that, too. When my next belt test is only three months away, I'm very unlikely to slow down or take a break. Even the black belts pretest every six months.
Finally, it was time for board breaking. It rather a long time to hand out all the boards. Each student had to receive their boards from their master, presumably because the cost of the boards was paid from the e testing fee which is paid to the head master of each school. This is perhaps an indelicate detail, but it's a detail lots of people need to know, so I will share with you that the belt fee for this particular test was $550.00. I'm glad I discovered that because my daughter and I will hopefully test on the same day, and that is not a sum I can come up with all at once, but a year is more than enough time to save it up.
Anyway, each student received eight boards. The poom candidates received thinner boards than the dan candidates. Students held for each other, and they seemed to choose their own breaking techniques. Dominic broke his eight boards with four kicks, two at a time. Master Jason had gone down to the floor at this point to help hold boards, and he had to make some special effort to hold for Dominic as others, trying to help, kept offering to hold for him. The closing ceremony began with the distribution of new uniforms. These uniforms featured the familiar school logo on the back, but they also included the words World Champion Taekwondo on the pants in large red letters. To be more specific, the word World appears on the outside of the left leg, the word Champion appears across the back of the jacket, below the belt, and the word Taekwondo appears on the outside of the right leg. This led to some confusion in Dominic's family because from the back the students all appear to be labeled as champions. In addition, the 1st dan uniforms feature a single black line on the shoulder and on the outside of the leg; the 2nd dan uniforms feature two black lines on the shoulder and on the outside of the leg; and the 3rd dan uniforms feature three black lines on the shoulder and on the outside of the leg.
When the students arrived in their new uniforms, the masters called them up one at a time to receive their new belts. The belts were all embroidered with the students name and either the name of the school or the name of their master. I can't remember. There was also some Korean embroidery. The 1st dan belts included a single gold bar embroidered at the end of the belt, the 2nd dan belts included two gold bars embroidered at the end of the belt, and the 3rd dan belts included three gold bars embroidered a the end of the belt. I believe the poom belts included the same embroidery, but they were not entirely black. They were divided in half lengthwise and one half was red and the other half was black. I can't remember if the it was the top half or the bottom half that was red, but I do remember that those little kids sure were happy running around in their new uniforms and belts.
The final element of the closing ceremony was a group picture.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Tae Guk Sa Jang
There are many sites on the Internet which offer instruction on performing the forms of taekwondo. They vary widely, partly because instructors refer to the same techniques by different names, but mostly because people just write things differently. I am intrigued at the notion that although we are all doing these forms exactly the same way, we are all talking and writing about them very differently. It's really easier to learn forms in class than it is to learn them from written text, but I think this is helpful. I wrote this out to help me study for my test, and I offer it up to anyone who might find it useful. If you note any errors, please let me know. Thanks.
Tae Guek Sa (4th) Jang is represented by the symbol for_____.
From the Joon Be (ready) position:
Wait for the signal, then turn 180* to the left (facing flags) into Joon Be (ready) position.
Tae Guek Sa (4th) Jang is represented by the symbol for_____.
From the Joon Be (ready) position:
- Turn 90* to the left, stepping with the left foot in back stance and perform a double knife-hand block with the left hand forward.
- Perform a downward palm block with the left hand (from the belt), step forward with the right foot into front stance and perform a middle spear-hand strike with the right hand.
- Turn 180* to the right and step with the right foot in back stance and perform a double knife-hand block with the right hand forward.
- Perform a downward palm block with the left hand (from the belt), stepping forward with the left foot into front stance and perform a middle spear-hand strike with the left hand.
- Turn 90* to the left (facing flags) and step with the left foot into front stance (left foot forward) and perform open palm high block with the right hand and a chop with the right hand.
- With the right foot, perform a front kick coming down in front stance (right foot forward) and perform a middle punch with the left hand.
- Perform a side kick with the left foot, coming down in horse stance.
- Perform a side kick with right foot, coming down in back stance and perform a double knife-hand block. KI HAP! (yell)
- Turn 270* to the left (so that you are facing 90* to the right) and step with the left foot in back stance and perform a forearm block with the left hand.
- Perform a front kick with the right foot (fists at chest), returning to back stance (left foot forward) and an outside-in middle block with the right hand.
- Turn 180* to the right and find the right foot forward in back stance and perform a forearm block with the right hand.
- Perform a front kick with the left foot (fists at chest), returning to back stance (right foot forward) and an outside-in middle block with the left hand.
- Turn 90* to the left (back to flags) and step with the left foot in walking stance and perform a open-palm high block with the left hand and a chop with the right hand.
- Perform a front kick with the right foot (fists at chest) and land in front stance (right foot forward) and perform a back fist (from the belt) with the right hand.
- Turn 90* to the left and step with the left foot into walking stance and perform a outside-in middle block with the left hand and a middle punch with the right hand.
- Turn 180* to the right and find yourself in walking stance with the right foot forward and perform an outside-in middle block with the right hand and a middle punch with the left hand.
- Turn 90* to the left and step forward (toward the back) with the left foot into walking stance and perform an outside-in middle block with the left hand followed immediately by a middle punch with the right hand and another middle punch with the left hand.
- Step forward with the right foot in front stance and perform outside-in middle block with the right hand followed immediately by a middle punch with the left hand and another middle punch with the right hand. KI HAP! (yell)
Wait for the signal, then turn 180* to the left (facing flags) into Joon Be (ready) position.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
My first tournament
I entered my first taekwondo tournament (more than two years ago) on 10/30/2010. I was a green belt, and it was a school tournament which included students from the various World Champion Taekwondo schools as well as Sunshine Taekwondo and Lee's Martial Arts Academy, and some others.
I wasn't feeling very well. I had been struggling with some back pain. I was taking a steroid to reduce the inflammation. And I had just started physical therapy. I thought there was a very good chance this would be the only tournament that I would ever enter.
When was entered in forms and sparring. I competed in forms first. I was so nervous that I was shaking while performing my form. I forgot a step and had to go back and do it over again. Amazingly, I got second place. It just happens that another woman in my division was even more nervous than I was.
Next was the breaking competition. They stacked up ten boards for us to power through. These boards were probably a half inch thick. No one was expected to break all of them. I broke six, but someone broke seven, so I got another silver medal. You are allowed to try a second time, but I don't think it counts. They might use it to break ties, but I don't think so. I did try again, and I broke through the rest of the boards on my second strike, but I hurt my hand, too, so I decided that I would never strike twice at these tournaments again.
Finally, it was time for the sparring competition, but there was no one my age entered. The officials considered placing me in the same division as a couple of men at my belt rank, but Master Je Kim was there, and he thought better of it. Instead I was put in the same division as some younger women. I think they were 17 years old. One was blonde and one was brunette, I never did learn their names.
I first went up against the blonde. She told me before the match started that she had hurt her arm in the breaking competition. She asked me to be careful, but I don't think that I succeeded. She finished the match, but she left the area crying. She didn't have a coach with her. She never returned for her medal.
My second match was against the brunette. She was much more aggressive than the blonde. I remember she scored with a back kick more than once. I never used back kick. I was afraid to take my eyes off my opponent. she was always getting so close that I couldn't kick her. I was really frustrated, and I pushed her several times, which is illegal, but the referee didn't give me a warning until I shoved her so hard she fell on the mat.
In our second round, we were getting so tired we couldn't get our kicks all the way up to our opponent's belt. I know we kicked each other several times in the hips, and I know I kicked her really hard. I shouldn't have, but I did a lot of things as a green belt that I shouldn't have. Later, when I saw another pair of green belts sparring each other I was impressed that they were all power and no grace. I think I was like that. I hope I'm better today.
I don't remember the scores, but I won both matches soundly. I took home a gold medal in sparring, a silver medal in breaking and a silver medal in forms. My daughter also competed this day. She was not very happy with her performance. She brought home a bronze medal in sparring, a gold medal in breaking and a bronze medal in forms.
I wasn't feeling very well. I had been struggling with some back pain. I was taking a steroid to reduce the inflammation. And I had just started physical therapy. I thought there was a very good chance this would be the only tournament that I would ever enter.
When was entered in forms and sparring. I competed in forms first. I was so nervous that I was shaking while performing my form. I forgot a step and had to go back and do it over again. Amazingly, I got second place. It just happens that another woman in my division was even more nervous than I was.
Next was the breaking competition. They stacked up ten boards for us to power through. These boards were probably a half inch thick. No one was expected to break all of them. I broke six, but someone broke seven, so I got another silver medal. You are allowed to try a second time, but I don't think it counts. They might use it to break ties, but I don't think so. I did try again, and I broke through the rest of the boards on my second strike, but I hurt my hand, too, so I decided that I would never strike twice at these tournaments again.
Finally, it was time for the sparring competition, but there was no one my age entered. The officials considered placing me in the same division as a couple of men at my belt rank, but Master Je Kim was there, and he thought better of it. Instead I was put in the same division as some younger women. I think they were 17 years old. One was blonde and one was brunette, I never did learn their names.
I first went up against the blonde. She told me before the match started that she had hurt her arm in the breaking competition. She asked me to be careful, but I don't think that I succeeded. She finished the match, but she left the area crying. She didn't have a coach with her. She never returned for her medal.
My second match was against the brunette. She was much more aggressive than the blonde. I remember she scored with a back kick more than once. I never used back kick. I was afraid to take my eyes off my opponent. she was always getting so close that I couldn't kick her. I was really frustrated, and I pushed her several times, which is illegal, but the referee didn't give me a warning until I shoved her so hard she fell on the mat.
In our second round, we were getting so tired we couldn't get our kicks all the way up to our opponent's belt. I know we kicked each other several times in the hips, and I know I kicked her really hard. I shouldn't have, but I did a lot of things as a green belt that I shouldn't have. Later, when I saw another pair of green belts sparring each other I was impressed that they were all power and no grace. I think I was like that. I hope I'm better today.
I don't remember the scores, but I won both matches soundly. I took home a gold medal in sparring, a silver medal in breaking and a silver medal in forms. My daughter also competed this day. She was not very happy with her performance. She brought home a bronze medal in sparring, a gold medal in breaking and a bronze medal in forms.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Tae Guk Sam Jang
There are many sites on the Internet which offer instruction on performing the forms of taekwondo. They vary widely, partly because instructors refer to the same techniques by different names, but mostly because people just write things differently. I am intrigued at the notion that although we are all doing these forms exactly the same way, we are all talking and writing about them very differently. It's really easier to learn forms in class than it is to learn them from written text, but I think this is helpful. I wrote this out to help me study for my test, and I offer it up to anyone who might find it useful. If you note any errors, please let me know. Thanks.
Tae Guek Sam (3rd ) Jang is represented by the symbol for fire.
From the Joon Be (ready) position:
Turn 180* to the left (facing flags) into Joon Be (ready) position.
Tae Guek Sam (3rd ) Jang is represented by the symbol for fire.
From the Joon Be (ready) position:
- Turn 90* to the left, stepping with the left foot in walking stance and perform a low block with the left hand.
- Perform a front kick with the right foot (fists on belt), coming down in front stance.
- Perform a middle punch with the right hand and another middle punch with the left hand.
- Turn 180* to the right and step with the right foot in walking stance and perform a low block with the right hand.
- Perform a front kick with the left foot (fists on belt), coming down in front stance
- Perform a middle punch with the left hand and another middle punch with the right hand.
- Turn 90* to the left (facing flags) and step with the left foot into walking stance (left foot forward) and perform a chop with the right hand.
- Step forward (facing flags) with the right foot in walking stance and perform a chop with the left hand.
- Turn 90* to the left and step with the left foot forward into back stance and perform a single knife block with the left hand.
- Shift into front stance by moving the front foot (left foot) and perform a middle punch with the right hand.
- Turn 180* to the right and step with the right foot forward into back stance and perform a single knife block with the right hand.
- Shift into front stance by moving the front foot (right foot) and perform a middle punch with the left hand.
- Turn 90* degrees to the left (facing flags) and slide the left foot forward into walking stance and perform an outside-in middle block with the right hand.
- Step forward (facing flags) with the right foot in walking stance and perform an outside-in middle block with the left hand.
- Turn 270* to the left (so that you are facing 90* to the right) and step with the left foot in walking stance and perform a low block with the left hand.
- Perform a front kick with the right foot (fists on belt), coming down in front stance
- Perform a middle punch with the right hand and another middle punch with the left hand.
- Turn 180* to the right and find the right foot forward in walking stance and perform a low block with the right hand.
- Perform a front kick with the left foot (fists on belt), coming down in front stance.
- Perform a middle punch with the left hand and another middle punch with the right hand.
- Turn 90* to the left (back to flags) and step with the left foot in walking stance and perform a low block with the left hand followed immediately by a middle punch with the right hand.
- Step forward with the right foot in walking stance and perform a low block with the right hand followed immediately by a middle punch with the left hand.
- Perform a front kick with the left foot (fists at chest) and land in walking stance (left foot forward) and perform a low block with the left hand followed immediately by a middle punch with the right hand.
- Perform a front kick with the right foot (fists at chest) and land in walking stance (right foot forward) and perform a low block with the right hand followed immediately by a middle punch with the left hand. KI HAP! (yell)
Turn 180* to the left (facing flags) into Joon Be (ready) position.
Friday, June 11, 2010
My fifth belt test
My seven-year old daughter and I have been studying taekwondo at World Champion Taekwondo in Scappoose, Oregon for fifteen months now. Friday night (06/11/2010), we had our fifth belt test. We leveled up from orange belts to green belts. We have about seven more belt tests before black belt.
The test was at 4:00 pm instead of 6:00 pm. I had to bring my five-year-old son with me. Master Jason was kind enough to provide him with his dry erase board and some marking pens to keep him entertained. My daughter's first grade teacher came to support her. That was very special.
Only Master Byong-Cheol Kim attended to grade our test. Master Je-Kyoung Kim usually attends as well, but he wasn't there. There were eight orange belts in attendance for the test. Jared (brown stripe) and Elsie (blue belt) are two students who usually test with us, but they were not able to test with us tonight. We warmed up with some stretches and calisthenics. Before we began, Master Kim drew attention to our instructor's new rank. Our instructor, Jason Letiski, participated in his fourth dan black belt test last month and now uses the title of master. Most of us had attended this test. Master Kim referred to him as "his favorite student."
We started with blocks and punches. Master Jason called out a lot of interesting combinations again this time. Dominic, a fifteen-year-old black belt candidate, assisted the instructor by demonstrating the combinations. We did our kicks in a slightly new way. We kicked twice towards the flag and then we turned and kicked twice towards the lobby. We didn't have anything new this test to demonstrate. We demonstrated low block, middle block, high block, single knife, double knife, double down, front kick, round house kick and axe kick. I was a little relieved that he didn't call out back kick. My back kick looks weak when I don't have a target to hit.
One of our students had a very bad day at school today, and he was very distracted and disinterested during the test. Master Jason had to pull him aside and speak with him for a moment, and then he was fine and able to finish the test.
The name of our form was tae guk yi jang. It's the second form in the tae guk series. It wasn't really any more complicated than our last form, but it did seem to take us longer to learn. Master Jason had us do it over about six times before he was satisfied.
By the time we were ready to demonstrate our self defense and one step sparring routines, the orange stripes had begun to arrive for their test which would begin at 5:00 pm. Master Jason was able to call on them to enter the mat and work as our partners. Our one step sparring routine included a high block, roundhouse kick, side-kick, hook kick and elbow strike. It was pretty cool, but I forgot the side-kick the first time, so he had me do it again. Our self defense routine started us in a full nelson. We stomped on our attacker's foot, broke his grip, hit him in the teeth with our head, grabbed his foot and kicked him in the face when he fell down. Self defense routines are brutal.
Just before we demonstrated our breaking technique, we read off a bad habit that we wanted to break. My daughter admitted that she bites her nails, and I admitted that I loose my temper. Another student promised to stop interrupting which turned out to be pretty funny a few minutes later when he interrupted Master Jason.
We used a jumping front kick to break the board which is a little tricky because we use the top of our foot in class when we kick targets, but when we break we need to use the ball of our foot. Almost everyone broke their board on their second attempt which was kind of weird. One student broke her board in two places which was very cool because the middle of the board when flying over Master Jason's head.
The final portion of the ceremony was the awarding of trophies and belts. Young students at our school are required to earn at least seven black stripes before they are allowed to take their test. A black stripe is earned by demonstrating a good attitude at home for one week. The stripes are stickers which wrap around the tip of the belt. If a student goes above and beyond the seven stripe requirement and earns ten stripes, then they receive a small trophy and a gold star at the belt test. The gold star is a patch which is worn on the collar of the uniform. At the end of a year, if a student has earned four gold stars, then they receive a large trophy. My daughter was the only student with ten stripes and three gold stars. She felt VERY special as she collected her large trophy. All the other children at the test had also earned their ten stripes, so they also received their stars and trophies.
Finally, we removed our orange belts, and the masters tied on our new green belts. The new belts always look so bright and colorful. After our test, the orange stripes, yellow belts and yellow stripes all tested together. They looked like a big group. Maybe the new orange belts will test with us next time. The next day, we all gathered together for a bar-be-que to celebrate. It was a beautiful day - finally. We've had a lot of rain this spring, but we had lots of sunshine this day.
The test was at 4:00 pm instead of 6:00 pm. I had to bring my five-year-old son with me. Master Jason was kind enough to provide him with his dry erase board and some marking pens to keep him entertained. My daughter's first grade teacher came to support her. That was very special.
Only Master Byong-Cheol Kim attended to grade our test. Master Je-Kyoung Kim usually attends as well, but he wasn't there. There were eight orange belts in attendance for the test. Jared (brown stripe) and Elsie (blue belt) are two students who usually test with us, but they were not able to test with us tonight. We warmed up with some stretches and calisthenics. Before we began, Master Kim drew attention to our instructor's new rank. Our instructor, Jason Letiski, participated in his fourth dan black belt test last month and now uses the title of master. Most of us had attended this test. Master Kim referred to him as "his favorite student."
We started with blocks and punches. Master Jason called out a lot of interesting combinations again this time. Dominic, a fifteen-year-old black belt candidate, assisted the instructor by demonstrating the combinations. We did our kicks in a slightly new way. We kicked twice towards the flag and then we turned and kicked twice towards the lobby. We didn't have anything new this test to demonstrate. We demonstrated low block, middle block, high block, single knife, double knife, double down, front kick, round house kick and axe kick. I was a little relieved that he didn't call out back kick. My back kick looks weak when I don't have a target to hit.
One of our students had a very bad day at school today, and he was very distracted and disinterested during the test. Master Jason had to pull him aside and speak with him for a moment, and then he was fine and able to finish the test.
The name of our form was tae guk yi jang. It's the second form in the tae guk series. It wasn't really any more complicated than our last form, but it did seem to take us longer to learn. Master Jason had us do it over about six times before he was satisfied.
By the time we were ready to demonstrate our self defense and one step sparring routines, the orange stripes had begun to arrive for their test which would begin at 5:00 pm. Master Jason was able to call on them to enter the mat and work as our partners. Our one step sparring routine included a high block, roundhouse kick, side-kick, hook kick and elbow strike. It was pretty cool, but I forgot the side-kick the first time, so he had me do it again. Our self defense routine started us in a full nelson. We stomped on our attacker's foot, broke his grip, hit him in the teeth with our head, grabbed his foot and kicked him in the face when he fell down. Self defense routines are brutal.
Just before we demonstrated our breaking technique, we read off a bad habit that we wanted to break. My daughter admitted that she bites her nails, and I admitted that I loose my temper. Another student promised to stop interrupting which turned out to be pretty funny a few minutes later when he interrupted Master Jason.
We used a jumping front kick to break the board which is a little tricky because we use the top of our foot in class when we kick targets, but when we break we need to use the ball of our foot. Almost everyone broke their board on their second attempt which was kind of weird. One student broke her board in two places which was very cool because the middle of the board when flying over Master Jason's head.
The final portion of the ceremony was the awarding of trophies and belts. Young students at our school are required to earn at least seven black stripes before they are allowed to take their test. A black stripe is earned by demonstrating a good attitude at home for one week. The stripes are stickers which wrap around the tip of the belt. If a student goes above and beyond the seven stripe requirement and earns ten stripes, then they receive a small trophy and a gold star at the belt test. The gold star is a patch which is worn on the collar of the uniform. At the end of a year, if a student has earned four gold stars, then they receive a large trophy. My daughter was the only student with ten stripes and three gold stars. She felt VERY special as she collected her large trophy. All the other children at the test had also earned their ten stripes, so they also received their stars and trophies.
Finally, we removed our orange belts, and the masters tied on our new green belts. The new belts always look so bright and colorful. After our test, the orange stripes, yellow belts and yellow stripes all tested together. They looked like a big group. Maybe the new orange belts will test with us next time. The next day, we all gathered together for a bar-be-que to celebrate. It was a beautiful day - finally. We've had a lot of rain this spring, but we had lots of sunshine this day.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Tae Guk Yi Jang
There are many sites on the Internet which offer instruction on performing the forms of taekwondo. They vary widely, partly because instructors refer to the same techniques by different names, but mostly because people just write things differently. I am intrigued at the notion that although we are all doing these forms exactly the same way, we are all talking and writing about them very differently. It's really easier to learn forms in class than it is to learn them from written text, but I think this is helpful. I wrote this out to help me study for my test, and I offer it up to anyone who might find it useful. If you note any errors, please let me know. Thanks.
Tae Guek Yi (2nd ) Jang is represented by the symbol for lake.
From the Joon Be (ready) position:
Turn 180* to the left (facing flags) into Joon Be (ready) position.
Tae Guek Yi (2nd ) Jang is represented by the symbol for lake.
From the Joon Be (ready) position:
- Turn 90* to the left, stepping with the left foot in front stance and perform a low block with the left hand.
- Step forward with the right foot in front stance and perform a middle punch with the right hand.
- Turn 180* to the right and step with the right foot in walking stance and perform a low block with the right hand.
- Step forward with the left foot in front stance and perform a middle punch with the left hand.
- Turn 90* to the left (facing flags) and step with the left foot in walking stance and perform an outside-in middle block with the right hand.
- Step forward (facing flags) with the right leg in walking stance and perform an outside-in middle block with the left hand.
- Turn 90* to the left and step with the left foot in walking stance and perform a low block with the left hand.
- Perform a front kick with the right foot (fists at the belt) and land in front stance (right foot forward) and perform a face-high punch with the right hand.
- Turn 180* to the right and step with the right foot in walking stance and perform a low block with the right hand.
- Perform a front kick with the left foot (fists at belt) and land in front stance (left foot forward) and perform a face-high punch with left hand.
- Turn 90* degrees to the left (facing flags) and step with the left foot in walking stance and perform a high block with the left hand.
- Step forward (facing flags) with the right foot in walking stance and perform a high block with the right hand.
- Turn 270* to the left (so that you are facing 90* to the right) and step with the left foot in walking stance and perform an outside-in middle block with the right hand.
- Turn 180* to the right and step with the right foot in walking stance and perform an outside-in middle block with the left hand.
- Turn 90* to the left (back to flags) and step with the left foot in walking stance and perform a low block with the left hand.
- Perform a front kick with the right foot (fists on belt) and land in walking stance (right foot forward) and perform a middle punch with the right hand.
- Perform a front kick with the left foot (fists on belt) and land in walking stance (left foot forward) and perform a middle punch with the left hand.
- Perform a front kick with the right foot (fists on belt) and land in walking stance (right foot forward) and perform a middle punch with the right hand. KI HAP! (yell)
Turn 180* to the left (facing flags) into Joon Be (ready) position.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
My instructor's masters test
On Saturday, May 15, 2010, my instructor, Jason Leitzke and six others, tested for their fourth degree black belt in taekwondo. With the fourth dan comes the rank of Master. It represents ten to fifteen years of study. The test was presided over by Grand Master Byong-Cheol Kim. There were several others judging the test including Grand Master Choi, Master Je-Kyoung Kim, Master Lin, and others.
The six others candidates were: Robert Hummel, James Reuterskiold, Ha-Yaun Chung, Cathi Leitzke, Andrea Heikkila and James O'Rourke III. There were two other candidates as well. Jon Cooley was testing for his third dan and William Brown was testing for his second dan. Normally they would present themselves on testing dates designed specifically for their rank, but scheduling conflicts made that impossible for them, so accommodations were made.
The test was administered at World Championship Taekwondo, 18335 NW West Union Road, Suite H, Portland, Oregon 97229. Just like my own taekwondo school in Scappoose, there weren't enough chairs, so I was really glad that I brought my own. I arrived about fifteen minutes early, but there were already lots of people there. It seemed as though about half the crowd was there from Scappoose to support Jason.
They passed out a very nice program with everyone's name, and the schedule worked out in ten minute intervals. First on the list were hand techniques from 10:00 to 10:20. We started a little late, but the masters seemed committed to keeping the schedule, so they kept this bit pretty brief. Grand Master B.C. Kim called out various blocks and strikes, and the master candidates executed all them with power and precision. It really was a joy to watch.
Next on the list were forms from 10:20 to 10:50. This is also the only part during the test where someone made a mistake. An assistant called out the name of a form, and one of the candidates began performing a different form. The candidates performed ten pushups and started again. I don't know precisely how many forms they performed. It might have been as many as fifteen. I don't usually think of forms as being very exhausting because they are not performed with great speed, but the candidates performed all of their forms with great power and precision. They were all sweating and panting by the end of it.
Next on the list was self defense from 10:50 to 11:00. They all partnered up. The assistant called out numbers and the candidates performed the techniques. It was neat. They were just throwing each other to the ground over and over again. I was impressed that they knew this material so well that they could perform the techniques with only a number as promptings. I guess I've only ever had to learn one self defense technique at a time.
Next on the list was kicking from 11:00 to 11:20. They started just kicking the air with some front kicks and some round house kicks - very pedestrian, but then they got some more assistants to hold some targets and things really started picking up. They did all kinds of kicks and combinations. It was very exciting. At the end, the masters called for an endurance test: 100 roundhouse kicks. Jason made some joke about doing a 1,000 kicks. The other candidates did NOT seem to appreciate his enthusiasm, so when it came his turn to do his 100, he actually went ahead and did 200, so then all the other candidates did a second set of 100 round house kicks. They were all clearly exhausted. I've done 100 roundhouse kicks before but not without a break.
After a ten minute break during which the candidates could drink some water, they put on some sparring gear and demonstrated some sparring techniques from 11:30 to 12:00. This was also very exciting. It was hard to keep track of what was going on. Audience members at the front and to be careful not to get stepped on!
Next on the schedule was nun-chucks from 12:00 to 12:30. This was really neat, too. The assistant called out a number sequentially from 1 - 15 and the candidates performed a series of moves with a single nun-chuck while facing the judges. Then they turned around to face the audience and performed all 15 in order. Then they did 15 more with two nun-chucks! A few candidates dropped their nun-chucks a few times, and they didn't all finish at the same time, but it was still a very impressive display.
After a second ten-minute break, the candidates each received ten boards. Breaking was scheduled from 12:30 to 1:00 pm. Breaking is always the coolest part of every test, and this test was no exception. They started with speed breaking techniques in which the held two boards with three fingers of one hand and tried to break it with the other. This gave them considerable trouble but eventually, with some extra coaching from Master Lim, they all got their boards broken.
Then they switched to power breaking. They all seemed really very excited about this. They were instructed to break two boards with any technique of their choice except the back kick. This part was also very exciting and confusing. They didn't really take turns. They fired at will. Boards were flying everywhere. Mr. Jason chose the roundhouse kick, but he broke the boards with his shin rather than his instep or the ball of his foot.
The final breaking technique was to break what ever boards they had left (most of them had four boards left) with the back kick. They all performed very well. I don't think anyone needed two attempts, but when it came to Mr. Jason's turn, Master Lim asked him to use a stepping front kick and the ball of his foot. There was some confusion as to what a stepping front kick is. The kick he wanted Jason to perform is also known as a front-foot front kick or a skipping front kick. He did a great job.
The next item on the schedule was individual speeches from 1:00 to 1:45 pm. Many of the candidates expressed similar sentiments: they never thought they would make it this far; they made some of the best friends of their whole lives while studying taekwondo; and taekwondo has been a character building experience as much as anything else.
The last item on the schedule was the belt ceremony from 1:45 to 2:00 pm. Each candidate received a new uniform. They jumped into the locker room really quick and changed. They looked really sharp when they came out in their new uniforms. Then they were called forward one by one to receive their new belts. There belts were embroidered with their names. Grand Master Byong-Cheol Kim tied each belt and congratulated each candidate with a bow and hand shake and a hug. Master Lim did all the talking during this portion of the schedule. Grand Master Kim seemed a bit overwhelmed. Master Kim led them in performing the "great bow." He explained it as a Korean custom usually reserved for parents and the deceased. It was performed by kneeling on the floor and bowing the forehead to the floor. All the candidates bowed to Master Kim and Master Kim bowed to all the candidates in unison. It was really very touching to witness.
Afterwards, my friend Heidi said to me: "I really want this in my life." I felt the same way, so that settles it. Heidi and I are going to take our Masters test together in about ten to fifteen years. You're all invited.
The six others candidates were: Robert Hummel, James Reuterskiold, Ha-Yaun Chung, Cathi Leitzke, Andrea Heikkila and James O'Rourke III. There were two other candidates as well. Jon Cooley was testing for his third dan and William Brown was testing for his second dan. Normally they would present themselves on testing dates designed specifically for their rank, but scheduling conflicts made that impossible for them, so accommodations were made.
The test was administered at World Championship Taekwondo, 18335 NW West Union Road, Suite H, Portland, Oregon 97229. Just like my own taekwondo school in Scappoose, there weren't enough chairs, so I was really glad that I brought my own. I arrived about fifteen minutes early, but there were already lots of people there. It seemed as though about half the crowd was there from Scappoose to support Jason.
They passed out a very nice program with everyone's name, and the schedule worked out in ten minute intervals. First on the list were hand techniques from 10:00 to 10:20. We started a little late, but the masters seemed committed to keeping the schedule, so they kept this bit pretty brief. Grand Master B.C. Kim called out various blocks and strikes, and the master candidates executed all them with power and precision. It really was a joy to watch.
Next on the list were forms from 10:20 to 10:50. This is also the only part during the test where someone made a mistake. An assistant called out the name of a form, and one of the candidates began performing a different form. The candidates performed ten pushups and started again. I don't know precisely how many forms they performed. It might have been as many as fifteen. I don't usually think of forms as being very exhausting because they are not performed with great speed, but the candidates performed all of their forms with great power and precision. They were all sweating and panting by the end of it.
Next on the list was self defense from 10:50 to 11:00. They all partnered up. The assistant called out numbers and the candidates performed the techniques. It was neat. They were just throwing each other to the ground over and over again. I was impressed that they knew this material so well that they could perform the techniques with only a number as promptings. I guess I've only ever had to learn one self defense technique at a time.
Next on the list was kicking from 11:00 to 11:20. They started just kicking the air with some front kicks and some round house kicks - very pedestrian, but then they got some more assistants to hold some targets and things really started picking up. They did all kinds of kicks and combinations. It was very exciting. At the end, the masters called for an endurance test: 100 roundhouse kicks. Jason made some joke about doing a 1,000 kicks. The other candidates did NOT seem to appreciate his enthusiasm, so when it came his turn to do his 100, he actually went ahead and did 200, so then all the other candidates did a second set of 100 round house kicks. They were all clearly exhausted. I've done 100 roundhouse kicks before but not without a break.
After a ten minute break during which the candidates could drink some water, they put on some sparring gear and demonstrated some sparring techniques from 11:30 to 12:00. This was also very exciting. It was hard to keep track of what was going on. Audience members at the front and to be careful not to get stepped on!
Next on the schedule was nun-chucks from 12:00 to 12:30. This was really neat, too. The assistant called out a number sequentially from 1 - 15 and the candidates performed a series of moves with a single nun-chuck while facing the judges. Then they turned around to face the audience and performed all 15 in order. Then they did 15 more with two nun-chucks! A few candidates dropped their nun-chucks a few times, and they didn't all finish at the same time, but it was still a very impressive display.
After a second ten-minute break, the candidates each received ten boards. Breaking was scheduled from 12:30 to 1:00 pm. Breaking is always the coolest part of every test, and this test was no exception. They started with speed breaking techniques in which the held two boards with three fingers of one hand and tried to break it with the other. This gave them considerable trouble but eventually, with some extra coaching from Master Lim, they all got their boards broken.
Then they switched to power breaking. They all seemed really very excited about this. They were instructed to break two boards with any technique of their choice except the back kick. This part was also very exciting and confusing. They didn't really take turns. They fired at will. Boards were flying everywhere. Mr. Jason chose the roundhouse kick, but he broke the boards with his shin rather than his instep or the ball of his foot.
The final breaking technique was to break what ever boards they had left (most of them had four boards left) with the back kick. They all performed very well. I don't think anyone needed two attempts, but when it came to Mr. Jason's turn, Master Lim asked him to use a stepping front kick and the ball of his foot. There was some confusion as to what a stepping front kick is. The kick he wanted Jason to perform is also known as a front-foot front kick or a skipping front kick. He did a great job.
The next item on the schedule was individual speeches from 1:00 to 1:45 pm. Many of the candidates expressed similar sentiments: they never thought they would make it this far; they made some of the best friends of their whole lives while studying taekwondo; and taekwondo has been a character building experience as much as anything else.
The last item on the schedule was the belt ceremony from 1:45 to 2:00 pm. Each candidate received a new uniform. They jumped into the locker room really quick and changed. They looked really sharp when they came out in their new uniforms. Then they were called forward one by one to receive their new belts. There belts were embroidered with their names. Grand Master Byong-Cheol Kim tied each belt and congratulated each candidate with a bow and hand shake and a hug. Master Lim did all the talking during this portion of the schedule. Grand Master Kim seemed a bit overwhelmed. Master Kim led them in performing the "great bow." He explained it as a Korean custom usually reserved for parents and the deceased. It was performed by kneeling on the floor and bowing the forehead to the floor. All the candidates bowed to Master Kim and Master Kim bowed to all the candidates in unison. It was really very touching to witness.
Afterwards, my friend Heidi said to me: "I really want this in my life." I felt the same way, so that settles it. Heidi and I are going to take our Masters test together in about ten to fifteen years. You're all invited.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
I did 200 squats
Today I completed the 200 squat challenge created by Steve Speirs. It was supposed to be a six week program. I started in January, so I figure that it took me about 12 weeks to complete the program, but I don't care. I'm glad to have completed the program. I'm working on the 200 situp challenge and the 100 pushup challenge. I became interested in these challenges because of my taekwondo class. I was one of the first students to join this new school, but I was almost always the last person to finish every drill like running and pushups, so I decided to do something extra in an attempt to keep up with the younger students in class. It's only working a little bit. I'm keeping up better with the 30-somethings, but I'm not keeping up with this teenagers, but that's okay.
Friday, March 12, 2010
My fourth belt test
It's been almost a year since I joined World Champion Taekwondo in Scappoose, Oregon. Friday night (03/12/2010), my seven-year-old daughter and I had our fourth belt test. We leveled up from yellow belts with orange stripes to orange belts. We have eight more belt tests before we get to black belt.
I was really nervous for this test. I don't know why, maybe because I invited people. My friend Terra came to run my video recorder which was very nice of her. My daughter invited her first-grade teacher, but she wasn't able to make it.
Our test was scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on a Friday night. The white belts tested at 4:30 and the yellow stripes and yellow belts tested at 5:30, so we were the evening finale. While the masters readied themselves, our instructor told us to practice our forms, self-defense and one-step sparring one more time. Then we warmed up with some leg lifts and some push-ups. I couldn’t keep up with all the push-ups (again). I've been trying and trying to build up my upper body strength, but I've still got a long way to go.
We started with blocks and punches. Our instructor called out a lot of interesting combinations this time. Dominic, a fifteen-year-old black belt candidate, assisted the instructor by demonstrating the combinations. I did fine with the blocks and punches, but then we demonstrated our kicking techniques. I did okay with the roundhouse kicks, but I thought that my back kick was totally weak. The back kick was our new kick for this test.
When it was time to do forms, self-defense and one-step sparring, our instructor began with the higher belts. Jared was testing for his brown stripe and Elsie was testing for her blue belt. Their forms, self-defense and one-step sparring techniques always look so cool. Jared's form had a hop in it.
The name of our form was tae guk il jung. It's the first form in the tae guk series. It was a little more complicated than our basic forms. It included unusual combinations new turns (slides) and multiple stances. All the orange stripes did our form perfect the first time.
Our self defense move started with a choke hold. We put our hand on the attackers face and pushed them back over our shin until they fell on their back. I think maybe our instructor was tired of letting students throw him to floor. He would have been thrown to the floor SEVERAL times during the earlier belt tests. A couple of the new orange stripes from the earlier class stayed behind to watch our test. He asked them to pair up with us to demonstrate our self defense techniques. They were really good sports.
Our one-step sparring was pretty simple: when our attacker punched at us, we slid back, performed circle kick to the fist and then a hook kick to the ear. The circle kick was pretty easy, but the hook kick was a little tricky to learn.
Just before we demonstrated our breaking technique, we read off a bad habit that we wanted to break. My daughter admitted that she yells at me. She got a lot of attention for that. When another student promised to be nicer to his little brother, and his little brother made a sarcastic remark, our instructor put them both in push-up position. Eventually, he had all the kids in push-up position. He had them do three push-ups before he let them all stand up and we started breaking our boards.
We used the roundhouse kick to break the board which is a little tricky because we practice the roundhouse kick in class with the top of our foot, but when we break we need to use the ball of our foot. Everyone was able to break their board in one try except for one young boy. He must have kicked that board a dozen times before it finally broke. I'm sure it was because he was using the top of his foot, and kicking softly so as not to hurt himself because as soon as he actually kicked it hard enough to break it, he hopped up and down like he had hurt his foot, poor kid.
The next day we celebrated our new belts with a bar-b-que.
I was really nervous for this test. I don't know why, maybe because I invited people. My friend Terra came to run my video recorder which was very nice of her. My daughter invited her first-grade teacher, but she wasn't able to make it.
Our test was scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on a Friday night. The white belts tested at 4:30 and the yellow stripes and yellow belts tested at 5:30, so we were the evening finale. While the masters readied themselves, our instructor told us to practice our forms, self-defense and one-step sparring one more time. Then we warmed up with some leg lifts and some push-ups. I couldn’t keep up with all the push-ups (again). I've been trying and trying to build up my upper body strength, but I've still got a long way to go.
We started with blocks and punches. Our instructor called out a lot of interesting combinations this time. Dominic, a fifteen-year-old black belt candidate, assisted the instructor by demonstrating the combinations. I did fine with the blocks and punches, but then we demonstrated our kicking techniques. I did okay with the roundhouse kicks, but I thought that my back kick was totally weak. The back kick was our new kick for this test.
When it was time to do forms, self-defense and one-step sparring, our instructor began with the higher belts. Jared was testing for his brown stripe and Elsie was testing for her blue belt. Their forms, self-defense and one-step sparring techniques always look so cool. Jared's form had a hop in it.
The name of our form was tae guk il jung. It's the first form in the tae guk series. It was a little more complicated than our basic forms. It included unusual combinations new turns (slides) and multiple stances. All the orange stripes did our form perfect the first time.
Our self defense move started with a choke hold. We put our hand on the attackers face and pushed them back over our shin until they fell on their back. I think maybe our instructor was tired of letting students throw him to floor. He would have been thrown to the floor SEVERAL times during the earlier belt tests. A couple of the new orange stripes from the earlier class stayed behind to watch our test. He asked them to pair up with us to demonstrate our self defense techniques. They were really good sports.
Our one-step sparring was pretty simple: when our attacker punched at us, we slid back, performed circle kick to the fist and then a hook kick to the ear. The circle kick was pretty easy, but the hook kick was a little tricky to learn.
Just before we demonstrated our breaking technique, we read off a bad habit that we wanted to break. My daughter admitted that she yells at me. She got a lot of attention for that. When another student promised to be nicer to his little brother, and his little brother made a sarcastic remark, our instructor put them both in push-up position. Eventually, he had all the kids in push-up position. He had them do three push-ups before he let them all stand up and we started breaking our boards.
We used the roundhouse kick to break the board which is a little tricky because we practice the roundhouse kick in class with the top of our foot, but when we break we need to use the ball of our foot. Everyone was able to break their board in one try except for one young boy. He must have kicked that board a dozen times before it finally broke. I'm sure it was because he was using the top of his foot, and kicking softly so as not to hurt himself because as soon as he actually kicked it hard enough to break it, he hopped up and down like he had hurt his foot, poor kid.
The next day we celebrated our new belts with a bar-b-que.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Tae Guk Il Jang
There are many sites on the Internet which offer instruction on performing the forms of taekwondo. They vary widely, partly because instructors refer to the same techniques by different names, but mostly because people just write things differently. I am intrigued at the notion that although we are all doing these forms exactly the same way, we are all talking and writing about them very differently. It's really easier to learn forms in class than it is to learn them from written text, but I think this is helpful. I wrote this out to help me study for my test, and I offer it up to anyone who might find it useful. If you note any errors, please let me know. Thanks.
Tae Guek Il (1st) Jang is represented by the symbol keon, meaning heaven. It should be performed with the greatness of heaven. As heaven symbolizes the beginning of the creation of all things in the universe, so this form represents the beginning of taekwondo training. This form is characterized by the easiest techniques: walking stance, front stance, low block, middle block, high block, middle punch and front kick. At my school it is required for advancement to orange belt. (We actually learn three forms that are even easier!)
From the Joon Be (ready) position
Turn 180* to the left (facing flags) into Joon Be (ready) position.
Tae Guek Il (1st) Jang is represented by the symbol keon, meaning heaven. It should be performed with the greatness of heaven. As heaven symbolizes the beginning of the creation of all things in the universe, so this form represents the beginning of taekwondo training. This form is characterized by the easiest techniques: walking stance, front stance, low block, middle block, high block, middle punch and front kick. At my school it is required for advancement to orange belt. (We actually learn three forms that are even easier!)
From the Joon Be (ready) position
- 1. Turn 90* to the left and step with the left foot in walking stance and perform a low block with the left hand.
- 2. Step forward with the right foot in front stance and perform a middle punch with the right hand.
- 3. Turn 180* to the right and step with the right foot in walking stance and perform a low block with the right hand.
- 4. Step forward with the left foot in front stance and perform a middle punch with the left hand.
- 5. Turn 90* to the left (facing flags) and step with the left foot in front stance and perform a low block with the left hand followed immediately by a middle punch with the right hand.
- 6. Turn 90* to the right and slide the right foot (back foot) into walking stance (right foot forward) and perform an outside-in middle block with the left hand.
- 7. Step forward with the left foot in walking stance and perform a middle punch with the right hand.
- 8. Turn 180* left and step with the left foot in walking stance and perform an outside-in middle block with the right hand.
- 9. Step forward with the right foot in walking stance and perform a middle punch with the left hand.
- 10. Turn 90* to the right (facing flags) and step with the left foot in front stance perform and low block with the right hand followed immediately by a middle punch with the left hand.
- 11. Turn 90* to the left and slide the right foot (back foot) up into walking stance (left foot forward) and perform a high block with the left hand.
- 12. Perform a front kick with the right foot (fists on belt) and land in walking stance (right foot forward) and perform a middle punch with the right hand.
- 13. Turn 180* to the right and step with the right foot in walking stance and perform a high block with the right hand.
- 14. Perform a front kick with the left foot and land in walking stance (left foot forward) and perform a middle punch with the left hand.
- 15. Turn 90* to the right (back to flags) and step with the LEFT foot in front stance and perform a low block with the left hand.
- 16. Step forward (back to flags) with the right foot in front stance and perform a middle punch with the right hand. KI HAP! (yell)
Turn 180* to the left (facing flags) into Joon Be (ready) position.
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