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Black Stripe Grading
Apr. 5th, 2005 10:30 amLast night was the grading at Tae Kwon Do. I've been stressing over this for weeks? months? and I'm so happy that it's over.
It was really fast. There weren't very many people grading - there were a few who didn't grade, but we didn't get much of a turnout for this semester.
It was a blur. I remember parts, especially the parts where I was sucking wind, but most of it is just ... a blur.
I know I still have a lot of stuff to work on. I'm too tense during my patterns - I was exhausting myself unnecessarily. Technically, my kicks need work, and I'd benefit a lot by working on my flexibility and cardio endurance. However, I made it through. I broke my boards, no one said "this is your grading, Ann" while I was sparring, and Master Chung actually spoke to me about my grading - he was pretty non-committal, but still!
My next grading isn't until December and it's the really big one - first degree black belt. I'm going to work very hard over the summer, using the fun stuff we've got planned (hiking, biking, swimming) to lose weight and work on my cardio. One of the great things about living on/near the Niagara Escarpment is the hiking. We've got various difficulty levels, but you don't care how difficult it is, because the scenery makes it all worth the effort. D. and I have talked about buying me a new bike for years, but this is the year. Actually, this is the month! I'm hoping to find one before the end of April. I'll probably go with a Canadian Tire special, but it's bound to work better than my old one.
After the grading, we hit Morty's - which was a blast! I'm so happy I convinced jen_the_great to come with. After the bar, I'd left the lights on in the car, but it (eventually) turned over. Not before D. turned around to help us out, but he was very understanding about my panic.
Anyway, I'm still on a high from my grading!
It was really fast. There weren't very many people grading - there were a few who didn't grade, but we didn't get much of a turnout for this semester.
It was a blur. I remember parts, especially the parts where I was sucking wind, but most of it is just ... a blur.
I know I still have a lot of stuff to work on. I'm too tense during my patterns - I was exhausting myself unnecessarily. Technically, my kicks need work, and I'd benefit a lot by working on my flexibility and cardio endurance. However, I made it through. I broke my boards, no one said "this is your grading, Ann" while I was sparring, and Master Chung actually spoke to me about my grading - he was pretty non-committal, but still!
My next grading isn't until December and it's the really big one - first degree black belt. I'm going to work very hard over the summer, using the fun stuff we've got planned (hiking, biking, swimming) to lose weight and work on my cardio. One of the great things about living on/near the Niagara Escarpment is the hiking. We've got various difficulty levels, but you don't care how difficult it is, because the scenery makes it all worth the effort. D. and I have talked about buying me a new bike for years, but this is the year. Actually, this is the month! I'm hoping to find one before the end of April. I'll probably go with a Canadian Tire special, but it's bound to work better than my old one.
After the grading, we hit Morty's - which was a blast! I'm so happy I convinced jen_the_great to come with. After the bar, I'd left the lights on in the car, but it (eventually) turned over. Not before D. turned around to help us out, but he was very understanding about my panic.
Anyway, I'm still on a high from my grading!
