Working through Work

I've been pretty busy with work so training took a little bit of a back seat to making money. It's sad. I rather do enjoy training and I've been trying my hardest to get back to it. This of course has affected my updating. 

As for updates, I'm getting rather used to the Kukkiwon changes. I am also practicing traditional in my spare time. It's starting to feel a bit natural, but yet I wont let myself get completely set in the new ways. It is my personal preference. I've also been working hard on memorizing the new self defense curriculum. To be perfectly honest, I am quite nervous about new curriculum. I do not feel it is very Master-like to be sloppy with any portion of the pre-exams and final exam. Therefore, I am taking time to master these sets of self defense, poomsaes, kicking combinations, and breaking techniques. There is still a lot of work to do before I start weekly test preparation classes. 

There have been some new advancements in my training. First off, I have finally completed the first steps in my creative portion of my Masters exam. Sure this portion isn't until August, but I like to have my creative poomsae, sword demonstation, no weapon self defense, and weapon self defense all down so it is not saved for the last second. This time I will be using music as a basis of cadence. After a rigorous process of finding the correct music for the correct piece, I narrowed down 4 different songs. I hope I get the right representations. Lastly, I've been inviting to talk about martial arts in the nerd culture as a panelist at ConCarolinas this year. I'm so excited to share my insights about the martial arts and the physics involved with it. 

Stance Changes

I thought I would show the deep stance changes I've been adjusting to... so pictures!

Front View of Front Deep Stance Low Block- Old

Front View of Front Deep Stance Low Block- New

Side View of Front Deep Stance Low Block- New

Side View of Front Deep Stance Low Block- Old

Eventually, I will go back to the Old Style. For now, I will be using the modified versions for my exam.

Being a Chameleon

There are several lessons on the path to mastering anything. While most teachings state of the trials and tribulations of heros that train before us, this lesson is quite different from other topics I've learned in martial arts education. It is also the first lesson I have stumbled upon in this journey. Lessons in Becoming A Master: Lesson One- A Master shall adapt to all changes. 

I'll be honest, I don't like change. Minor changes are alright, but full complete changes to my life style are tough for me. So when I heard that Kukkiwon, the Korean Tae Kwon Do association that controls everything, changed everything in three short years since I last tested, I went into a small shock. I personally viewed my Masters testing as being a showcase of everything I have learned. My martial arts would be second nature and could be preformed at the drop of a hat. A brief explanation of the changes would entail stances being shorter, hand and foot positions, and movements being narrower. In a short phrase: I have to relearn everything. Normally something like this would set me back and it did for a little bit, but there is a rule I soon realized about becoming a Master.  In life, humans must constantly adapt to make their lives better and to overall survive. So changing all my stances and appendage placements is like an adaptation to survive this testing. Martial Arts Darwinism at it's finest.

These changes are difficult for me since I've been training for almost two decades and I feel I am going to fall over every single time I am in a deep stance for a low block, but it is necessary. The way I portray Tae Kwon Do and other martial arts is very relaxed and my stances are pretty deep. I will not lie about how it makes me feel when I preform the many forms. I feel tense. Extremely tense. I have never been more uncomfortable in my entire life. If you were to watch me preform, you can tell there are issues. I think these Kukkiwon changes are tailored for the shorter asian martial artists because of how far apart feet are in stances. I'm 5 foot 7 inches. I have lanky limbs and am unbalanced with the changes, but I must have a mantra with this predicament or I will not pass. All people must adapt at some point and so must I. It could also be fun to play the chameleon role. I could use it for research and write a paper on it if I really wanted to, but I wont most likely. I'm being really positive about the changes and I'm pretty excited about making some changes.

Introduction

After 18 years of martial arts training, I have finally begun the journey from Instructor to Master title by testing for my 4th Dan Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. I have been on a leave of training since July of 2010 and have recently begun the rigorous path to reestablishing muscle memory and reinvigorating my martial arts instincts. This blog is a tool to track my progress as I step onto the path of becoming a Master of the Martial Arts. I want to be able to look back and see all of my progress and hard work. I also hope to inspire others and teach people to believe in themselves. I plan to update every two weeks to start up with and post pictures and videos of certain variables I am working on.

Why have I called it The Phoenix Quest? There is a simple answer to this: the Phoenix is a symbol for my full martial arts journey. There have been several moments where I have been a beginner and neophyte to training just as the Phoenix reemerges from the ashes after bursting into flames. There have been and will be points where I have given up and metaphorically burst into flames. And of course, there are points where I am in the middle and striving forward. This testing, this so called quest, is so important to me and I would love the world to hear my story and find personal meaning in it with me. Enjoy!