Dear Friend,
I have a fat loss tip that I bet you've never heard of, but first, let me explain a couple things. We've all heard that having a Lean and Strong body comes from exercise and good nutrition. Let me remind everyone, there are many items to the equation. It's not JUST exercise and good nutrition. If you've followed me, or have done our Ultimate Body Challenge (UBC), then you also know that I am a proponent for revving up your system... getting your metabolism working for you and not against you.
Having a metabolism that is rippin' and roarin' is like owning cash flowing rental property- your money works for you. A faster metabolism will be working for you to ensure food doesn't have a chance to get stored as fat, but rather gets burned up.
There is still another piece to the puzzle though. Let's say we get our metabolism just smoking, does that mean no matter how much we eat, we'll burn it off? The answer is a resounding no. Have you heard of "Calories IN, versus Calories OUT?"
In our Taekwondo class, I was explaining this concept to two of our teenage students before class. Yes, I preach good nutrition in all of our programs;). I explained it like this- How often do your parents fill up their car with gas? (Answer- Once a week.) So, 4 times a month? (Right.) So, that's probably 15 gallons of gas a week, or 60 gallons a month, right? (Right.) Why not just stuff the car with gas and fill it up with 60 gallons once a month? (Uhhh, because the gas will not fit in the tank all at once)
Aren't our bodies very similar to a car? What happens when we put too much gas (food) in our tank (stomach)? If we overflow our tank, guess what happens? The food gets stored as fat. A car is designed for only so much gas, just like our body is designed for so much food.
A car also has a built in mechanism to let the driver know when it's full and empty. Well, a body has one too. The problem with our body's mechanism is that it has a difficult time sensing when you slightly over-eat. Do you have unwanted body fat? Did you get this unwanted body fat overnight? Or, was it a slow accumulation over the course of 5 years, 10 years, or 20 years? Slightly over-eating mulitplied by the number of meals you have in a day, times several years equals that slow accumulation of unwanted body fat.
The answer is Cholecystokinin (CCK). CCK is your body's overflow mechanism. CCK is a hormone that is released in the presence of proteins and fats. This is why people can devour an entire pizza or large bowl of pasta when they are starving. It's pratically all carbs (undesirable carbs, too). The CCK hormone was never released, or it took too long.
The key is to include a healthy source of fats with every meal. In the UBC program, we advise students to eat some nuts or other source of "good" fats with every meal. Again, this ensures that we don't overflow our tanks when eating, and also gives us that satisfied feeling.
I hope you benefited from one of our UBC's strategic eating principles.
The last Ultimate Body Challenge Before Summer begins this Monday. To learn more about this program, visit-
The Last Ultimate Body Challenge Before Summer
Respectfully,
Duncan Richardson
Chief Master Instructor
The Academy of World Taekwondo
Ph: 208.381.0587
http://www.FreeKarateLesson.com/weight-loss.html
P.S. If you want to ask some questions right now about the UBC, call Kendal at 559-1424.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
8 Students Can't Seem to Find 60 Pounds of Fat
60 Pounds of Fat, Lost, Gone, Shedded Away- Family and Friends are Stunned
During our 6 am session, I did body compositions for 8 students. Collectively, they lost 60 pounds of fat. Keep in mind, these are not Biggest Loser contestants. These are everyday individuals like you and I. Unlike the Biggest Loser whose contestants start at around 400 pounds, our students range from 240 pounds down to 115 pounds.
The exciting part is, we just begun our final testing. I'm just so excited from the results so far. Here are some comments that have been made about the program over the past 10 weeks.:
"I have so much more energy..."
"I feel great and motivated..."
"I've gone shopping in my own closet..."
"Duncan, you owe me money for new pants, since they all don't fit anymore..."
"My [censored] life has improved..."(told to Rachel)
"The UBC has helped my running program..."
"My inner thighs don't touch anymore!"
"I have more patience with my children..."
"It feels sooooo good doing something for myself for once."
Alright, now it's time to relax, do some spring skiing, yard clean up, garage clean up, bike riding, or whatever, because we're back at it in 1 week. A good majority of our UBC students are saying, "I'm not quitting now..." They're ramping up for summer! This next UBC will start March 30th and will end right when school get's out.
FYI- This is the last Ultimate Body Challenge until the fall. If you want to super charge your body, chisel those arms and abs, and roast off that extra luggage in the midsection and rear end, this is it!
Visit http://www.FreeKarateLesson.com/weight-loss.html to get the whole scoop on the UBC. I hope to see hear from you soon because the last UBC is filling up.
Respectfully,
Duncan Richardson
Chief Master Instructor
The Academy of World Taekwondo
Ph: 208.381.0587
http://www.FreeKarateLesson.com
During our 6 am session, I did body compositions for 8 students. Collectively, they lost 60 pounds of fat. Keep in mind, these are not Biggest Loser contestants. These are everyday individuals like you and I. Unlike the Biggest Loser whose contestants start at around 400 pounds, our students range from 240 pounds down to 115 pounds.
The exciting part is, we just begun our final testing. I'm just so excited from the results so far. Here are some comments that have been made about the program over the past 10 weeks.:
"I have so much more energy..."
"I feel great and motivated..."
"I've gone shopping in my own closet..."
"Duncan, you owe me money for new pants, since they all don't fit anymore..."
"My [censored] life has improved..."(told to Rachel)
"The UBC has helped my running program..."
"My inner thighs don't touch anymore!"
"I have more patience with my children..."
"It feels sooooo good doing something for myself for once."
Alright, now it's time to relax, do some spring skiing, yard clean up, garage clean up, bike riding, or whatever, because we're back at it in 1 week. A good majority of our UBC students are saying, "I'm not quitting now..." They're ramping up for summer! This next UBC will start March 30th and will end right when school get's out.
FYI- This is the last Ultimate Body Challenge until the fall. If you want to super charge your body, chisel those arms and abs, and roast off that extra luggage in the midsection and rear end, this is it!
Visit http://www.FreeKarateLesson.com/weight-loss.html to get the whole scoop on the UBC. I hope to see hear from you soon because the last UBC is filling up.
Respectfully,
Duncan Richardson
Chief Master Instructor
The Academy of World Taekwondo
Ph: 208.381.0587
http://www.FreeKarateLesson.com
Friday, March 13, 2009
A Speech for YPO/EO Boxing Event
Yesterday was the big Boxing event for the two organizations YPO & EO. This event involved having 8 fighters, who trained diligently for 4 weeks, fight in a real boxing match. The participants are not boxers, but trained to be one for a night.
Of course, YPO & EO is not in the business of putting on boxing matches. Their purpose is rather to help their members become better in business as well as with their family. The night was meant to be symbolic of their fighting spirit to achieve their goals- whether in business, with their family, or personally.
Aside from training four of the fighters, I also gave a presentation to help shed light on the educational component of the event. Since the event was a private function, I have provided my speech for everyone to read. Enjoy!
********YPO/EO Boxing Event Speech**********
I would like to open with a story about a boxer from Kampala, Uganda named Bashir Ramathan. Bashir trains in a musky gym where the weak aren’t welcome. It’s a gym for hard core fighters and that’s it.
Bashir lives the classic life of a boxer. He dresses old school, with a tank top, and shorts over his sweat pants. He wakes up and runs the dusty, rock strewn roads of Kampala. It’s just like the old Rocky movies- people stop what they’re doing when Bashir passes by. They all cheer him on and chant for him.
He hits the boxing gym everyday for several hours working the bag, hitting the mitts, and sparring. His opponents are usually apprehensive to go toe to toe with him, because they never see his razor sharp hook coming. Bashir is pretty intense when he spars. His coach says that he fights completely with his mind, using all of his senses. You see, Bashir is blind.
His success as a boxer comes from hearing his opponents feet shuffling and smelling their sweat and feeling their body heat.
Bashir, maybe blind, but the thing he doesn’t lack is vision. He is passionate about boxing and works harder than everyone else, not because he wants to be a champion, but because he has to. His perseverance, drive, and motivation is what makes him succeed.
Cleveland and I were brought in to train 8 fighters to compete in a real boxing match. The event is meant to be fun, but more importantly it’s to symbolize your current position in business or with your family in a down economy.
Believe me… the correlation between a boxers regiment and your life is impeccably similar.
First of all… who here believes with a 100% certainty that there is something you can do in the next 4 weeks to make your business life, your family life, and your personal life… worse?
Okay, how many of you believe there is something you can do in the next 4 weeks to make your business life, your family life, and your personal life… better?
How many of you believe that the choice is yours?
Over the past 4 weeks, Cleveland and I have been training 8 fighters to jab, cross, slip, dip, catch, and perry. We taught them to be offensive, but yet evasive. We taught them how to roll with the punches, recover, and bounce back 100%.
For 8 training sessions, they sweated, they bled, they fatigued themselves to total muscle failure. They sparred with each other, they encouraged each other. They all took some hard shots, and learned some hard lessons about boxing. They each returned to the next session, sometimes with black eyes.
They pushed themselves to the limit, and when they got there, they pushed themselves a little bit further. In their minds, failure is not an option.
Most importantly these 8 fighters have already dominated their toughest opponent… themselves.
If you’ve ever boxed, or competed in martial arts, or even wrestled it’s a completely different world and it’s night and day to team sports. You see, the moment you enter the ring, you are essentially alone. Alone with one person who is trying to dominate you and a referee who can care less about you.
Until you experience that intense sensation of realizing that your success and failure is completely in your hands and no one else’s, do you come to recognize your true inner strength.
It’s this inner strength we are bringing out of these 8 fighters that Steve Marlo & Pete McDonald wanted to showcase for everyone.
Right now, our businesses have changed. Construction is down, consumer spending is down, and sales in practically every industry is down. What if we fought for our business the same way these 8 fighters prepared for this fight? Or fought for a healthy, happy family? What if we exercised the same focus with our kids that these fighters practiced in their training.
Earlier, I asked, is there something you can do in the next 4 weeks to change your business life, your family life, and your personal life. You said, “yes.” Right now, the economy has taken an unexpected toll on many areas of our life.
Do you know what the strategy is called in boxing to deal with an unexpected blow? To roll with the punch. This means you simply roll your body in the direction of the punch to lessen it’s blow.
Today is new economy from yesterday. It’s a new fight, and it’s an opponent many of us didn’t prepare for. Now that we are all in this fight, we must “Come Out Fighting” and quickly learn “To Roll With Punches” if we are going to “Go The Distance.”
If you find your business “On The Ropes”, you “Bob & Weave” and re-strategize. Everyday, we’re “Saved by the Bell.” It’s that precious time between rounds when you recuperate, and you come home to those beautiful children, and you kiss your lovely spouse.
It’s the only way true fighters “Go The Distance.”
*************************
Respectfully,
Duncan Richardson
Of course, YPO & EO is not in the business of putting on boxing matches. Their purpose is rather to help their members become better in business as well as with their family. The night was meant to be symbolic of their fighting spirit to achieve their goals- whether in business, with their family, or personally.
Aside from training four of the fighters, I also gave a presentation to help shed light on the educational component of the event. Since the event was a private function, I have provided my speech for everyone to read. Enjoy!
********YPO/EO Boxing Event Speech**********
I would like to open with a story about a boxer from Kampala, Uganda named Bashir Ramathan. Bashir trains in a musky gym where the weak aren’t welcome. It’s a gym for hard core fighters and that’s it.
Bashir lives the classic life of a boxer. He dresses old school, with a tank top, and shorts over his sweat pants. He wakes up and runs the dusty, rock strewn roads of Kampala. It’s just like the old Rocky movies- people stop what they’re doing when Bashir passes by. They all cheer him on and chant for him.
He hits the boxing gym everyday for several hours working the bag, hitting the mitts, and sparring. His opponents are usually apprehensive to go toe to toe with him, because they never see his razor sharp hook coming. Bashir is pretty intense when he spars. His coach says that he fights completely with his mind, using all of his senses. You see, Bashir is blind.
His success as a boxer comes from hearing his opponents feet shuffling and smelling their sweat and feeling their body heat.
Bashir, maybe blind, but the thing he doesn’t lack is vision. He is passionate about boxing and works harder than everyone else, not because he wants to be a champion, but because he has to. His perseverance, drive, and motivation is what makes him succeed.
Cleveland and I were brought in to train 8 fighters to compete in a real boxing match. The event is meant to be fun, but more importantly it’s to symbolize your current position in business or with your family in a down economy.
Believe me… the correlation between a boxers regiment and your life is impeccably similar.
First of all… who here believes with a 100% certainty that there is something you can do in the next 4 weeks to make your business life, your family life, and your personal life… worse?
Okay, how many of you believe there is something you can do in the next 4 weeks to make your business life, your family life, and your personal life… better?
How many of you believe that the choice is yours?
Over the past 4 weeks, Cleveland and I have been training 8 fighters to jab, cross, slip, dip, catch, and perry. We taught them to be offensive, but yet evasive. We taught them how to roll with the punches, recover, and bounce back 100%.
For 8 training sessions, they sweated, they bled, they fatigued themselves to total muscle failure. They sparred with each other, they encouraged each other. They all took some hard shots, and learned some hard lessons about boxing. They each returned to the next session, sometimes with black eyes.
They pushed themselves to the limit, and when they got there, they pushed themselves a little bit further. In their minds, failure is not an option.
Most importantly these 8 fighters have already dominated their toughest opponent… themselves.
If you’ve ever boxed, or competed in martial arts, or even wrestled it’s a completely different world and it’s night and day to team sports. You see, the moment you enter the ring, you are essentially alone. Alone with one person who is trying to dominate you and a referee who can care less about you.
Until you experience that intense sensation of realizing that your success and failure is completely in your hands and no one else’s, do you come to recognize your true inner strength.
It’s this inner strength we are bringing out of these 8 fighters that Steve Marlo & Pete McDonald wanted to showcase for everyone.
Right now, our businesses have changed. Construction is down, consumer spending is down, and sales in practically every industry is down. What if we fought for our business the same way these 8 fighters prepared for this fight? Or fought for a healthy, happy family? What if we exercised the same focus with our kids that these fighters practiced in their training.
Earlier, I asked, is there something you can do in the next 4 weeks to change your business life, your family life, and your personal life. You said, “yes.” Right now, the economy has taken an unexpected toll on many areas of our life.
Do you know what the strategy is called in boxing to deal with an unexpected blow? To roll with the punch. This means you simply roll your body in the direction of the punch to lessen it’s blow.
Today is new economy from yesterday. It’s a new fight, and it’s an opponent many of us didn’t prepare for. Now that we are all in this fight, we must “Come Out Fighting” and quickly learn “To Roll With Punches” if we are going to “Go The Distance.”
If you find your business “On The Ropes”, you “Bob & Weave” and re-strategize. Everyday, we’re “Saved by the Bell.” It’s that precious time between rounds when you recuperate, and you come home to those beautiful children, and you kiss your lovely spouse.
It’s the only way true fighters “Go The Distance.”
*************************
Respectfully,
Duncan Richardson
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Changing Your Perspective
Last week, me and the whole family went to a "well" visit for Zoey. The doctor's office is on the 4th floor. Rachel hung back to take care of the paperwork, so I decided to take the kids to get loaded up in the car. As we were entering the elevator, my 3 year old daughter asks, "What about mommy?" While we were riding the elevator down, I said, "She'll be okay. She'll catch up."
After exiting the elevator and walking to the car, my daughter asked the same exact question. Now, I'm thinking that she might be nervous that we are leaving her behind. I'll soon find out, she was horribly nervous.
So, I asked Reese, "Are you worried about mommy?"
"Well... what about when she goes into the elevator?"
Confused about what is troubling her, I say, "Then, she'll meet us at the car when she gets out of the elevator."
"But, when she goes into the elevator, the room will change..."
Ah hah!!! I wanted to snatch up little Reese and give her a big hug at that moment, but I had a carrier in one hand and we were crossing the street. Imagine having a 3 year olds mind and truly believing that the elevator is some sort of portal that when the door shuts and reopens, the room is actually different, then being nervous that mommy would be trapped in another realm.
Needless to say, I did change Reese's perspective on how an elevator works and that it's just a ride that carries people up and down a building.
Of course, there is a lesson in all of this. For me it was one lesson compounded by another. Did you imagine what Reese was thinking? You walk in a small closet, the door closes then reopens, and ta da..! A new room appears. What if life were this easy? Not for the shear ability to travel from point A to point B, but to literally change our perspective on life.
There are so many negative things going on right now with the government bail outs, the unemployment rates, the housing market, Angelina Jolie & Jennifer Aniston, etc. If only we could change the circumstances with an elevator.
What if we could change things? I believe we can. I believe we can change our perspective on life. Take this for example... what would happen if you and your spouse lost your job? I'm going to come back to this question.
Recently, Rachel and I, and the whole family, met up with a long time friend and her daughter. We met at Ihop, for National Pancake Day. I tell you, it's like Christmas when the kiddos hear we're going for free pancakes!
That day, I learned another amazing life lesson. A lesson that came at the ultimate expense. Our friends husband is an engineer at Micron, and they used to wonder what the heck they would do should he ever get laid off. If you ask either one of them today, they would say, "Oh well, it's not the worst that has happened to us."
Her outlook on the future is positive. A few months back, our friend lost their baby boy to an unknown cause. I couldn't ever imagine losing a child. From where our friend stands now, her perspective is completely different.
So let me ask again, "What would happen if you and your spouse lost your job?" Could it be any worse than losing a child? Not in a million years! I try and live by certain principles. Principle that our found in our Taekwondo- Black Belt Creed. Modesty, Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self Control, and Indomitable Spirit. I am always moved when someone displays more of these principles than I ever have. Our friend, not only taught me a lesson about changing our perspective, but also taught me just how far Perseverance and Indomitable Spirit can be taken.
The economy can be in the tanks, people can be losing their jobs, but there is one thing that can never be taken from us and that's our perseverance and indomitable spirit. Now, just change your perspective... that's up to you.
Respectfully,
Duncan Richardson
After exiting the elevator and walking to the car, my daughter asked the same exact question. Now, I'm thinking that she might be nervous that we are leaving her behind. I'll soon find out, she was horribly nervous.
So, I asked Reese, "Are you worried about mommy?"
"Well... what about when she goes into the elevator?"
Confused about what is troubling her, I say, "Then, she'll meet us at the car when she gets out of the elevator."
"But, when she goes into the elevator, the room will change..."
Ah hah!!! I wanted to snatch up little Reese and give her a big hug at that moment, but I had a carrier in one hand and we were crossing the street. Imagine having a 3 year olds mind and truly believing that the elevator is some sort of portal that when the door shuts and reopens, the room is actually different, then being nervous that mommy would be trapped in another realm.
Needless to say, I did change Reese's perspective on how an elevator works and that it's just a ride that carries people up and down a building.
Of course, there is a lesson in all of this. For me it was one lesson compounded by another. Did you imagine what Reese was thinking? You walk in a small closet, the door closes then reopens, and ta da..! A new room appears. What if life were this easy? Not for the shear ability to travel from point A to point B, but to literally change our perspective on life.
There are so many negative things going on right now with the government bail outs, the unemployment rates, the housing market, Angelina Jolie & Jennifer Aniston, etc. If only we could change the circumstances with an elevator.
What if we could change things? I believe we can. I believe we can change our perspective on life. Take this for example... what would happen if you and your spouse lost your job? I'm going to come back to this question.
Recently, Rachel and I, and the whole family, met up with a long time friend and her daughter. We met at Ihop, for National Pancake Day. I tell you, it's like Christmas when the kiddos hear we're going for free pancakes!
That day, I learned another amazing life lesson. A lesson that came at the ultimate expense. Our friends husband is an engineer at Micron, and they used to wonder what the heck they would do should he ever get laid off. If you ask either one of them today, they would say, "Oh well, it's not the worst that has happened to us."
Her outlook on the future is positive. A few months back, our friend lost their baby boy to an unknown cause. I couldn't ever imagine losing a child. From where our friend stands now, her perspective is completely different.
So let me ask again, "What would happen if you and your spouse lost your job?" Could it be any worse than losing a child? Not in a million years! I try and live by certain principles. Principle that our found in our Taekwondo- Black Belt Creed. Modesty, Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self Control, and Indomitable Spirit. I am always moved when someone displays more of these principles than I ever have. Our friend, not only taught me a lesson about changing our perspective, but also taught me just how far Perseverance and Indomitable Spirit can be taken.
The economy can be in the tanks, people can be losing their jobs, but there is one thing that can never be taken from us and that's our perseverance and indomitable spirit. Now, just change your perspective... that's up to you.
Respectfully,
Duncan Richardson
Sunday, February 15, 2009
3rd Day- Black Belt Test (Official Test)
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Day 3... The Test! Wow!!! What a journey it has been leading to this moment. Everybody, and I mean everybody has sore hamstrings, and back muscles from drilling for absolute perfection. The standard that was set for us was so amazingly high. I watched some of the officials basically tell some of the Black Belt candidates that there was no need for them to test. At least that was what was implied.
I must say that I have some new heroes in my life. One of them is Grandmaster Park Jeong-Beom (pictured), as well as those group of participants testing for 7th Degree. Last night, approaching midnight, there were only a handfull of people still drilling. No surprise, but the ones left in the room were the best out of about 300 people, and most of them were Korean. Their discipline, their focus, their conviction, and their confidence was absolutely amazing. Never in my entire life have I ever seen such a large collection of devoted martial artists. I've seen many martial artists who were outstanding fighters or excellent technicians, but these individuals were on a whole new level. And, the best part about it is... I was a part of it!
This morning, despite the fact that we were all sore, we warmed up, drilled, stretched, rested... warmed up, drilled, stretched, rested, etc. Unfortunately, we were all unsure of our exact moment we would go. Many of us had flexibility that was comprised by tight muscles, so it was important to remain very warm and loose. It would have been detrimental to allow the body to cool down.
We drilled our techniques and poomse over and over again. We critiqued each other and never settled for anything less than perfect. It was stressed to us that we should not hesitate or pause. If we do, our test will be comprimised. The panel of judges were the official Kukkiwon instructors, and didn't want to see anything that was less than perfect.
Waiting for my turn felt like an eternity. I quit watching the people before me since some were cracking under the pressure. The room was filled with high ranking officials from Kukkiwon, as well as The World Taekwondo Federation, let only a few hundred spectators. Some people testing completely froze and couldn't even begin their poomse.
I decided to spend the next 30 minutes visualizing every possible poomse I could do. In practice, I was not always happy with my techniques, but I decided that I must do my best at this point. Every other poomse I would do, in practice, had some small error. Over the next 30 minutes, I visualized myself executing perfect techniques. I self-talked and commanded nothing but excellence, power, and conviction from my subconscious.
My number was called... and I couldn't wait to take the floor. I face the judges with confidence and poise.
Charyut!
Kyung-nae!
Koryo Joonbi!
"Adapt, adapt, adapt...!!!", was what went through my head. The last 32 people started with Taegeuk Pal Jang! Those of you who are martial artists must be thinking, what's the big deal? The big deal is that these judges what to see a poomse beyond what you can ever imagine. Beyond anything that I could ever imagine, up until this weekend! Every starting position, ending position, feet position (to the inch), balance, power, fluidity, with the proper combination of slow and fast movements, etc., etc., etc. Even masters testing for 7th Degree took this very seriously.
Hardly anyone arrived to this Black Belt Test with 100% of the knowledge the judges wanted to see. Even within the past year, their have been HUGE changes in poomse! Changes that needed to be mastered in 2 days, and habits that needed to be broken from over 30 years of training. The alternative is to fail the test.
I am proud to say that I nailed every single poomse as perfect as I could possibly make it. It was as flawless as I could presently make it. I could not have been anymore proud of myself for ending such a challenging journey. Oh, I almost forgot to mention, the sparring was a breeze. Funny how things have changed for me. The amount of pefection being demanded by Kukkiwon actually made sparring a walk in the park!
I won't know if I have passed this test for a few weeks. I am not worried one bit, because, if I have failed, I will at least know that I have experienced from this journey. I know that I am strong, both physically and mentally. I know that I am a true master with devotion, and conviction. I know that next time, I will be better.
Respectfully,
Duncan Richardson
2nd Update- Black Belt Test
The second day has ended up being a lot longer than the first day. I'm writing this blog post at 2:32 am, 20 minutes after leaving the Tropicana Hotel (site of testing). For the record, the official test is not until tomorrow. What is tomorrow? Is today, tomorrow?? I've been punching, blocking, and kicking for 16 hours straight, minus lunch, dinner, a few snacks, and restroom breaks. I'm a little delirious.
Believe it or not, there are 300 people testing for a different rank of Black Belt. Today, Grandmaster Park informed everyone that 10% of our group would pass the test if the test was right now. Well... I wish he hadn't told me that. I'm accustomed to long hours of teaching and training, and minimal sleep. Therefore, guess who was the last to leave tonight? You guessed it! Nery and I. Nery is my new hardcore training buddy from Los Angeles. I'm not sure what happened to Carston, my buddy from Germany. He called it a night after dinner.
I sure wish I could write more, but I'm thinking I need a few hours of sleep before I take the official test tomorrow.
Respectfully,
Duncan Richardson
Believe it or not, there are 300 people testing for a different rank of Black Belt. Today, Grandmaster Park informed everyone that 10% of our group would pass the test if the test was right now. Well... I wish he hadn't told me that. I'm accustomed to long hours of teaching and training, and minimal sleep. Therefore, guess who was the last to leave tonight? You guessed it! Nery and I. Nery is my new hardcore training buddy from Los Angeles. I'm not sure what happened to Carston, my buddy from Germany. He called it a night after dinner.
I sure wish I could write more, but I'm thinking I need a few hours of sleep before I take the official test tomorrow.
Respectfully,
Duncan Richardson
Friday, February 13, 2009
1st Update- Black Belt Update
As promised, I am making a blog post on my quest for 6th Degree Black Belt.
5:30 am - Wake up (Boise)
6:00 am - Cringe as the taxi driver rings the doorbell (3 sleeping kids!)
7:45 am - Land in Las Vegas. I did travel light. I checked in a bag, but carried my hogu (chest protector) with me. I have traveled to a lot of tournaments with this hogu, and never have I had so many people ask me what it was that I was carrying. Evidently, 3 people had a bet on what it was. Apparently, one gentleman thought it was a ping pong paddle case.
8:10 am - Picked up by the Hampton Inn shuttle (that I called for, by the way)
8:20 am - Arrive at the wrong Hampton Inn.
8:25 am - Get back on the shuttle I thought I called, but really didn't, and head for the airport. Mine was there waiting.
8:35 am - Get to the right hotel, check in, shower, eat breakfast, and head to the Tropicana hotel for the poomse seminar.
As some of you may know, I wasn't super excited to do 2 days of straight poomse training before the actual test. After spending about 8 hours on poomse, then an additional 2 hours working with some new friends, I'm actually kind of excited. I've been to a lot of seminars, but this one is different. The seminar leader is a 9th Degree Grandmaster. He started his training in the 60's, and has the agility of a cat! He doesn't speak a lick of English, and has a translator relaying his wealth of knowledge to the participants.
Many of the Black Belt participants have their school logo on the back of their dobok (uniform). Not the seminar leader and assistants! The back of their uniform has one word written in big bold letters... KUKKIWON. Let me explain- Kukkiwon is the heart and soul of the Black Belt curriculum. Kukkiwon is the headquarters for the development and processing of Black Belts and their certificates. Having KUKKIWON on the back of your dobok is about the equivalent to a room full of people with their state on their back, and a few people with the words- WHITE HOUSE.
Aside from having some very knowledgable big dogs, it was actually quite exciting to understand the development and changes of the particular techniques in a poomse. I understand that students aren't thrilled about change. It has actually occured to me that our students must simply understand that poomse changes, not because it was being down incorrectly, but because it must evolve. There are vast changes in poomse from just 5 years ago! It's no wonder there is so much controversy over the correct techniques. Let me back up. There is controversy amongst those that don't keep their knowledge updated. Don't misunderstand me, I still have my thoughts on the starting and stopping positions of a poomse:).
Alright, it's time for me to veg out and visualize Pyongwon, Sipjin, and Jitae.
Respectfully,
Duncan Richardson
The Academy of World Taekwondo
5:30 am - Wake up (Boise)
6:00 am - Cringe as the taxi driver rings the doorbell (3 sleeping kids!)
7:45 am - Land in Las Vegas. I did travel light. I checked in a bag, but carried my hogu (chest protector) with me. I have traveled to a lot of tournaments with this hogu, and never have I had so many people ask me what it was that I was carrying. Evidently, 3 people had a bet on what it was. Apparently, one gentleman thought it was a ping pong paddle case.
8:10 am - Picked up by the Hampton Inn shuttle (that I called for, by the way)
8:20 am - Arrive at the wrong Hampton Inn.
8:25 am - Get back on the shuttle I thought I called, but really didn't, and head for the airport. Mine was there waiting.
8:35 am - Get to the right hotel, check in, shower, eat breakfast, and head to the Tropicana hotel for the poomse seminar.
As some of you may know, I wasn't super excited to do 2 days of straight poomse training before the actual test. After spending about 8 hours on poomse, then an additional 2 hours working with some new friends, I'm actually kind of excited. I've been to a lot of seminars, but this one is different. The seminar leader is a 9th Degree Grandmaster. He started his training in the 60's, and has the agility of a cat! He doesn't speak a lick of English, and has a translator relaying his wealth of knowledge to the participants.
Many of the Black Belt participants have their school logo on the back of their dobok (uniform). Not the seminar leader and assistants! The back of their uniform has one word written in big bold letters... KUKKIWON. Let me explain- Kukkiwon is the heart and soul of the Black Belt curriculum. Kukkiwon is the headquarters for the development and processing of Black Belts and their certificates. Having KUKKIWON on the back of your dobok is about the equivalent to a room full of people with their state on their back, and a few people with the words- WHITE HOUSE.
Aside from having some very knowledgable big dogs, it was actually quite exciting to understand the development and changes of the particular techniques in a poomse. I understand that students aren't thrilled about change. It has actually occured to me that our students must simply understand that poomse changes, not because it was being down incorrectly, but because it must evolve. There are vast changes in poomse from just 5 years ago! It's no wonder there is so much controversy over the correct techniques. Let me back up. There is controversy amongst those that don't keep their knowledge updated. Don't misunderstand me, I still have my thoughts on the starting and stopping positions of a poomse:).
Alright, it's time for me to veg out and visualize Pyongwon, Sipjin, and Jitae.
Respectfully,
Duncan Richardson
The Academy of World Taekwondo
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