Commercial for Jazz's Taekwondo School

Here is the school Jazzmin takes taekwondo and gumdo....




Enjoy...

Update

I am such a bad little blogger, aren't I? Tisk tisk on me for being so bad about updating. I am glad Jazzmin will be out of catholic school in two weeks. Oh to be free from their monthly tuition and their seemingly never ending fees! And also to be free of traveling back and forth to get her to school and back. That adds at least 1.5 hours to my commute time per day. Will also be nice having Jazzmin going go to her taekwondo school for her after school program so she can take more classes and move up the ranks more quickly.



I started back with my gumdo classes on Monday - it wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. I thought my asthma would be an issue since it still bothers me during everyday things. I'm only going to be doing Gumdo for this month and then next month is going to be crazy. For July and August I am going to be doing Jujitsu, Taekwondo and Gumdo - working out 6 days a week. The neverending great push for weight loss. The meds my endocranologist ends up giving me should help me in my quest for weight loss since having a hard time losing weight is one of the symptoms of what I have.



Really not looking forward to doing Jujitsu, I really don't like it. But it's a necessary evil. Most fights end up on the ground so you have to know how to get out of holds and put others into holds. But I really get beat up doing jujitsu - guaranteed black and blues, pain, etc. It doesn't help that I only have stronger adult males to practice with. Boo hoo for me. Get out the violins.



I chaperoned Jazzmin's school trip to the Bronx Zoo on Monday - I had 8 girls that I was in charge of, that's a lot of girls to keep my eyes on in a crowded place. When we got into one of the buildings that were really dark - these boys close to the girls' age were doing that whole trick of "accidently" bumping into girls with their hands up so they "accidentally" cop a feel of their girl parts. Needless to say I had to get them out of there quickly.

I don't know if I mentioned that my wages have been garnished since the end of February for a 20 year old student loan. This next paycheck is the last one they're taking money out of and then I'm a free woman! I can't wait! I am dying to buy more things of this website where you can buy authentic Korean food products (koamart.com), there are so many things I want to try. I can't wait! I already bought ingredients a while back go make korean bean paste stew and this spicy sauce made with korean hot pepper paste and dried hot pepper. Stuff is good!

Well, I guess that's it for now!

Officially Orange Belt in Gumdo

I guess I am moving fast up the ranks in Gumdo - I suspect it's just the nature of the art that you get promoted to the next belt sooner then you would in Taekwondo. I messed up when doing the white belt form - it's super easy but I guess I wasn't thinking about what I was doing and just wanted to get it done. My mistake was stepping with my right foot first instead of left at one point. Not a major mistake.

my teacher's teacher (Master Estrada) was at the Gumdo promotion test as he has to be present at the promotion for it to be valid. So he was there along with a student who was a lower ranking black belt, she administered the testing. She used full phrases that we were not acquainted with so it made somethings confusing at first. But then we all got the gist. She didn't give me the full test as she did not test me on the second form of drawing technique and short form. I didn't realize this until after the next person had gone up, otherwise I'd have reminded her. I guess that's good for me - less I had to do.

One of the guys in my class had started taking classes a month before me, but he and I are the same belt. But when we line up by rank he insists on being ahead of me due to his month seniority. I always give him a hard time about it, which shames him into relinquishing the first spot - but I don't take it. I'm bringing this up because I thought it was a little amusing during testing that there were 3 orange belts (me, friend & 1 other) and a yellow belt testing. So the yellow belt could've sat at either end of the line and been at the correct position. But when the yellow belt sits on the end my friend is on he sends the yellow belt to the other end because he presumed he was to be first in line being that he had 1 month seniority.

At the end of the belt promotion test Master Estrada commented on what had transpired and he singled me out stating that I had greatly improved. Which is great coming from him.

The only bad part of the promotion test was that I was told to be there for 3:30pm since it was to start at 4pm. I had rushed from an appt. to get there on time and as it turns out not only did I not need to rush, but Gumdo didn't get to start testing until 6pm due to the fact that the kids in Taekwondo were testing before us. So Jazz and I had to wait a loooooong time.

At the end of the promotion, when it was time to go home, I said good-bye to Master Estrada and let him know that my daughter was going to start Gumdo soon and how eager she was. She is always doing different forms to show me what she knows and talks about how much she wants to take Gumdo. He asked where she was and I called her over. Without my promting she greeted him with the proper hand gestures and said "Haidong" - which is how how we're required to greet him. I was proud of her for doing that on her own.

Today Jazzmin is going to get surprised with the fact that she is going to get to start Gumdo in February, which is a Christmas present from me. She's not starting until February because she has basketball games every Saturday for the month of January. She is going to be SOOO excited. I am having the teacher call her into his office in such a manner that she thinks she's in trouble. Then he's going to present her with her wooden sword and inform her she'll be taking Gumdo soon.
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Tonight we're going to be cutting bamboo tonight using a REAL sword in Gumdo. To date I have only used the wooden sword. On Monday I got to use the real sword for the first time when doing paper cutting. Seeing how the other guys use the sword I didn't expect it to be so heavy. It also didn't help that it was far too long for me. So it's awkward to hold due to it's weight, awkward to take out and put back 'cause it's too long and it has a functioning blade on it that could dismember. I didn't even do a good job cutting the paper with this extra sharp sword. I didn't cut it at all. If you don't swing it straight and put too much force it's not going to cut. So if I can't even cut paper with the sword - how am I going to cut bamboo.

And not only is it awkward to handle and my technique not up to par but these swords cost hundreds of dollars. In fact, the one he's going to have us use is $1,000. So what if I break it and have to pay for the repairs (break as in cause the blade to chip). This is all a bit overwhelming to me. I sent my teacher an e-mail asking to paper cut with the real sword again tonight and give the bamboo to my fellow classmates to use. But I also stated that if he still feels I should cut bamboo despite my concerns that I would. We'll see what happens.

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Theatrics of Gumdo

Last night we did a little training for the tournament I'm participating in Nov. 7th.... my first tournament ever. I am competing in the weapons category, I could've also signed up to compete in Taekwondo but wanted to just do one thing for now - until I get used to competing.

According to my teacher, my form is fine and I just have to work on the "threatrics" of it. Look intense and as if I'm kicking somebody's butt - if not slicing them to pieces. Uma Thurman is to be my example of making an intense face. Or maybe I should just do Ben Stiller's "blue steel" model face to show intensity. lol I don't know how well I'll do in trying to act like a fierce fighter. I'm told I have a look of worry on my face when I'm doing my forms - not exactly intimidating. But usually by the time we get around to doing forms - I'm tired. So maybe that tiredness looks like worry. We shall see how I do.

As far as the competition goes - the good thing is the break down the categories by rank, gender and age. So perhaps I will be the only female of my rank/age to be competing in the weapons category and will automatically get first place! :) Or 1 of 3 wouldn't be so bad - at the very least I'd get 3rd place then. :)

I hope I don't get too nervous when I'm competing - I just want to get through it and do a decent job of it.
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Haidong Gumdo Testing

I took my Gumdo belt promotion test this past Saturday. I was super nervous because I was testing before my teacher's instructor, Master Estrada. For the past 3 years all I've heard about him was how tough he was and how much tougher on his students he is then my teacher is with us. And my teacher can be harsh. But he turned out to be a sweet, nurturing kind of guy. He had his nephew sitting at the judging table with him - he looked to be in his late 20s early 30s. He was nice in his own way as he flirted a little with me by winking and smiling at me from across the room. It caught me off guard so I just politely smiled and turned my head. The guy was cute but it's not like I'm going to be seeing him again anytime soon.

Before class my mouth started getting dry and I was afraid I was going to forget some of the moves just because I was nervous. It was pretty obvious to anyone who looked at me how nervous I was. People were trying to be encouraging and tell me it was going to be ok. What I didn't know prior was that most of the techniques and forms we did was done as a group instead of alone in front of the instructor. That makes it much easier because if you're unsure you can just follow along. When testing started and we were doing warm ups - the combo of having a dry mouth due to nerves and asthma caused me to gag a few times but, thankfully, I didn't throw up. I could hear Master Estrada asking my teacher what was wrong with me after I did that.

I made a mistake with the paper cutting - you're only supposed to bring the sword down level to your waist but I kept bringing it all the way down to the floor. I was just nervous - that's the problem. When my teacher was telling me to use the proper stance - I was too nervous to comprehend the words coming out of his mouth. So he said it in English. But Master Estrada was very sweet about it saying, "It's OK, you're only a white belt. You just have to keep practicing." He was so nice, in fact, when this one kid was doing the candle snuffing (putting out candle by the wind your sword movement creates) and having a hard time - he let him continue to do it until he put the candle out. The kid tried about 30 times. I thought we were only allowed 10-15 tries. I did the paper cutting in lieu of candle snuffing because I was a white belt. Next belt promotion test I'll have to snuff the candle. Not looking forward to that as it's not easy. You have to swing the sword from behind your back and bring it over the candle without knocking the candle over yet getting close enough to the flame that it goes out. You end up stopping just short of getting close enough to the flame, which was the kid's problem.

Now that I've met Master Estrada I won't be so nervous during testing next time.
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Summer Coming to an End

I can't believe the summer is almost over, it's gone by so fast. I only have 2 more weeks of going to class Mon. - Fri. at Taekwondo. I will be glad to have some weekdays where I can just go home and relax. I am really surprised that I was able to keep it up all summer - I was sure there would be many days where I'd have a hard time motivating myself to go. But that has not been the case. I guess part of it is that it helped that the lady who normally handles the office hasn't been in that much this summer. She makes me uncomfortable with the way she acts toward me sometimes so it makes me not look forward to going there. When a friend of mine came to watch me in my class a couple weeks ago and the admin. was there - even she noticed how funky the admin. treated me.

I don't know if I lost weight working out so much - it's hard for me to tell. I think I have. But I'll still be working out a good amount even when Jazzmin is around. I am going to take Gumdo Mon. & Wed. and Taekwondo Fri. & Sat. This will put an end to my having to rush after work to attend classes as all of them are after 8pm. Saturday's class is at 9am though - have to get up early for her dance class anyway. So it's not a big deal. And that's another thing, this year we have ample time btw. Taekwondo and dance class - no more running 'like a bat out of hell' from one class to another. That is a bonus for me because I hate to rush. I hate having to worry about making it someplace at a specific time - it makes me anxious and I just hate rushing. Given a choice, I always give myself ample time to avoid it.

My Gumdo belt test has been postponed - it was supposed to be this Friday but the teacher administering the test couldn't make it. My teacher can not perform the belt promotion test - it has to be his teacher, who has a school in Long Island. The test will be sometime in September. I'm glad it's been postponed because I don't feel as comfortable with my knowledge of things as I'd like. Especially with the added stress of having to do it in front of a teacher I am not familiar with and is said to be tough. I also don't want to make my teacher look bad by doing poorly in the testing.

I am going to go with Brenda & Andy to pick up Jazzmin Labor Day weekend. Can't believe I am going to see Jazzmin in less then 2 weeks. It feels like she hasn't been gone that long. Hillary is going to come up so we can see our new nephew. We will possibly visit with our maternal aunt and uncle while we're there.

Another bit of news is my landlord wants to offer me a 2 year lease at a 1 year lease renewal price. I just signed my lease renewal for this year - but only did so for one year. It seems a little fishy that they'd make such an offer. But, of course, I am going to take it - at least this way I don't have to worry about my rent going up next year or signing another lease renewal.

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Hunger & My Weight Loss

I am so hungry right now. In fact, I find myself to be hungry most of the time. The supplements I am taking (flaxseed oil, CLA & B complex) are obviously doing their job in speeding up my metabolism. A breakfast that would normally keep me satisfied until late afternoon now only does so for a couple hours. I had a ham, onion, ham and cheese egg white omelette and a yogurt around 10am. Now it's noon and I'm starving - as if I hadn't eaten all day. ^*^sigh^*^

But I know if I want to lose weight I can't binge when my tummy is screaming for food like this. So I have to suffer the hunger in order to reach my weight loss goal. I am going to have my trusty hot chocolate - that always helps chase away the hunger. It's actually relatively low in calories and has the added bonus of giving me my chocolate fix (admitted chocolate addict).

I hope this is all worth it. At the end of the summer I hope I will have lost lots of weight and be noticeably skinnier. I can never tell if I've lost weight unless it's significant - so I am not sure if I've lost weight. I think I have. Another problem is getting on the scale isn't a valid measure of my weight loss because I am not only losing fat - but gaining muscle from my workouts. I have been keeping up the 5 workouts a week - only 3.5 weeks to go. Of course I will be working out 4 times a week once September starts up - but it will be more spread out. Instead of Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs, & Fri. it will be Mon., Wed., Fri. & Sat. And no kick boxing after this month - only Gumdo and Taekwondo.

Well, wish me luck on my weight loss!! :)
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Continuing Gumdo

I think I am going to continue doing Gumdo once the summer is over. They do more social things outside of class then taekwondo does. I'm still going to take taekwondo - am just going to do Gumdo additionally. With Gumdo we'll be going as a class to support people in tournaments and when we get promoted we go to a school in Long Island for testing. My teacher's instructor has to facilitate the promotion test and that's where his school is. And another big thing is we're going as a class to Korea in 2 years to compete. I would love to go to Korea and this would probably be the only way I'd be able to do it. It does cost $3,000 for airfare and hotel but I can save up my federal refund then borrow from my 401k if need be.

Another benefit to taking Gumdo is I'm more likely to not skip classes. The workouts aren't as intense, but I still get a workout. And the classes are at a later time in the evening on the weekdays so I don't have to bust my ass trying to get to the school on time. With this set up I can do gumdo on Mon. & Wed. and taekwondo on Fri. and Sat. I can do taekwondo during the week if I want to do 2 classes in a row - but I don't see that happening too often. Having to run around with during the school year with Jazzmin takes it out of me for some reason. And then there is the asthma issue - but I'm hoping it won't be an issue after October.

But the only thing that I hate is spending the money for gumdo - I hate spending money and having nothing tangible to show for it. But I am paying off some bills during the summer so the money that would normally go toward those bills will go toward gumdo instead. So it's not like gumdo is really going to be adding to what I pay out every paycheck.

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2 Hour Workout

Well, I survived my 2 hour workout last night - 1 hour of Taekwondo and 1 hour of Gumdo. The taekwondo session was moderate - 25-50 of each warm up exercise (push-ups, jumping jacks, crunches, mountain climbers, squat touch, etc.). The rest of the class was spent going over curriculum because there were a few people (myself included) who had to prepare for our belt test this Wednesday. Doing curriculum isn't particularly taxing so the class was doable. Gumdo is never that bad - just get through the warm ups and then do the sword forms.

Unfortunately I have to take two classes on Wednesday too. First I have to take my belt test - which will be done during class. And then after I have to go to Gumdo because they're doing tip testing and I don't want to miss that. Next week, no doubling up on classes. Maybe I'll alternate weeks of doing extra classes, as it is - I already do 5 a week. Doing 6-7 classes in a 5 day period is a lot.

There was this little 8 year old girl in my Gumdo class last night - her brother was in the class and so she was allowed to take it instead of sitting around waiting for him. She takes Gumdo with her age group - so it's not like she doesn't know what she is doing. She is so tiny - she's the size Jazzmin was shen she was 4 years old. She is very cute - but the reason I love her is because she asked me, "Don't you have a little sister that goes here?" She was referring to Jazzmin. I told her no - that was my daughter. And she was like, "Oh!" She just assumed I was Jazzmin's sister - now if that isn't a compliment, I don't know what is!!
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My Workout Schedule

I have been doing my '5 days a week' workout schedule for the past 2 weeks and it's working out. Though I'd like to just relax after work, this is only for the summer and I can stick it out until the end of August. Actually, I threw up in Monday's Gumdo class - we had to do 100 jumping jacks and my asthma was not having a good day that day. On humid days my asthma is much worse. So I got the dry throat and then the gagging - then it proceeded into throwing up. But I threw up and then went right back and continued with the class. I actually feel better once I throw up.

I was hoping to take 2 classes in a row, for at least a couple of the days, each week. But, unfortunately, my pulmonary doctor doesn't seem to have any immediate solution to my asthma - so I don't know if I could make it through 2 classes. On Tuesday I am getting promoted to green belt in Taekwondo - so I am going to take 2 classes in a row on Monday so I have extra time to practice. We'll see how that goes. If I survive - perhaps I will do it again the following week.

The kick boxing class is fun - I primarily like it because it's filled with middle aged women who aren't in shape. AH YES, MI GENTE!!! Which is not to say I think I am middle aged. lol The workout is hard but at least everybody is struggling just as much as I am and I'm not being picked on for being the worst.

Next month I am scheduled to get promoted to yellow belt in Gumdo. This has to be done by my instructor's instructor in Long Island. So my teacher is going to drive me and one other student to the school. Gumdo is a tight community - there are only about a dozen or so people in THE WORLD who are masters in the art and can instruct (my teacher being one of them). They don't even put the instruction, etc. in writing so it can't be taught by anybody who isn't part of the federation. I like Gumdo - am contemplating taking it after the summer is over - we shall see.
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Taekwondo Sparring & Commercial Shoot

Friday was my first attempt at sparring in Taekwondo. And I must admit, I was not even remotely good. Though I did have the impediment of my chin guard not staying in place compounded with the asthma issues as a partial excuse for my poor performance. After the class I figured out how to adjust the chin guard though. I had a tight chest pain even after I arrived home from my asthma because of sparring. Odd thing about how my asthma reacts when I spar and grapple (wrestle) - I don't feel out of breath until I stop doing the activity instead of during.

Saturday they conducted a commercial shoot at Taekwondo - I participated only in the Gumdo portion. I didn't really want to do the commercial at all 'cause I am not photogenic - but I did it to ensure females were represented. I didn't do the Taekwondo portion 'cause I thought the female aspect had been taken care of. But the day of the shoot the girl who said she was coming didn't show up. Oh well. As the moment grew closer for me to participate, I got nervous. And then when I realized that knowing the terminology factored heavily into participating (only just started Gumdo), I was even more nervous. But I hung out in the back row and just did my best to follow along. It's not that I didn't know what the moves were - I just didn't know what they were called. I was supposed to get a terminology sheet but never did. Will have to remind him when school commences.

The commercial will air on a number of Bronx stations - I wonder if I'll be visible in the commercial? Probably not - but we'll see.
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Gumdo is Low Key

I took my first Gumdo class last night - I was hoping to have my cool uniform but it hadn't come in yet. :( It turns out that Gumdo is pretty low key and not necessarily a workout to suppliment Tae Kwon Do. Gumdo is more skill based then athletic.

I'm still going to do it for the summer, esp. since I'm contractually obligated to. It'll be good to do just for the experience even if it doesn't contribute to my weight loss.

I've decided to take the kick boxing class at the school this summer - that's an additional 2 classes. And I know, for sure, they do a good workout. I'm going to take this, not only because Gumdo isn't a workout, but because it turns out that they're not going to have Saturday classes this summer. Apparently the kids' classes are very empty during the summer and the 2 adult classes on Saturday are not insentive enough to stay open. Taking Saturdays away is taking a workout from me - so kick boxing will help make up for that.

I am determined to go all out this summer to lose weight - am going to do everything I can while I have the opportunity. I am also going to go on a diet. I already make an effort to not go crazy with the junk food and watch what I eat, but I am going to followed a structured diet this summer. It's by this doctor who helped run "Celebrity fit club" - wanted to try and see if it works!

Today I have my echo cardiogram - so hopefully after this I can get treatment and start recovering from my asthma issues. Then it will be easier to take the classes this summer and I'll be more inclined to go during the school year. Can't wait to get this asthma thing resolved!!!!!!!!!!

Gumdo Anyone?

I'm thinking about taking Gumdo classes his summer in addition to Taekwondo. I think it'd be interesting to try and would also step up my workout. I'm really going to be on a mission to lose weight his summer. I can't take Kumdo when Jazz is in town because it's asking too much of her. To sit through an hour of Taekwondo and then another hour of Gumdo... 2 hours of waiting around several times a week.

I'm still waiting for resolution regarding my asthma but I'm hoping a solution is eminent. At the very least I can still do classes using my emergency inhaler, as long as I don't run. Running majorly effects my breathing even with the emergency inhaler.

Fortunately, my job gave out bonuses, thats another reason why I'm willing and able to take Gumdo. I do have extra money during he summer because Jazz is gone but I want to pay off some bills and also want a little "wiggling room" with my budget. So with the bonus I don't have to dip into my summer money to do Kumdo.
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