Orange!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow! Much has happened since my last post. Almost don't know where to begin. I haven't blogged in a few weeks from being super busy, and then super sick. I'm on the rebound, though, and getting ready to do a kickass workout.

I am no longer a White Belt! I've graduated to Orange Belt and my first testing experience was very powerful. I didn't know what to expect and was very nervous. I practiced and practiced to get my form - Songahm 2 - to perfection. I also attended every class I could fit in my schedule to perfect my weapon (9 strike ), my board breaks (I'm really good at these) and my self defense. At the testing, out of many students, there were only 3 of us that had perfected all 23 moves of the Songahm 2 form, the other students only learned 12 moves. It felt good to set myself apart from the group. I was also the only girl to do a break with the brown board. I broke the board on the first attempt and there were men that took several tries on the brown board! Lastly, the instructor complimented me in front of the group that he had invited me to participate in the Leadership Instructor training program called CIT. The night before, the owner of the schools had invited me to attend a special workout. I'll write more on that later. It was a great experience, overall. During the workout, my instructor asked the family members to belt us with our new color belts. My husband was every excited to step onto the mat to put my new Orange Belt on! After testing, we went out to dinner and had a nice little date. His support of my martial arts is incredible and I coudn't be as successful without his support, for sure. My husband is such an inspiring man and awesome in the martial arts himself! He is a Black Belt of Tae Kwon Do and of Kuk Sool Won. He's a little rusty, but has started training again. Having a family foundation of fitness and discipline through martial arts is really powerful and something that Isabella, my 3 year old, will grow into. To learn about the different belt colors in Tae Kwon Do and their meanings, click here:

http://www.ataonline.com/taekwondo/belts/index.asp

Now onto the other exciting element of my training - Leadership. I am truly honored and thrilled that my instructor has selected me to participate in the Leadership program at our dojo. I take every class so seriously and relentlessly give my personal best. I take 2-3 classes every Monday and Wednesday and attend Thursdays and Saturdays whenever possible. I guess my instructor has noticed my commitment and dedication. I am thinking about this additional commitment and will let him know. I really want to take my martial arts training and commitment to my school to the next level, however, I can't let martial arts conflict with work or being there for my 3 year old. I'm so driven in what I want to accomplish, but I can't lose focus of what's REALLY important in my life and that's maxing out my time with Isabella. In just a few short years, she'll be off and running doing her own and I'll never get these years back. On the other hand, training in Tae Kwon Do can be a family experience and Isabella will be in classes in just a few months. I also can be a role model for her. We'll see.

I have lost 15 pounds and gone down almost 2 dress sizes in the last 8 weeks since starting Tae Kwon Do!!! My confidence level is off of the charts. I am forever grateful to my instructor, Mr. F, and will always be insanely loyal to him. He is so amazing and supportive of me. I'm also making great friends in my dojo and am starting to feel like I am family there. I have just started to chip away at the fitness goals that I want to accomplish. I will continue to lose weight and increase muscle mass to decrease my body fat. In addition, I'm incorporating plyometrics to work on my jumping kicks, agility and speed. This will all pay off when sparring.

I just started to learn my new form - Songahm 3. I'm going to post again tomorrow to explain Songahm Tae Kwon Do. It's fascinating - at least to me!!!

I have much to be excited about, so today I'm signing off with the biggest KIHAP ever!!!

KIHAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dedie