2 Months---NO WAY

I can't believe that 2 months has passed since the last post. Ah well, nothing too exciting to post..........until now. We successfully tested for our Advanced Red Belts last night & needless to say it was smashing (poor attempt at humor).

This was our first testing that included breaking boards. So, tonight's post will include the vid clips of that.

First up we have Dalton doing a step behind side and a forearm break:


Next up was Tyler doing a step behind side and a overhand hammer fist with his Left hand:


Last was ol Dad doing a slide-up side and an over-hand hammer fist(2 boards each):


Next post will include some of our sparring. So stay tuned ;-)

Results from UTA Nationals/Worlds

Well it has been a week since the UTA Nationals/Worlds and I am just getting around to posting the results. Truth is it has taken me this long due to the negative feelings that I came away from the tourney with. Without going into the sordid details, I'll just state that the judging was somewhat inconsistant and some judges allowed their personal & training affiliations cloud them a bit. That's it, anymore and it'll sound like sour grapes.

First up was Tyler. He competed in the 10-11 yo Brown-Advanced Red division. Tyler did the best pattern that he's ever done. That boy didn't show a single hint of nerves and earned 3rd in Nation in the forms category.

Tyler sparred in the land of the giants. Unfortunately both boys have their Dad's short gene. But he did the best he could, placed 4th and we were very proud of his efforts.

Up next was Dalton competing in the 12-13 yo Brown -Advanced Red. Dalton's pattern was spot on. He did not miss a single step, was powerful, precise and well timed. His performance landed him 4th in forms.

Dalton also sparred in the land of the giants. He gave it his all and earned 3rd place. Well done son!

Last up was Dad. I placed 1st in forms.

The oddest thing happenned after the forms competition. Two new judges were brought in for the sparring and they just happenned to be 2 judges from the same school as the two competitors that eventually placed 1 & 2. Humm, that must a been some pure coincidence there?! As my friend Mike would say "Bitter party of one".........cuz I still am.

My first match was a loss 4-5 to the fella that won 1st. After that 1st match, I did not spar again, not for 3rd, 4th, 5th place......NOTHING. Still can't explain that one and to add to the frustration, there were no Black Belts from my school to inquire how that occurred or to lobby a complaint.

Thus the look of disillusion even in winning 1st in forms and no placement in sparring.
So now it's back to training we all go. Each of us now with a burning desire to improve and perform better next time. In the end, none of us are too dissapointed. How could we be, all of us competed at a National Tourney and each of us earned a Top 3 placement in one event or another.

Till the next time.......keep on kicking.

The Pay Off

Friday night testing has come and gone. Testing is always a little unnerving for all of us. The room is always filled with excitement and anxiety.......students reviewing their patterns, stretching and chatting 90 miles an hour. Parents, Family & Friends file in and find the perfect seat to watch their loved ones. The start can't come soon enough.

Testing in front of everyone still causes the proverbial butterflies; eventhough we learn, practice, review and perform over & over. Many times we have to help eachother remember parts of the patterns right before testing, as Dalton did helping one of the other students:

Patterns

Emily Grace struggled a bit with learning her Yul-Guk pattern; however, she gave her very best effort, blasted thru the nerves and hit all of the moves.

Me & the boys successfully demonstrated the Toi-Gye pattern. Even if I slipped?!?! Good Grief. Tyler was 1st up and he really showed some power:

Dalton was next up and he too showed power and timing: Funny how similar me & Dalton perform our moves so alike: Sparring Time:
Emily shows aboslutely no fear, no matter how much bigger her sparring partners are: Tyler's kicks are coming right along:The thing I harp at the kids to do is to "KEEP YOUR GAURDS UP" and at this testing, I demonstrated why they needed too:

Oh well, lesson learned (I hope)?!

In the end we all advanced and that is the best news of all:

It's getting Closer by the day

Well it's been about a month since the last post and things are progressing very nicely. The boys have learned their Toi-Gye pattern and have the stick drills close. I have struggled a bit with my pattern and stick drills.........you know "Old Dog, New Tricks". But things are progressing, so no complaining here.

Emily Grace is coming along with the Yul-Guk pattern. She really tries hard and that is all I would ever ask or expecting from her.

Testing is this Friday, so we are trying to fine tune things a bit for that. Once Friday comes & goes, it'll be a hard press till National/Worlds in April. That competition is getting close fast, so we don't have time to procrastinate.

Some folks have asked about my weight loss. So, here the scoop. I began in January at 215lbs (ridiculous). Knowing that being in such pitiful shape gave me little to know chance of competing at a higher level in April, I began a focused effort to lose down to a target weight of 185lbs by April 20th. I have incorporated Weights, Running, HIIT, increased stretching along with the standard TKD classes throughout the week at night.

The routine is as follows:

• Weight training- 3-4 days a week at 4:30am
• Run 2-3 days during mid-day follwing HIIT program
• TKD 3-4 nights a week.

The Results by week so far:

• Week 1: January 23- 215 lbs
• Week 2: January 30- 211 lbs
• Week 3: February 6- 204 lbs
• Week 4: February 13- 202 lbs
• Week 5: February 20- 200 lbs
• Week 6: February 27- 198 lbs
• Week 7: March 6- 196 lbs
• Week 8: March 13- 194 lbs

Eating habits changed to follow 50-30-20 (protein-carb-fat) eating plan. One day a week I have a cheat day to keep my sanity. Working real well so far.

Hope all has a Fantastic week/month/whatever. Peace to you.

How others see you

This will not be the standard TKD post today. This will serve as our reminder that others see what we do, even when we are unaware. Let me start with some background.

This past summer at TKD-USA the kids & I met a Mother (Ms Helen) & Daughter (Abigail) who train together. Their Husband/Father (Brent) had passed away just the year before after a hard fought battle with Leukemia. The two of them do TKD together in an effort to recover and bond in a physical sense. Ms Helen has a blog that details their life without Brent that is very inspirational, yet touching.

On Saturday the kids went to a Lock-in at TKD-USA that was offered to let parents have some alone time on Valentine's, while the kids had a safe & fun evening of activities with friends. What fun everyone had. After it was over, all of us parents picked up our kids. At this point in today's posts, I am going to share what Ms Helen observed as I picked up my children. She shared this in her blog and it touched me deeply.

" He walked up to the door wearing a blue jacket the color of his favoritebasketball team. As he pulls open the door he turns slightly in my direction. We wave a friendly hello. We have both come to pick up our children from the lockin. He stands just inside the door, not venturing very far. He's looking for his children. Many of the children are in the back room where they've been watching a movie or have been climbing the rock wall. They come pouring out of the room, some of them are walking, while others run. I see his children come out of the back room. It's his little girl that I see first. She's so cute wearing her red outfit of stripped red and white pants and a red top. Her blond curls are pulled back in a small pony tail on top, while the rest of her hair is down. She stops for a moment at the desk and then starts up again. Daddy and daughter see one another. She runs to him with a sweet smile on her face. He bends down, ready to grab her up into his arms. There's a brief conversation as he picks her up. She's so happy to see her Daddy. I smile at this brief moment in time that only took a couple of minutes. A moment where the details will be forgotten, but the feelings of love and security will remain with her.
These are the moments when I miss Brent the most. There is no more chance to make memories. We must remember the ones we have. Make memories with your loved ones. You'll cherish them when they are gone. "

Helen Currie Davis
http://helen-lighttomypath.blogspot.com/
Genealogy Page: www.loosahatchiegrass.com

I asked Ms Helen if she would mind if I shared her observation on this blog. Doing so as an act of appreciation to her & to serve as a reminder for all of us with children and/or loved ones to live every minute as if it were the last. Enjoy one another with happiness and love. We never know, if that moment may just be the last we'll have together!

May God Bless each and every one of you in all that you do!

New Patterns bring lots of work

Well we all are now working on new patterns since testing. New patterns are always fun to learn......well maybe not always. Confusion, slowness, mistakes, and frustration mixed with those "Ah Ha" moments of beginning to put it all together. Guess that's the basis for Martial Arts, tho. Success is not based on doing something right from the beginning, but instead the hard work, focus, desire, and willingness to overcome those intial mistakes on the way to mastering that level.

Here's what we're working on:

• Emily Grace is working on the Purple Belt Pattern " Yul-Guk"
• Dalton, Tyler & I are learning the Brown Belt pattern " Toi-Gye"
  
  

The countdown has begun for the UTA TKD Nationals/Worlds that are being held April 24-25 in Memphis. Only 70 days left to prepare.

3 Brown Belts & a Purple

Well, the journey continued tonight as we tested for Belt Ranks. What a joy to see the kids progressing and giving their all. Could not be prouder. The whole school was filled with excitement, nervousness and Families. The place was packed and it made for quite an air of electricity.

Our night kicked off as Dalton tried to help the old man loosen up:

Emily started things off perfectly by doing her Green Belt Pattern- Won-Hyo pattern the best she has ever done:

Then Dalton & Tyler performed the Joong-Gun Blue Belt Pattern flawlessly. I had a hard act to follow, but tried my best:

Then Came Sparring. Emily was first and boy did she give her best effort!
Got Knocked Down___Got Right back up and went at it

The boys were next up sparring and they left it all out on the floor. Spinning techniques, high kicks, reverse punches...man I tell ya it was like Fists of Fury?!
Dalton enjoyed sparring (the telling smile)

Tyler by contrast took it serious

All of the training, effort and work culminated in our passing this set of tests and moving up in rank.

• Emily moved from Green to Purple Belt.
• Dalton, Tyler & I all moved from Advanced Blue to Brown belts.

Kicking together and sticking together. That's our motto.






























































































































































































































































































































































































































I follow the boys to complete my pattern:

Not the Nationals.....it's the UTA World Championships

Well this is truly a shocker. This past Friday we were told that the Nationals were being held in Memphis and we would be competing in it.............Turns out it's the UTA 2009 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. Check it out: http://www.utalliance.com/register.php
Oh man, this is huge. Opportunities like this do not happen often and we are STOKED!

Can't type anymore, too excited. More to come later.

Nationals is When???!

Well the bad news is that the Spring Tourney scheduled for March is cancelled. The good news is that the Nationals are in April.........wait maybe it's the other way around?! Nah, it's all good. We found out tonight that the Regional Tourney was cancelled so the Teams can focus on the Nationals the first of April. Not even an April Fools joke. Excited, nervous, hopeful, unsure.......ah the emotional roller coaster.

Going to Nationals for the 1st time is gonna be CRAZY! Four Densons competing at the same time, whew, I'm exhausted just thinking about it. We will be not only representing ourselves, but also our Family & School. Now it is truly time for us to focus on every aspect of TKD. What an exciting time it is.

Tonight we focused almost the entire time on the basics. Stancing, chambering, power, timing...all of which we will continue to work on at home as well. I have a sneaky feeling that I will be one of the older competitors in the Adult Under Rank division, AGAIN! Ah well, helps to motivate me, which in turn (and more importantly) inspires my young'ns to do their best. It's all about perspective anyway.

Until the next time, I wish Peace to each of you!

Variety is Key

This will not be a TKD post. It's a little something about our weekends. I'm sure the weekends add variety to your life and our family weekends are no different. After daily training in TKD, Saturdays are the Denson Sports day. TKD has helped the kids with balance coordination and flexibility. This is a very good thing because Emily Grace is cheering and Tyler is playing Basketball. Here's a few pics from today.

Always Smiling:

On the left end and still smiling

Tyler just waiting for the big steal:The moment after the steal and he's off to the races:

Ahhh, what fun we have on Saturday mornings.

Until the next time, I wish you safety and joy!

New Year- New goals

Has it really been over a month since the last post?! Man, have I been a slacker. Actually over the holidays there was little in the way of TKD to post. Hope all had the greatest Christmas Ever & the Happiest of New Year's.

I can't believe we've been at this over a year now, yet the kids are still focused and dedicated. It's an amazing family experience. If you have youngsters, please consider finding a School that has Family oriented classes, so you too can experience the joy of training and learning together. TKD USA is a great school and I highly recommend them to anyone in the Millington, TN area.

We started back to TKD last week and I have to admit that we started back a bit sluggish. The 3 weeks layoff was not beneficial for the body. Last week was focused primarily on clearing the cob webs and refocusing on being better Martial Artists. We have started an every morning routine at the urging/insistance of our Instructors that includes the following: push ups, sit ups and lunges. The numbers are low to get the body accustomed to this new routine. Should help start the day off....besides, my oldest (Dalton) will not let me slack at all in the morning. He has been a great accountability partner to get up earlly to do the routine and practice all of our patterns up to this point.

We have testing in 3 weeks, so we are really focused on being prepared. Patterns, Stick Drills, Sparring & conditioning M-F.
We all are being tested for new ranks:
Emily- testing for Purple belt
Dalton, Tyler & Dad- testing for Brown belt

Also, coming up in March we have a Regional Tournament. I am sure I will face some of the folks that have been in the previous two tourney's. I'm sure one fella that I faced in the Sparring Finals both times is gonna be looking to whoop me & will be bringing his A game. Just means more work and effort to be ready ;-)

Hope everyone has a great week!

Peace 2 U n u'rs!

A little about nothing

There is absolutely nothing TKD related to post since testing. I went to Chicago the Saturday after Thanksgiving and returned late this past Thursday.........so no TKD activity has occured.

Two weekends ago, a family friend and incredible man passed away unexpectantly. So, I want to take a minute to say "Thank you" to Tim for being such a fine example of Friend, Father, Leader and Example of a Strong Man. You will be remembered and missed often. Nothing has quite touched my heart as much as pouring thru your work laptop trying to find/retrieve your family pictures for Becky & Trey. Your passing reminds me to appreciate every minute, day, week, year that I am blessed enough to have with family & friends.

Today is my 42nd Birth Day so I am signing off now to celebrate with the family!!

May God Bless each & every one of you!

A month late

WOW, has it really been four weeks since I last posted. Holy cow, I have really fallen behind. Let's get started. This month has hosted two milestones for us. The first one occured Friday, November 14th. We attended out first Board Breaking Seminar. Mr Wiggins was the host and it was a blast. We learned proper technique for getting the maximum focal power while striking and kicking. Ultimately, it's not about the actual board breaking as much as it is about learning to focus your power to a smaller point for maximum impact effectiveness.

Mr Wiggins leading the kids:

Kids warming up:

Emily & Dalton waiting their turns:Tyler breaking with a Side Hammer:

Dalton executing a very effective SideKick:

Dad's turn with a SideKick of his own: Tho Emily was ready, the Board was not willing to cooperate....but she tried hard, all the while constantly smiling:

This past Friday we tested for our next ranks. Gladly, we all passed and advanced in rank. Me & the boys are now Advanced Blue Belts and Emily is now a Green belt.

The next couple of months will be slow due to the coming Holidays. But the new year should start off with a bang.

Happy Thanksgiving to all & may God Bless you during this and all other times of the year.

Peace!

Feeling it

It has been over a week since I last posted, so I am taking a 15 minute break from work to write this. We did train 5 days last week, but we were a bit lackluster coming off the Tournament focused training. Since we are testing mid-November, we are not gonna slow down.

TKD has truly helped us bond. Nothing like learning, sweating, and earning together. Emily Grace's kicks have improved tremendously over the course of the last couple of weeks. Her balance, height and power is getting better each week and it is cool to be apart of. We hit the pads at home a couple of days a week (just me & her) in addition to the classes and she seems to really enjoy the one on one time.

Dalton & I have added circuit weight training to our mornings. T-man is not so into joining us ;-) but he does get up a couple of times a week and join us for patterns, so that's cool. This extra work is an attempt to be more healthy and active.

Our training plan is as follows-

• Mon-Wed-Fri: up @ 6am for 30-45 weight training in a circuit (20 reps per expercise) followed by going thru our 6 patterns 3-5 times.
• Tues-Th-Sat: up @ 6am HIIT program for running. Run 1/4 mile 85%, then walk 1/4, & repeat cycle 3 times. The program calls for adding 1 cycle every 2-3 weeks......huh, guess we'll see how that works out?!

We started the running program September 29th and last week it was time for us to add the weight cycle. So far this weight & running program has enabled me to lose 10 lbs and that's a good thing (only 30 more to lose). Unfortunately, my right knee has been non-stop nagging at me (never had knee problems until now) and I am truly feeling my age. And Yes, it stinks to admit that. Hoping this bad boy heals up soon.

Until the next time, I wish all Peace & happiness!

Battle by the River results

What a blast! This tourney was the biggest challenge yet and the Denson kids made their family very proud. Please forgive me ahead of time for bragging from this point forward as my cup runneth over right now.

The tournament started with a bit of controversy for us. Emily Grace was assigned to compete with the 4-5 year olds yellow belts. That was fine and dandy with her; however, the 3 other children did not know their patterns; however, Emily grace did. The lead judge then inadvertently skipped her. So the ring judge decided to skip the standard patterns and just call out moves for the whole group to do one at a time. Then they on moved to one step striking combos……well I submitted a challenge thru my lead Instructor, Mr. Wiggins. Mr. Wiggins then submitted a formal challenge to the decision and a 15 minute discussion followed. Believe it or not, it actually ended well and I must thank Mr. Wiggins for his doggedness to give Emily a shot at showing her stuff (even if she had to compete then with the 6-8 year olds).

Emily took 2nd in striking

& 1st in Patterns…………WOOOOHOOOO. That’s my Girl!!!!
Next up was the boys. Tyler and Dalton landed in a large group of competitors comprised of 9-12 year olds. They did awesome, amazing, outstanding>>>

Tyler man earned 1st in Patterns:
Dalton earned 3rd in Patterns:
Of course in sparring they drew each other in the first bracket & Dalton won (but Tyler showed tremendous heart):
Dalton sparred 3 more times. And trust me when I say, it was not easy. He did get in some good headshots, like this one:Once against a 12 year old that was a good foot taller and my little man beat him 5-2. He even took a direct kick too the…..uh, um, well the picture says it all & yes he did get the point for the body kick he landed on the Giant:
Ultimately Dalton earned 2nd in Sparring by winning 3 of 4 matches. He showed speed, technique and grit. Those boys made me really proud today.

As for me, well I had a pretty good day. Fortunately my pattern went strong and I received 1st Place for patterns:
Next up was sparring. I drew the pre-bracket round and had to spar just to earn a spot in the brackets. Won that 5-2, then went on to win 2 more matches to earn a spot against the same Martial Artist that I sparred in the April finals.

Notice the fella on the right holding video cam, that's my Pop: What, a jump Turn Kick?? LOL & it landed for 2 points!

Ultimately, I was able to win 3 of 3 Sparring matches to earn 1st Place in Sparring.

We had great rounds & I was blessed in winning the Sparring for UnderRank Adults.

What a blast. Eventhough the Denson's brought home a boat load of hardware, more importantly was the kids fine display of competitiveness mixed with good sportsmanship. I just can't express the joy in seeing my young one's giving their all.

Thank you TKD-USA for enabling us to use the things you taught us to earn these awards!! You guys are the BEST!

BTW-I will post some video clips later next week, after we create them.