Countdown to Black…

So today is the first day of March and 27 days to go until I do my black belt grading. We were given extra time to prepare because Two weeks was such short notice and there is so much to do. Out of six people who will be taking their grading that day there will be three of us doing our black belt exams and I’ll be the only female. My training has been stepped up so I not only train inside the dojo, I do loads outside too. I have practiced the Koryo Poomse every day (except for the  two days I was away) ever since I was told about the grading. So here is my training for the month of March:

Monday: Stronglifts 5×5 (a weight lifting programme)

Tuesday: Taekwondo in the dojo

Wednesday: Stronglifts 5×5 and 30 mins running

Thursday: Taekwondo

Friday: Skipping 15 mins

Saturday: Stronglifts 5×5

Sunday: Rest

Now all of these days include 8 minutes of stretching and this training regime will increase my strength and endurance. On odd days my training partner will come over and we’ll practice self-defence and disarming techniques. This exam is likely to last between 3-4 hours and will include saying things in Korean. No writing though. There will be a ton of jumping combination kicks and 5 rounds of sparring, including a 3 on 1 (I am the 1). 

I want to give a little explanation on the Koryo form. Koryo symbolises a learned person who is characterised by a strong martial spirit. This form demonstrates the spirit of the ancient Koryo (Korea) men. Each motion is a presentation of strong conviction and will, which was used to hold the Mongolians at bay. It shows a persons attitude in elevating themselves so that they can follow the wisdom and relentless spirit of a man or woman of conviction.

In my next entry I will discuss the self defence techniques we will be demonstrating during the grading.

Two weeks to go until I become a Black Belt

Well I just found out (Tuesday) that I will take my black belt grading in two weeks time. I took a sharp intake of breath and said “I didn’t expect it yet”. I only knew 5 moves of Koryo and believe me there are way more than 5. My fellow practitioners were really happy for me and there were high 5s all round. There will be three of us going for our black belts and two going for their reds. Again, I will be the only woman.

So when I got home on Tuesday evening, I put my son to bed, ate my dinner, watched an hour of catch-up TV then started practicing Koryo. Koryo is a form or kata that we have to perform during the 1st Dan black belt grading and is a simulation of attacking and defending in different directions. I was practicing until 12.30 in the am and by then I had clocked 17 moves. I have practiced it for the last two days and now know up to 23 moves.

The key to getting the moves in the Koryo is to do it in stages. What I did is to do the first 5 moves to the left then at the rest that go on the side until I made no mistakes. When that side was clean I did the exact same moves on the other side and that added up to 13 moves. I practiced those moves until I made no mistakes and ended up adding three more moves so by the time I had mastered it I had 16 moves. It is 10.56 on Thursday night and I am going to fit some more moves in before I get to bed. Here’s a clip of Koryo. Night night!
Koryo