Week one done

So my first week of training has passed, and while I have been focussing on my balance, flexibility, and push-ups, it still feels a bit scattered.  I went a bit gung ho this week and found some muscles and ligaments that had been lying dormant.  My serratus anterior is waking up, and my left hip joint is rebelling a bit.  I am backing off a now because I do not want to develop any injuries, so rather than doing the serratus every day I am going to every other day.  In terms of stretching, I am going to start using a roller.  I'm not convinced this will make any difference but will give it 30 days and see what happens.
When I was training for distance running and triathlons, there were so many training programs available it was hard to choose which one to take.  Googling "how to train for black belt" vs "how to train for a triathlon" highlights the lack of specific programs for getting ready for the multi-discipline event of black belt testing.  Triathlons trainers are a dime a dozen, but finding a sport-specific program for TKD has proven to be trickier.  My personal trainer, Alan Kaita of Evolve Conditioning, has a black belt in Karate and has provided a sport-specific weight program for me.   Full disclosure,  I have been a bit lax in my commitment to this, mainly because I abhor the gym.  In all honesty, I feel that up until now I have been coasting on my fitness level and have not fully committed myself to develop the skills for TKD.  I have been working full time, and just completed an MPH so my attention has been 80% elsewhere.  Now, as I turn my full attention to TKD, I feel like I have just woken up from a deep sleep in a strange bed and can't figure out what time it is, what day it is, where I am, or how I got there. So, week one has been a realization that I have my work cut out for me,  but  I am glad that I am giving myself 6 months to prepare, and hope that it is enough time.  So here is a rundown of what I've come up with.

I have decided to "pick a kick" each week, focus on the muscles used in its execution, how to stretch and strengthen those muscles, and how to improve my delivery of it.  This week my goal is the sidekick.  I have selected this one because it is a basic kick that requires balance and flexibility, and will help me focus on my week glute medius.

I have always benefitted from cross-training.  It prevents overuse injuries,  reduces boredom, and expands skills.  Roller skating is a great sport to compliment martial arts training because of the lateral leg motion.  My glute medius is quite weak, making any abducting kicks like the sidekick pathetic.  Since I abhor the gym,  I went and bought new skates and joined a roller skating club.  I have only been skating in my living room and doing some online training, but I can already feel the difference.  We even did a dance move using the back stance position!   The 'shuffle' incorporates shifting a lot of weight to the back leg and in slow-mo is quite similar to back stance.  The club has also offered some great exercises (one-legged squats are a whole other game), that has proven to be challenging and beneficial.

My new "cross-trainers"

I will continue to work on the flexibility, balance, and push-ups, but think if I use the kick as a jumping point, I can find a theme.  I'm trying not to get too scattered in my program,  so I will work toward developing something logical, doable, and most importantly, fun.

Day one. Of many.

I haven't decided how I am going to approach this blog, but I think of it as a sort of diary.  Somewhere  I can come and vent my frustrations, state my goals, share my struggles and triumphs, and maybe most importantly, document my journey.  Over the last 8 months  I've been thinking about 'testing for Black',  but I keep focussing on my weaknesses.  That might seem negative, but I don't see this as a bad thing, because it draws my attention to where I need to practice.  Some of the things I want to focus on right away are flexibility, balance, and push-ups.  This is where I am going to put the bulk of my energy over the next couple of months, or until I'm ready to move forward.  I have a stretching and balance routine that I will try to do a minimum of 5 times a week, but will aim for daily (they are not that difficult, nor do they take a lot of time, so really, laziness is my only barrier).  For push-ups, well, anyone that knows me knows I abhor (never use the word hate) these, along with the plank and burpees.  But I've decided to take a step toward strengthening the muscles that fuel the push-up. The pecs, deltoids, serratus anterior, glutes, abs, and triceps are going to meet me, and they will weep.  I haven't decided what that is going to look like, but today I discovered where the serratus anterior is, and tried to activate it.  Well, that was fun.  It's a tad lazy, so I'm going to need to work on that one for a while.  Having said that, I really like finding new muscles and activating them. I'm not going to kid myself into believing that I will be able to do the required 50 push-ups, but damn, I'm going to give it my all.

Today my workout included stair repeats, practicing poomsaes, and an online exercise class. Yup. day one, go all out.  I went to Kitsilano beach showboat area where there are three staircases, lots of other people doing fitness programs, and a stage where Annette and I could practice our poomsaes.

 It was a lot of fun to have other people around, each with their own goal, nodding and smiling at these 'familiar strangers'.  Annette's daughter took lots of photos of us, well, when she wasn't chasing crows away from her lunch.

 For poomsae practice I need to get right back to the basics, so I am going back to poomsae one (Taeguek Il Jang). I think it is important to start from the beginning to ensure I have a proper foundation and allow me to focus on the finer aspects of these moves. Like getting that hip motion in.

This week the goal is to work on these three aspects - flexibility, balance, and push-ups.  By making these the basis of my program, I can gradually build on them to create opportunities for growth in other areas.  I think flexibility and balance are key to training and need to be the foundation of my program. Push-ups, and the muscles involved in their execution, offer a strength program I need right now.  Hopefully I can stick with it, and not get discouraged or frustrated, or worse yet lazy.

How did I get here and what am I doing?

On December 18, 2015, at 55 years old,  I decided I wanted to get a black belt in Taekwondo.  It was a 'now or never' moment, one of several I have had over the last three decades.  When I was in my twenties, I was training for my first (and only) marathon, with my good friend Lori.  She was (and still is, 35 years later), one of the strongest, toughest women I know.  Over the next few years I watched as she trained hard and achieved her black belt goal.  It was something I always admired in her but never thought I had it in me to be tough enough to be "a black belt".  I don't question my level of commitment or tenacity, as over the years I have done several long-distance events including Oliver Half-Iron,  STP,  Whistler Gran Fondo twice, and countless 10k races.  It wasn't until my DNF in  l'etape de Tour that I hung everything up.  A DNF (did not finish), is demoralizing, yes, but for me it told me that I was done.  I was burnt out from sports that I had loved for over 30 years.  Every training day had become a chore.  I did not put the necessary hours in for l'etape, so it should not have been a surprise that I couldn't make the cut-off.  I moped for more than a year.  I tried to get my runners back on, to get back in the pool and on the bike, but the drive was gone.  I was always a 'middle of the pack' athlete, but now I was nothing, laying on the couch getting depressed.

Then I remember Lori and her journey in Taekwondo.  I am goal focussed, so the thought of getting coloured belts to mark my success appealed to me.  I liked that it was something completely different from anything I had done before, and hoped  it would get me off the couch and challenge me differently.   I found a local dojang at Third Eye Taekwondo in Vancouver, and was hooked within the first week.  

Aside from the belt colour, all the dobocks are the same.  There is no bike envy, no fast or slow swimming lane, no running shoes to wear through at an expensive pace.  It is just bare feet, a soft floor and a wicked, sometimes cruel, work-out.  Despite the hard workouts, the support from the Masters and instructors is phenomenal.  My peers, while many are still in high school, are supportive, encouraging, and fun to be around. Now, after four and a half years, I have my black stripe.  In the 8 months since I achieved that goal,  I have been trying to learn Koryo  and practicing my kicks.  As the black belt test looms 6 months ahead, I am beginning to realize I need a stricter fitness program if I am going to meet the standards required to pass this test.  This blog is my commitment to that process.