invested

I feel like I am invested 80-90%. I always come to classes, but I don't write journal entries all the time. I feel like I put other things like extra credit in school or homework before all aim high.

You Are What You Eat

The adult testers are required to do two food journals.
I've always thought that I've eaten healthy, but writing these things down caused me to think deeply about the food I was eating. In the past, I'd pass off things that weren't good for me, but writing it down, forced me to think more deeply about what I was eating, and that I realized that still made some unhealthy choices. There were other times when I didn't eat enough. It interesting how writing can force us to think more deeply about things, especially when we're reflecting on something. While recording what I was eating, I also made plans for future meals, thinking about how I could fit more nutritious foods into my diet.
I suppose the same thing apply to these journals, or the tracking of any other activity.

What does the word Generations means to me, to T-Berg! Yes, I cried just a tad bit.

I remember being a Dragon Jr laughing and playing on the mat before class started. A few times BKJN and KJN would come over reminding us there was still class going on. Now I tell my brother shhhh! there is class going on or remember to listen to your teachers JD! I once said JD keep your hands up and bounce around while I was waiting for my class to start. I am now the older generation and he is the younger generation!! wow!!! that just hit me!! BKJN said what does Generations mean. for me when I thought quickly generations means grandpa, dad, child and grandchild and so forth. Well at aim high there are the 1st testers who got their black belt and then the next year the new testers earn theirs. So there is Master Dave, KJN Callos, KJN, BKJN, Master Null, teacher Adrienne Null, teacher Brandy, teacher GirlSam, teacher Holly, teacher Taylor W, teacher Grayson and soon I will join the Black belt team. Look at these amazing Aim High Generations we have become and created because we love what we do. I love martial arts and of course everyone knows I am at AH all the time.

when I 1st started all I wanted to do was be with my friend Amaya then I made more friends then I did my 1st tournament. Then I created my own personal goals and dreams. I did not know that I was growing up and becoming a leader in my community. I volunteer at different events. Donated my toys and raised funds for the tricking team. But still I did not know that was part of the learning to be a good person to help my community. If you think back to your 1st belt, your white belt. what was your reason to start this journey. As silly as this sounds I really just wanted to have fun with Amaya during martial arts class but now I want to become a great role model for me, my brother and try my very best to get close to my personal goal to come true.

I remember when I got my 1st bo staff and I was chasing Kaitlyn around with it. BKJN was very upset talking to us about safety and it was (a weapon) I was carrying. I am laughing now but then kaitlyn was crying and I was not talking to teacher Danny because I was scared. Now I remind my brother to NOT run with his Bo staff, not to goof around on the mat and to focus and to have fun training.

I remember KJN helping me with my 1st weapon form and I cried because I did not understand what intense moves were. He pushed me to practice harder and taught me different tricks. KJN gave me my very own nickname which I love very much--(T-BERG)

 I am now realizing this black belt journey is special to me because the Generations tittle and I am part of the aim high community growing up. there is still a lot to process this thought but this will do for now. You see everyone plays a special part in my black belt training because I am growing up with my aim high family. I love being part of this family very much.

we have come a long way and I am glad we are training together as a team! Lets pick up the pace and find our reason for earning that Black Belt! And yes! I cried just a tiny bit typing this. memories.

From T-Berg

my weekend

hey team,
yesterday i went to shute park with my mom because we were going to do a picnic and i saw Brandon! i also saw Haley and Zacharey. so far my weekend has been good, earlier today i went to a "last day of seeing team"
dinner. i got to see all my teamates for the last time.
 -Aneli

Enjoyed Earth Day Cleanup

I really enjoyed working with the team to do a SOLVE cleanup of the English Ivy that was originally brought in to help provide green ground cover but has taken over the forest.

It was really amazing to see how embedded the ivy had become on the ground or on the trees....once it had become engrained it was extremely hard to remove.  The vines were really strong and well entrenched in the bark of the trees.

I think the main lesson I got out of doing this was that sometimes we let things slide...but if we are not careful a little bad habit can turn into a big one that can be really hard to break.

I hit some walls during marathon training, but the thing that kept me going was knowing that if I skimped or cheated I would have a very rude awakening when it came time for the real thing.
Finishing was my ultimate goal for the year, besides getting my belt. I never once thought about how hard it would be to keep up the long and very structured running schedule when I was done with the marathon, but I am feeling it now. It has turned in to a mental thing because I know that I can do it physically. Today I thought "I know that I can do 5 miles no problem. I just don't feel like it." Then I remembered that I am still going to have those days when it comes to everything else, I just have to try that much harder to push through it. We all do. But I know that I hate losing progress and not being at the top of my game a whole lot more:)

Singing + Crazy, Fuzzy Hats + Breaks OUTSIDE!

   Hello! So far this week, all the things in the title has happened at school.

   SINGING

  Today, I got out of lunch 5-10 minutes early with 1/3 of all fifth grade students and went into the library full of PTO volunteers. We sang them a song and 10 students (including me) read them a poem. Then we took off our hats to them. Which brings me to:

CRAZY, FUZZY HATS

   Also today, the entire school (except the PTO) wore a hat, and whenever we saw a volunteer, we would take off our hat and say "Hats off to you!" I wore a fuzzy hat with paws, that was neon sky blue.

BREAKS OUTSIDE!

  Sky blue was also the color of the sky so far this week. Meaning whenever we had a break at 10:00 AM, we would go outside to the playground and, well, play! This was a big deal to fifth graders because the last time we got to go outside for break was when it was the 1/2 of the first month as a fifth grader.

        So, that's pretty much it for my good week so far. I thought I would blog now because a LOT of things have been happening lately and to me, it's a big deal in fifth grade. This is my second time blogging from a laptop! (All the other times are from my phone.)

Did you know?: You can use Gatorade to clean your toilet. Source: Weird but True! App

    ≈ Serena ≈

Tournament

Yesterday's tournament (Dave's Battle of the Champions) was a great success for me. I got 1st place in my Kama routine and 3rd place in my Trad. form (palgwea(or however you spell it) 7) and tied twice for second.  It was a really fun tournament, and I learned some tricking moves from Teacher Eric. I'm still working on them, but I'm improving. Given the fact the tournament was 8-9 hours,  I didn't get bored or tired.
   Later that night, we ( T-Berg's family and mine) ate out at Sweet Tomato's.  We all ate pretty healthy, except for the dessert.



Comp Fact : You can type cool icons with Alt + any number in the number thing (Not at the top, the sides)
Ex: ☺☻♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ •◘○  ( 1 - 9 ) ▼ ( 748159263)

~Brandon

P.S: Congratz to all siblings of the Poom belt testers that tested!

Race for the Roses

Hey team!
I did a race called "race for the roses" and I did a 5k race. There were three choices: 5k(3.1 miles.), 10k(6.2 miles.), or half marathon(13.1 miles). When I was racing I saw Christopher! When I finished, I wasn't even tired. so next year I will do the 10k race! I hope everybody is having fun with all the shamrock runs. I couldn't go to any of the shamrock runs but this is a run that was like it.

Friday Saturday Sunday CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY!

This weekend was totally crazy!  On Friday I went on a filed trip to Sherwood for the Children's choral festival with my choir. We worked that day with Kelly Foster. She came down from Seattle. We spent most of the day there practicing for the evening concert.Once it came down to the concert, everyone was nervous it reminded me of my first demo performance.

On Saturday I helped out with testing.  I was there from 8:30-3:00 . It was a tiring day. The first test was the milestone testing which is for yellow belts going for green, blue belts going for advance blue and all advance belts.One of my favorite test to help out with was lil warrior intermediate  advance because it was one of the smallest groups that day.  


On Sunday I did the Bluffs clean up project some of you might of been there. We pulled the English Ivy because it can kill the other plants. We spent three hours doing that. We also picked up any garbage that we found but mostly focused on pulling the ivy and there was a lot. At the end we found a orange salamander. It was so cute!

Time

Today, I went tricking for the first time in many weeks. Though I'd always been meaning to trick on Sundays,  I had spent the past weeks catching up on schoolwork. Finally tricking again, it took me awhile to get back into the swing of things. It was difficult returning after a hiatus, since I'd gotten rusty over a period of inactivity and wasn't as good as before. The only thing really keeping me up was the high energy level. When I did moves that I knew, it felt as if I were doing them for the first time.
Going there made me realized how much I liked to trick, and how my inactivity was affecting my performance. It made me realize, that no matter what happens, I'll need to find a way to fit these events into my schedule. That may mean that I shouldn't put off work till Sunday; it may mean that I should finish things ahead of time. Either way, I'll need to create the time to practice and train, so that my abilities continue to progress.
Similarly, I've also noticed this sort of trend on weekday classes. Though I'd try to go on the days when I don't have a conflicting schedule, I sometimes still find that I'm unable to go. Though I may be busy, forcing me to skip a class here and there, I will only cheat myself. After all, the more I train, the better I'll get. It's really a matter of how much this training matters to me. Though there are times when I can be extremely busy, I will still try my best to make it to each and every class. This may mean that I will have to finish my schoolwork quicker, and it may also mean that I'll have to work harder at everything else, but I'm willing to push aside to small things in order to fit in the activities I really want to do.

"To hell with circumstance, I create opportunities."
—Bruce Lee

I Tied My First Belt!

Hey! As most of you guys know, today was testing day, and as few of you guys know, my brother tested for his belt. KJN asked me if I wanted to tie his belt and I wanted to, but I didn't know how to. Luckily, KJN was there to help me and I tied his new belt. Yay! Although when I tied his other belt, it didn't turn out perfect. Andrea and Jordan helped out with the testing class with me and the other teachers and they helped along with taking a photo with me, my brother, and everyone else. And lemme say one thing about this picture: it was HILARIOUS!

Did you know?: There is a flower that smells like chocolate.

~Serena

Hey team today my family brought home chicken. I was about to eat but then I remembered that I was cutting down on meat because I saw a PETA video. Then I remembered that there was some salad in the fridge and that's all I ate. I was still hungry that's why I ate an apple and an orange.

Be appreciative of what you have

With all the recent tragedies abroad and close to home....I realize now more than ever that you should never take life for granted.  Every day if you have the chance to do something that can help or be with someone you love take the time to make sure you do it....the priorities of balancing your family, work, martial arts, and everything else can seem overwhelming, but there are certain things can only take place once and once it is gone...you will never get that moment back.

Having had lots of discussions with team members on the struggles of balancing all of what life is continues to be where we need to keep encouraging each other....but keep up the good fight as we all know that in the end taking the extra effort will pay off.

If you have read my blogs or seen my videos on the "Generations" page you know that I have been talking a lot about how important our family and our friends are to our success as martial artists and to our lives in general. I have talked about struggles throughout this testing process and obstacles that I have faced so far. But today took the kind of endurance that, as a parent, you don't realize that you are being trained for until something happens to your child. Today made my marathon endurance training seem like small potatoes. Holding all the fear and the tears in so your child doesn't see it and get scared is indescribably difficult. My son has been ill since yesterday, so I took him to the Tuality ER early this morning after a horrible night and neither one of us getting any sleep. It turns out that he has to have his appendix removed and depending on the status of whether or not it has burst, he will have to spend a minimum of 2 days in the hospital. We all have choices and awful things that happen, but keep in mind that we need to take care of our family no matter how much it messes with our routines or schedules. My son is in surgery right now, so this journal will be the most personal one that I write all year. This is me with my shield down.

Hey you guys i'm going to tell you something that im going to try. I'm going to try to cut down down on the meet and eat more veggies. sometimes my mom makes tofu and i love it for some reason. I know meat gives you a lot of energy thats why I've asked my mom if she could make me a protien shake every morning. they taste so good. Okay you guys thats about it so i will keep you posted on my goal.

Trust

Trust is the currency of life. The more trust you have, the more you can do. If you lose trust, you lose your currency. Trust, like currency, is built up over time. You start at minimum wage until you prove yourself. Once you have proven yourself, then the wage goes up along with the responsibilities. Trust works the same way. Where you may be trusted with little things to begin with, as you earn that trust by being responsible with it, you are given greater responsibilities. If you lose that trust, it has to be rebuilt. The greater the responsibility, the further it sets you back when the trust is lost. Your words and actions are like your credit cards to that currency. When you say you will do something and then don't, it is like pulling money out of the ATM and then leaving it sit there. You have lost trust. When you keep your word, then you have the currency in life to spend on extras.

never without you

Today I was just thinking of how tough Aim High is. How much we do. The high standards and expectations they have. I just thought to myself how I would have quit training at aim high a while ago if it weren't for the group that I am testing for my black belt with.

-Andrea

Focus on the weekends!

Remember to work on some training on the weekends like on Friday night, Saturday night and get a rest day in on Sunday so we can have some full energy for class on Monday! Lets make this happen and focus on our own meaning on what it means to train like a black belt. High energy, focus and communicating together. if we have questions ask the teachers and team members. Lets have some fun working toward our black belt goal. Stay positive and study our knowledge base, do forms and work on our sticks. t-berg out!

homework assignment

hello everyone,

Sorry for not posting this sooner. I was tired when I came back home and I had forgotten on Tuesday. I was going to do it on Wednesday but I had to finish my homework from school, so I am doing it now.

Monday's class, I think that we need to work on keeping our hands up and keeping the energy up.We should work on holding the pads correctly and being an active partner. And some work on our sticks.  I think that we also need to get some cardio in to our work out in class and out side of class. Lets work together to improve these things as a team so that we will be ready for the phase 2 testing!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was going to write about something specific on the blog site today, but when I logged on I was a little disappointed in the blogs of the first degree candidates. The purpose of writing the journal is to work out when we have hard days and frustrations, but not to complain. We need to be mindful of the things that we post for others to see because it could be the very thing that brings someone else down. We are all going through struggles and frustrations but remember there is always a method to the madness. There is a specific reason for everything that we are expected to do throughout the testing process. We need to continue to train, push ourselves and press on in spite of a bad day. Try not to complain or tell us what you don't like about the test because a bad attitude can be the thing that keeps you from earning your belt. I know because I have seen it happen.

P.S.

If we didn't have homework, we wouldn't learn anything. We need to break a mental sweat as well;)

Homework, really

       Sometimes I feel like we are being forced to do homework in martial arts. I don't appreciate that we have to do work outside of class. I already get enough at school. Sometimes it's hard to find time to track acts of kindness, environmental acts, training logs, etc. I understand why we have to do it, its just frustrating sometimes.

Shadow for the Day

So, I couldn't go to my current school today. I still went to school, but not MY current school. I went to ACMA to shadow, when you follow a student who already goes there. The person I was shadowing was a girl named Jillian. She was very nice, and had really noisy classmates. They reminded me of one of my classmates.
First was (I think) Math class(?), then Dance (where all the students took off their shoes to dance. I get why though.), then homeroom (I ACTUALLY got to do something in this class for once), then lunch (They have better food in their cafeteria than my school! Not that my school lunches are bad.) ,then social studies (I got to draw a head of a dead bird. It was the only thing I got to do other than sit.) ,and finally, ART CLASS! In art class, I got to draw with colors on a bigger piece of paper! I know, not that exciting, but it was the best thing (other than reading while waiting for dance class to be finished) I could do! I left at around 2:00, an hour and five minutes earlier than when I actually get out of school. The other students were still in class, but as soon as the clock struck 2:05, they would all leave.

Did you know?: The Basenji, a dog from Africa, yodels instead of barking.

~Serena

Monday's class

On Mondays class I don't think I would have passed. I was not doing the best I could do or the best partner. truthfully our entire class wasn't the best we could have been.

-Andrea

Mondays class

Hey you guys this is my first time blogging and going to blog about mondays class .truthhfully i think i couldve done better on monday. Then again I was worn out that day because we ran two miles at school.

Continuing to maintain a solid training schedule

It has been hard to pack everything in on certain days for training, but I have found that it has made me think about the energy I put forth.  The goal when you try and pack in 3 classes on a Monday...lunch cross fit/fit blast class provides conditioning and strength.  The evening classes on BJJ and Fusion provide the necessary skill refinement to learn and practice.

It has really made me think about how much wasted energy I have done in the past and focus on technique and efficiency in movement.

A Quiet Class

Usually, quiet classes in general are good. In this case, it's not the best.
Before BSBN Girl Sam actually told us to pretend that this was our phase test at the end of class, in the first 15-30 minutes of class I thought in my head, "What if this is our phase test, but we just didn't know it?" I started to step it up and do the best of my abilities.
But honestly, I wouldn't past. And even if I did, I would barely past, nowhere near a best tester star.
The next time I got to class, I'm going to train as if my black belt depended on it. As in doing better than the best I can.
Most of my classmates at school wouldn't do what we are doing now, most would give up, with the thought of 'this is too hard.' With us, we keep trying, no matter how many times we fall. That's what makes us different than normal people. (Different in a good way.) So learn from your mistakes, and you'll do better.
Everyone was great in class, but on a scale of 1 to 10 on our energy level, (10 being the best) we need to be at 11, not the 6.5 we were today.

Did you know?: Mayflies and fruit flies aren't REAL flies. Real flies have two wings, where mayflies and fruit flies have four. (But its kinda weird that they are named flies, isn't it?)

~Serena

Today in class

  So, today in class, we did a pretty bad job of having energy.  I don't think any of us would have passed.  And remember, that was Teacher Girl Sam teaching class today, not KJN.  Remember how strict KJN is about all of this?  If anyone were to pass, it would be one or two people.  We really need to step it up, and that goes for all of us (Poom belts).  We should all be praticing at home.

If today had been my phase test, I would not have passed

That's a hard realization, but I don't believe I gave my best effort in class tonight, and too many details of my performance were sloppy. I've let my conditioning slip in the last three weeks, and it shows in my lack of stamina.

The only consolation is that I still have some time to step up my practice outside of class, get back to exercising more often, and change my attitude.

Thank you, Bsbn Girl Sam, for the reality check tonight.

SOLVE Beach Cleanup

SOLVE Beach Cleanup - March 30

I decided to engage my entire family to go down to our favorite beach in Pacific City to help do the beach cleanup for one of my major environmental acts.

It was amazing to see how many people were down there but not cleaning up....I mean the volunteers were just a handful (probably 20 at most) while there were literally hundreds of people down there.

The surprising thing was how much dangerous items we discovered partially hidden in the sand....rusted nails, broken glass, sharp metal objects, etc.  All it takes is someone to step on that with their bare feet and it is off to the hospital you go to get a shot......

I think we felt much better cleaning up a beach that we visit regularly to help ensure that we can continue to go there.

We did get several thank you's from people which was a nice reminder that we all need to say that more often!

More Running!

After a slow day of staying at home practicing my form for Pac Jewel and the demo team form, (with the help of my little sister that kept dancing when Gangnam Style came on) at around 7:55 PM, my mom took our whole family running at the track. I ran/walked 12 (or 14 if you count the warm-up lap and the cooling down lap) which is about 2 (and 1/6) miles.
I have a new goal this year and I have to run at least 3 miles by July. Why, you ask? My dad signed me up for another run on July 31st. My mom says its about three miles, so I got to get used to running three miles, with little cool-downs in the middle and towards the end. I'm just 1 mile (or 5/6 miles) away from halfway reaching my goal. I want to be able to just run at a good speed and take baby steps to reach my goal so I can slowly improve in my running.

Did you know?: A snail would take 220 hours to crawl one mile NONSTOP.

~Serena

Patience

          The hardest thing for me to do after getting injured is the waiting as that injury heals. What's even harder is not knowing exactly how serious your injury is and not knowing how long it will take to heal. On Sunday March 30th, I injured my knee while trying a move on the floor a have never tried before. I landed with my right knee hitting the ground first. It HURT. A LOT! But I hobbled off the floor and proceeded to watch my knee start to bruise and swell. A LOT! Almost a week has past since that injury and my knee has barely gotten better. It's still numb, still slightly swollen, and tender in certain places. This makes it very difficult to teach classes for a couple of reasons. 1) I like to demonstrate as I explain drills and concepts to my students. Only having one completely functional leg becomes a problem for me and my right brain ways. 2) Standing on that leg for a long time doesn't feel good. It becomes painful and restricts my movements. 3) The wrap i use and the brace i use for my knee is uncomfortable and restricts movement. This is both good and bad. As my knee heals there are certain ways i should not be moving my leg and the brace makes sure of that. However, the brace is bulky and tight around my leg. If I make it too tight i'll cut off blood circulation and if it's too loose then it wont do it's job properly. I have yet to be successful at putting on my brace correctly the first time.

          All of these struggles bring forth many trials and many lessons (like how to teach without using your hands). But the one lesson that is consistent in every one of them is patience. I must be patient when putting on my brace for if i do it too fast i will do it in correctly. I must learn to be patient with myself while I am both on and off the floor. On the floor, I must be aware of my injury and sit down until it becomes less irritated and off the floor I mist be patient with the healing process, no matter how long it may take. My students must also be patient with me because i'm not used to teaching while being critically immobilized. I know that if I remain patient the healing process will be more enjoyable. I cannot just make my knee heal faster. It takes time. And it's going to take time whether I m patient or not. The difference is that if I am impatient and try to push my limits or if I don't take proper care of myself I will have a more negative experience and chances are I will experience more pain with a high risk of re-injuring my knee. On the other hand, if I am patient and do everything my doctor, parents, and instructors tell me to do I will have a lowered rick of re-injuring myself and  it will reduce the amount of stress that I inflict upon myself. In other words, chances are, I will have a better experience and a happier recovery if I am patient. Think of how this can be applied to other things. such as teaching a peer, or applying for jobs, or even testing for your black belt. I do not believe that patients is the key to success, but I do believe that patients is a tool that will bring you happiness in the long run.



JOKE OF THE DAY! Attending a wedding for the first time, a little girl whispered to her mother, "why is the bride dressed in white?" "Because white is the color of happiness," her mother explained. "And today is the happiest day in her life." The child thought about this for a moment. "So why is the groom wearing black?"

T-berg going to Golden Gate tournament

In the last two months I have been multitasking my time with school, Aim high poom belt fusion classes, Aim High Family Kicks classes, Demo team and tournament practices gearing up for tournaments. Many of you know I love going to tourament but not to win but to try my best to see how much I have improved my skill level and making many friends from the west coast to the east coast. For me I am reaching my personal goals by making baby steps. I like to train and work out at my own private karate studio ( my garage) and do what I like best. My mom says I am turning into a social butterfly when I travel and that is a great thing. I like making new friends and meeting up with them talking about our martial arts school, our school, our friends and our cities or small towns. Wish me luck and hope the state of California is good to me. I know there is a lot of great talents. I just want to see where I stand in this tournament. Wish me luck. I will post some videos if I can. make sure you keep training hard!! I will. See you all on Monday!!  t-berg out.

I have 2 weeks until my half marathon, 1 month until phase 2 testing, I went back to work ( I am solely responsible for cleaning a 35,000 square foot 2 story church building) and spring term for school just started. I was feeling really overwhelmed today and I just wanted to crawl into bed and pretend like I am no longer a responsible adult. I have a lot more going on this year than I did the last time that I tested. One of my goals for this test was to be better at balancing and I remembered the advice that I am always giving others which is to take it day by day and not to think about the overall goal or you will freak out and quit everything. I am so close to finishing so many things and as long as there is breath in this body I will press on. I know that I will be fine because the people who surround me won't let me quit.

Working Towards a Goal

Shamrock Run 2013 down, Helvetia Half Marathon to go. I will begin my running trials by running to and fro between AHAMA and my house, about 6 miles each. direction. Teacher Chris (I have decided to refer to myself in the third person) needs to keep the right mentality for training, reminding himself that he is NOT too tired to train. My plan is to beat BSBN Zoe`s time. Healthy competition is always good. :D