Conditioning workout

Hey team yesterday's conditioning was tough. I'm glad that I ate breakfast because I had lots is energy after the workout to help out at the car wash. I ate a protein shake and two eggs. I felt kind of sick in the middle; like I was going to throw up. When that happened I used state management to make myself not feel sick. It was pretty awesome because I've never experienced that before.

Vegas/Utah

Well as you know I was not at class on Wednesday. That's because I was in Zion, Utah. While I was there I went hiking at Zion canyon. We hiked the Narrows which is partly a water hike and partly sand and rocks. The hike roundtrip is about 6 miles. We rented special wet socks and shoes. We even had to watch a safety video witch was pretty cool. Once we got to the hike the canyon was beautiful and so were the animals. We had to be prepared that meant lots of water and some snacks.

Our next stop is Las Vegas for a family reunion. That is about four and a half hours away. Can't wait to come back. I know I should have posted this earlier but I had no wi fi so I just saved and I am posting it know. Now that I am back I am ready for action.

I am really proud of our candidates and the rest of our team. We had all hands on deck today selflessly giving up part of their Saturday to help send Girl Sam to do a wonderful thing for girls that are victims of trafficking. Fantastic job today. This is what makes us the team that we are and should continue to be. Great job guys!

Martial arts helps younng man fight off shark

Hi all,
Just thought others would enjoy this news clip -- about a 14-year-old boy who drew upon his black belt training to stay calm after a shark bit his foot in South Carolina:
http://news.msn.com/videos/?ap=True&videoid=5b771424-b24c-27dd-6618-0540c58024ce

It reminded me of our training: Stay calm, control your adrenaline level, and do whatever it takes to get away from danger.

-- Michael

Make-up Conditioning

Today I did the post-conditioning at Liberty High School.  We (Me and my Mom) did the steps (44 x 3(132 steps)), and ran. We planned on running on the track, but it was closed and they were replacing piping and putting turf or stuff, so we went to the parking lot and I did the sit-ups, the Sound off push-ups, and "The roof is on fire"( 1 minute).  We ran 3 miles around the parking lot (Its just as good as the field ☺)  and did the lunges as we turned. My mom showed me some breathing techniques and encouraged me as I ran. Then, we realized the time, did another lap, and went home because my dad needed to go to work.
      At home, I did the forms and stretched out a bit.  My legs and abs were still sore from the day before, so   it helped a bit. I think my quads are going to be even more sore tomorrow.
   Anyways, I finished the Conditioning in about 1 1/4 hours. It was pretty hard, especially the running (Ankle  and shin hurts as I run).


Brandon

Saturday training and other stuff

Saturday was really fun and I have to admit that I was really sore the next day!! :(  I couldn't go down like 5 steps of the stairs at my house!! :D I will leaving to Chicago for 2 weeks. I will miss the phase test! :( I will make blogs about what I do as in like fun stuff and training over there. :) today I am going to Tuesday Market. They have cool things there! Last week there was a karate school that did like a show there and there was a time when people that weren't in the school could go...I went. :D when we had to go back, one of the black belts asked me "why don't you start?" And I was like "huh?" And he said "Yea, why don't you start, you are really good!!" And I told him"oh, I am testing for Black Belt in October." And he started laughing!! :) I also saw Kaitlyn there. Today as I was saying I am going to Tuesday Market and getting a feather in my hair. It is also my friend's birthday so I am going to see her there and say happy birthday!

~Aneli

I was so happy to read Sebastian's post about enjoying teaching one of the green belts that joined our class last week. Deckland could have been totally freaked out by the energy and expectations of our black belt classes, but our candidates welcomed him and worked well teaching him grappling, which he had never done. I very much enjoyed teaching Deckland and Sebastian tips and tricks of grappling as well. Now to piggy back off what BSBN Cory said, you have to step up the work outs on your own time because if you don't, testing and conditioning day won't be something you can get through. Last Saturday was nothing compared to what is in store for October. Diet and exercise has to be taken seriously as it is as much apart of your test as the acts of kindness and the training time that you do. We are approaching phase 3 and we need to bring it home. Find one of us black belts to help you with a workout schedule and how to eat right. We are here for you:)

Sat Conditioning Workout

I think for our first conditioning workout that Sat was a good measure to see how you are doing so far in your physical fitness training....the good news is that everyone there was really trying hard!...the bad news is that they hadn't been properly prepared for the training.....not eating, eating the wrong things, not doing training outside of conditioning......lessons learned I am sure!

keep up the good work team.....the workouts will get harder as we progress but this is definitely the way to help get you in shape for your test!

Not being at conditioning

As you all may know I was not at training this Saturday. That was because I was sick with the stomach flu. I did not want to get all you sick too. I also had a family event that day. I will try to make up the conditioning during the week. I hope you all hade a great time during conditioning. I can't wait to be at class on Monday.
~Annmarie

Special Training #1

Today was our first special training for the test Generations. It was long and hard, and I felt like I was going to puke the entire way through. Now I know what and how to eat before our special trainings. Knowing to wake up early, eat fiber and protein and to not drink calcium. The mistake I made today was only having a glass of milk for breakfast. Today we ran to Sunset, did lots of tough working out then ran back to Aim High for an hour and a half. It was hard core and the entire training I was thinking of how I was going to quit right after the training got over, but now that I look back it was a good experience and it is helping me prepare for what is coming next. My favorite part was the run back from sunset to Aim High because it was slower pace and easier than the way there.

Conditioning/Tournament

Tomorrow is the first conditioning of the BB test and I will sadly be missing it.  Instead I am going to the Mount St. Helens tournament.  I will be competing in Open weapons forms with my new Kamas (yay) and Traditional forms (Palgwe seven).  I can't come to this conditioning , but I know I will on the second. I finally got my blogs printed and I'm doing a 30 day ab challenge that starts out with 15 sit ups, 5 crunches, 5 leg lifts and 10 seconds of planks on the first day and ends on the 30th day with 125 sit ups 200 crunches 65 leg lifts and 120 seconds of leg lifts. The last one I know will be hard and I hope to do it nonstop. I think you guys should try a challenge like this.

                                                     I hope to get 2nd or 1st place at this tournament. I added new moves to my Open wep. form and I think they might give me some extra points. Wish me luck and hope I don't drop my kamas.

-Brandon ☺╪

Hey team, it felt really good to help out. With a new student on wensday. Helping him with grappling felt really great because I've never actually had the chance to help out in classes or anything like that. He did a very great job understanding everything. If I didn't know he was from another dojo I would've thought that he was at aim high all along. Well team I just wanted to share that with you. See you guys tomorrow.

The Texts

So... This is kind of hard and depressing to blog about because I don't want to think about this ever again, but for people with phones, this might happen.
On June 18, 2013, around 10:00, I got a text from a so-called "friend" that read this:
“BTW, Cartesian Planes are totally 4th grade math and you are almost in 6th grade, Ms. Oh look at me I'm going to ACMA! I made it into a better school, you arrogant little girl. That means you have to be in 7th grade math, reading, and thinking. Top that!”
As I was responding, my "friend" texted:
“Now go cry your little butt off and blow your nose with a pile of cash. I hate people like you. And by the way, you see my glass of care about you going to ACMA? Oh wait it's empty.”
By that, he was about to go over my boiling point and he did. In fact, more like the EXPLODING point because after, I exploded. I texted him back a couple of mean things, not really realizing what I was doing. After realizing what I did I apologized and asked why my "friend" would say that. Turns out he was angry at me, but I have no idea what for. And to this day he still hasn't apologized.
I told my mom about the texts and screenshot my friend's texts. Then deleted the rest of the conversation. I plan on not talking or texting him/her for the rest of the two months of summer.
So if your friend texts you something as mean as that, and isn't joking, delete the conversation, screenshot it, or tell an adult you trust. And if you are about to do it, think: can you say it to them in person without feeling guilty afterwards?
I'm better now about the texts but I'm really angry and sad about it. And the thing is, my friend is older than me, and I expect better from my friend.

Did you know?: cold water takes longer to freeze than warm water.

Peace, Serena

It has been a little bit since I have posted. The madness of moving and finals. I have also been experiencing issues with internet and electronics malfunctions in general. It also takes me quite some time to find things right now. With that being said, I have really been thinking about change a lot lately. With changing addresses, finishing the spring term and my kids graduating to the next grade, I started to think about what this year's test means in relation to the fact that things aren't always going to be the same and that's okay. I was sad when my first degree test ended, and I had an idea of what second degree would be like. I was right in some ways and some differences definitely exist. I am happy that some of the things that I depend on haven't changed, but happy to be able to be a tester and a teacher. Phase 3 is coming soon. Bring on the end:)

A helping Hand for Belt Testing

Last Saturday I was a helper giving back to our martial arts school. The poom belt testers were leaders and we worked as a team by keeping the test group going on time and following directions and focusing in class. We showed the teachers that we can help keep the class run smooth and keep the testers happy. Jordan, Kaitlyn and I were asked to take pictures with a belt tester which by the way made me feel so special to be included like a teacher. I now would like to be more like teacher John and run classes. He makes class so much fun. He has great detail and watches every tester and knows all their names!! Yes all their names!! It was so awesome to be apart to tie my brothers new belt because I was in his place a few years ago and he is starting his journey. I had the chills when I got to tie his belt because it showed I am a role model for my little brother and that he can see my journey training for my black belt. Thank you very much for asking to help with testing. I will now be involved in each testing if I can please. t-berg out.

Great Wolf Lodge (Again)

This past Saturday and Sunday and today, my family spent some time at Great Wolf Lodge. We played Magic Quest, swam in the pool, played in the arcade and did the Great Forest Challenge.
Magic Quest was very fun, and also exhausting. Kaitlin (my cousin), and I spent around a day to finish the first quests, adventures, and Compass Quest, with the help of Jae on the Compass Quest. We were Team Anodar (see how I got the name?) and Team Anodar was first place on score boards for most gold (for today and the week) and most points.
I played the Great Forest Challenge for the first time and it was SO fun! There was four rooms with around two levels in each room. You jump on fish, roll acorns to squirrel, dodge "moonbeams", and play a game similar to "Speed of Light." At the end of each game/room, you would get stars, and we didn't do so good. The second time we did the challenge, we almost got 5 stars on each level. We were just one star off.

Did you know?: There is a lake in Australia that actually glows in the dark.

~Serena

Helping Last Saturday

The best part about helping in the belt test this past Saturday was tying the belts on the Little Warriors and Junior Warriors Testers.  It was my first time tying belts to those who passed.  Watching them get their new belts and how excited they looked reminded me how I felt on when I got my belts.

Morale of the Story:
Helping other people makes you better!

- Kaitlyn

So far this week (and on Saturday)

First, I was supposed to blog days ago when my cousin came and on the Kick-o-thon and everything, but as you could see, I didn't. So I'll sum it up for you so that this blog doesn't take up the whole page. : )

TUESDAY 4th, June 2013
This day might have been the best day ever because, 1.) this is the day one of my best friends come, 2.) it's field day (and it was TOTALLY different from the others) and 3.) it was 'Sugary snack day.' I did the "brave thing" as my school friends said and didn't have any candy, or cookies.

SATURDAY 8th, June 2013
AKA the Kick-o-thon. I kicked 2,140, which is a lot compared to my old score last year. After I played Minecraft (or more like my friend did– you know who you are *coughcoughBRANDONcoughcough.*)

MONDAY 10th, June 2013
This is the day the whole fifth grade went to Sunset Lanes to go bowling! Also the day I drank soda for the first time because there was no water or lemonade (apparently adults think ALL kids like soda.) It tasted horrible and sour so I never drank anything after that for the rest of the day. There, I also got 729 tickets, enough to buy a basketball hoop, fake mustache, sparkly ball, and chalkboard.

TUESDAY 11th, June 2013
This was the saddest/almost happiest day in fifth grade. My friend had to ditch school early to go to New Zealand, and she was one of my best friends. We got to go to school with PJs on and read all day. But our reading time got cut short by an extra recess (which was very fun) and a movie (that I've already have on DVD.)

TODAY
The whole class clean out their desks and for the rest of the day we got to watch this old TV show called the Liberty Kids all day. Mr. L had two of his previous students come into the classroom, and he took us out to recess. The fourth grades were out there and wanted us fifth graders to sign their yearbooks.

Did you know?: Using chopsticks burns 5 calories because it take so many hand muscles. The words "flammable" and "inflammable" are synonyms. My name comes from an anime named Sailor Moon. The name "@" is illegal in China.

~Serena

Kick-a-thon

 For the second year in a row, I did the Annual kick-a-thon! It was great. I got a whooping 2,710 kicks on the poor bag, and with help from my counter (Thanks Uncle Sam!) I took breaks every 100-300 kicks. I was lucky I had a nice breeze by the garage door.  I still can't believe Jordan A. got 20 more kicks than me. Anyways, I had a great time doing the kick-a-thon, and I got pretty sore at the calf/quad area. Even though it was over quick, I bet everyone got good numbers on their kicks. I feel sorry for my sister, who was out sick, and missed the kick-a-thon and field day at school.

And guess what? More surprises on Sunday.  I got a little something in the mail, from Logan and Mark, called Kamas. I personally think they are better balanced with a longer handle, and maybe even lighter! (Taylor, tell them thank you). I'm in a really good and happy mood this week ( last week of school too!) and I wish everyone a good Summer!

~ A very, very happy Brandon M.

Strengths And Weaknesses

I have many strengths but it ties pretty even with weaknesses. Some of my weaknesses are chambering and locking out my hips, but when I lack on those my kicks are not as powerful as they could be, I have a hard time focusing because I like to talk and socialize more than focus sometimes, I do not always use my hips in kicking and kickboxing when I do that my technique is lacking and I am not looking or doing the best of my abilities. Those are most of my weaknesses but I still have my strengths like cheering, having intensity and energy. My energy can keep me going but my intensity can keep others going too. Another strength of mine is forms, my technique is usually good, my intensity really helps my forms pop, my determination helps and doing forms is about the only time I don't smile.

Kick-A-Thon

Today was a great time to see all the energy and effort from all the participants....they really kicked their hearts out!

It is very inspiring being around everyone who is trying so hard to go beyond their original goals and see the joy on their faces when they exceed!

Today I had the pleasure of helping Jack do over 1760 kicks in about 40 minutes....he was a real trooper who really never complained but kept his head down and kicked away!

Way to go everyone!

Starlight Run

I had a great time running some of the team for the Starlight Run!  Seemed to be a smaller group this year!  Let's definitely kick it up for everyone next year....I have to say it is one of the more upbeat runs due to all the Rose Festival items....

Great job on the kick-a-thon today. For those who weren't there, you were missed. I think it will be great when we start doing Saturday morning trainings as a team. Its not always easy to get up that early, but that is one of the things that made us such a close team for "Dare to Dream" and the other past tests. We have a great well rounded team this year and I look forward to every class and spending time with my team. With school, home improvement on two houses, moving and family I look forward to stepping onto the mat and leaving all my worries on the sidelines every week. Keep up the good work guys. We are so close.

The Talent Show Was Awesome!

Hello Team!
Today was the talent show like I was talking about before and it was AWESOME!
My group was the last one and the more people went, the more I got nervous!
When it was my group's turn, I was sooo nervous!! 😱😰 when we were about to go on stage we put our microphone things on and then got the table on the stage!! If I do say so myself, we did Awesome!! 😎😉 I hugged everybody in my group and then left. Afterward, everybody was like "great job"!! It was a best FIRST expire nice! (My Mom with my sister, and My Dad went!)

~Aneli

Im excited

Hello Team!!
I am really excited because I am about to go to school and have Field Day first, then, all school BBQ instead of lunch,and then talent show. I am going to be IN the talent show with a group of 7 including me. Our talent show thingy is going to be with the song "When I Was Your Man" and "Cups". At first, a girl in my group and me are going to sing "When I Was Your Man" and at the middle (kinda), we are going to start "Cups" with the rest of the group! Yesterday was rehearsals to make sure we were practicing. I felt like a pop star because the microphones we used were the ones that loop in your ear then go close to your mouth. My best was like "We are on in 5,4,3,2,1!!" 😝😝. I am nervous yet excited!!!! Ok I have to go to school now, I'll probably make another blog about how it went!!!

~Aneli

Awards

Hellos! Today I have earned two achievements from school (not video games.) I got an award for helping out the school over the past year and the award of... (Wait for it...) Outstanding Academic Excellence! It means not only have I kept trying even though it was hard, I have exceeded in most... Stuff. The certificate I have is even signed by Mr. President himself!
Also today, I sang for the school and parents as this is our last assembly until the slide-show. I had a solo and was pretty nervous. Luckily I was able to keep myself from fainting and sang the solo not thinking about the million eyeballs watching me. I thought today was pretty productive and afterwards, I got to spend time with my cousin. We laughed a TON.

Speaking of laughing, Did you know: in the 1950s people laughed 18-19 minutes a day. In the present (now) the average minutes people laugh is five-six...

•Serena•

CHALLENGE: Make someone laugh tomorrow!

The effectiveness of a good morning

It is monday, june 2nd, and this morning feels different from other mornings. Last night, I woke up four times. And I would think that would make me more tired than I'm feeling right now but instead I feel alert and well rested. I woke up the last time around 9:15am and I was thinking of only one thing, the Generations black belt test. I don't hope that today is going to be productive, I know it is. If there's one thing that Aim High has taught me in the two years I've been there is that attitude is everything. So this morning I'm putting it to the test. My binder is almost up to date, my physical fitness is at an all time high, and I have a smile on my face. Today my focus' will be class plans, binder progress, and 1000 push ups and sit ups and squats total. Before noon class today I should have the first two hundred done. I believe this is the attitude that will help me succeed. If it doesn't work, then I'll try something different tomorrow. But for right now, I am focusing on today and today only.

I forgot to post what I did on my Memorial Day weekend so here it goes:
On Friday I went with my mom to the park and practiced volleyball. After we came back, I had to switch over to my day's house. On Saturday, I practiced some forms and kicking combos. We went to my brother's god-father's house because he had killed a bull. (His house is a farm.) Technically, I was there all day. On Sunday, I had my first Gymnastics class after 2 months!!!!! It was really fun. After my class was finished, I went to my day's soccer game. They tied 2-2!!! 😐😐 after that, we went to my dad's friend's house because he had a party there. We were only there for about an hour because I had to serve in church. After the mass was over, we went back to the party. 😄😋 after the party was over, we went back home.

~Aneli