Breather

This senior project has really been taking a toll on me. I constantly feel like I’m behind and with deadline after deadline it seems that this project will never be over. But maybe because this project means more to me than passing. When May comes and I have the research paper with my prezi, I know that it won’t be the end for me. I will still have something to achieve.

I noticed the passion I am finding in myself. I always thought that I wanted to fight. Come to find out, I always wanted to be disciplined. There’s this fire in me that burns to find a path to follow. I need a leader in my life that can tell me where to turn. And at other times I need to be able to lead myself. Following Harry as he performs a side kick. Or following the professor as I make my way through college. Turning my observations into actions as I keep together my family household as my mother does.

I just want to be successful one day and this senior project is showing me success. Well it’s showing me how to go about reaching success. How to find your own connects and make them work for you. And things like making your own schedule. I mean making your schedule so that you somehow have time for everything you need to do.

This senior project has been a huge smack in the face.  I’ve never been so stressed about how much time I have on my hands. Now I see how valuable time is.

Never again will I take time for granted.

The Gift

I never really ask for anything when Christmas time comes around. Usually I say, "Just get me money," because I never really want anything and it makes me feel bad but I can't change the fact that I don't want anyone spending unnecessary money on me. Plus I love giving gifts. It makes me feel good.

So I can only imagine how good Harry felt. Today Harry gave Antonio & I our own gees. When he pulled them out the box I couldn't even tell what it was. But then I noticed that there was a belt that goes with it. I always told people to give me money because no one ever knows what I need. But Harry was straight on. I needed a gee. I didn't even think of that.

It surprised me completely but I did notice Harry kept asking about it a lot. I still was surprised though. I think it is a really good Christmas gift because it is something that I needed and something that Harry wanted me to have. It doesn't get any better than that.

I love my gee though. It's white and pure. It has no stains from hard work and you can tell it's new. It symbolizes me. I'm new to sho-shin-do - white belt - but at the same time I'm looking to perfect my techniques with pure precision.

Thank you for the gee. I appreciate it.  One of the best Christmas presents I've ever gotten.

Recording Session #1

Yesterday I had Amber come to practice with me so that she can record the practice for me. It almost didn't work out because of miscommunication but she ended up coming and we were fine.

The only other problem we had was that Harry didn't have his camcorder yesterday. I thought he was going to bring it because I told him last week that I had wanted to record and when I texted him yesterday he said that it was fine for me to record during.practice. When we got to the dojo and I asked him if he had the camcorder he said forgot to bring it snf didn't necessarily think that I needed one. That's my fault because I didn't make it clear enough that I needed him to bring his camera. So for the time being Amber had recorded with my.phone.

Only problem with that is that my phone keeps shutting off when it wants to and when it shuts off randomly it decides that it wants to die while doing so. Amber recorded a the first 11 minutes of the workout yesterday. She did a great job in recording and I appreciate her time and effort.

Since things happen and nothing ever  goes as plan, then I have to record the rest on another day. Two weeks from now will be our next Tuesday class. On that day I have to get down everything else that I was suppose to get yesterday. Some more stances, some moves, and even the 2 machines that we use sometimes.

I really needed to get the recording done yesterday because I need to make my video for the "Before/Start" of this senior project. The purpose of these videos is to show progress.

Being that I'm a senior and this project is supposed to be hard then things will keep being thrown at me. And I have to find a way to dodge all of these dangers. I will find a way. I guess I will be completing a research paper over break.

Dragon

I came to the realization that I am still in the beginning of learning martial arts. I've only been in martial arts for about three months. But sometimes it feels like it's been longer. I guess that goes to show that I am a bit comfortable with martial arts. I love the vibe and it makes me more vulnerable to it's scars that it will leave on me.

That's a good thing to me. I want to be learning from my martial arts. I want my character to grow from the experience. I would love to be as strong as Harry one day but it all takes practice. I am learning though, that' one thing I can say. Harry let's me know when something has gotten better and I can feel it. When we do jabs, I feel that my jabs are more swift and in form. I used to have a problem with my shoulders being too high and not staying relaxed. With some practice it has gone done by some but not completely.

I love the feeling though. It's really hard for me to remember to practice at home which I think is my biggest problem as of right now. I wish I can go to the dojo every single day.  I feel that it would really help. But one thing I can do is practice every single day. That's my plan, that I will practice everyday. I really want to hold myself up to that standard because I really want to do my best. Once I get the technique down for one thing then it seems that the next thing will be just a bit easier because I get used to the movements.

But Harry taught us a new stance on Tuesday. I believe it's the "Dragon" you place 90% of your boy weight on your back foot and hold out your front foot with only 10% of body weight on it. Basically you are resting all of your weight on your back foot. While you have your front foot out someone should be able to sweep up your foot without you putting any effort into lifting it, that's how light your front foot should be.

The hardest thing about this stance is walking in the stance. In the stance your back foot is in a 45 degree direction facing towards your front foot. When you are ready to move you need to do so very carefully. You lean forward a little bit bringing the weight on your feet to 50-50 for only a half of second. You only bring your weight to 50-50 to shift your feet. So if your right foot was in front you want to make sure that it's coming back now. When your right foot ends up behind you then you should have 90% of your weight on that foot. I'm not sure if I'm explaining it in a way that you can understand, It's very hard for me to do even though I know how it's supposed to go.

I need practice. . .

4 Day Streak

Last week was really hard for me. The hardest week since I've started this whole senior project.

On Monday, I went to practice with Joey. It was about 15-20 minutes longer than usually. It sucked all my energy out of me and left me quite sore. Tuesday I went back to Harry to workout. Technique was more of the focus on that day but I still became a bit omre sore than I was on Monday. Wednesday Joey & I had went to his crib to make workout. I decided to make some videos so we can have some proof. Plus I need some before/after pictures & vidoes. I probably shouldn't have even went to Joey house on Thursday but I did it to myself. I was already sore but I had to push my limits and see what I can do.

It killed my body though. Before I even went o bed on Friday I was feeling my body ache. And Friday didn't help at all. My legs burned with every step, and when I pick up something as small as a donut then my arms feels the pain. After Joey and I worked out on Thursday we made an agreement for me to get some rest over the weekend. But everything I did on Friday felt like a workout. I went on the Tour to RIT and we did a bunch of walking, my poor legs. Then I went to work and they had me on pots, aww my arms. No one showed me any type of mercy. But It's ok and I like the feeling of being sore.

My arms were swollen since Wednesday, at any point of time since Wednesday if you were to touch my arm you would feel my muscle flexing at you. It was kinda cool to me because I never had that happen and it made my arms feel a bit bigger for a few days, a big boost in my confidence as a guy. I love that feeling that you get from working out.

I can't say that working out relieved a bunch of stress last week because it was very stressful trying to make all the workouts fit into my schedule but I do love working out. I get in the mind set and get going with it. I can definetly get used to this.

I need to hit more of these "4 Day Streaks," as I call it.

Once Again

I just got done working out with Joey again. This is the second day in a row that we had came to his house to workout. Today we had did this workout from his phone. It's an app that you get. You choose how long you want the workout to be. Anywhere between 10-45 minutes. We only chose to do the 25 minute workout today.

When you choose, from the options they have on how long you want the workout to be, the app tells you what to do. So for example it told us to do squats for 30 seconds and after that is over then you do a torso twist. It gives you breaks of 30 seconds which is good enough for me. The exercise wasn't really hard in the fact that I can't do it because of stamina. It was hard because of the fact that I was sore

I like exercises like that but it's nothing compared to the stuff we do at the gym and with Harry. Don't get me wrong that little phone had me sweating and tired but I get more enjoyment and feeling out of the stuff from the gym or dojo.
I love that I'm finding out all these new ways to exercise. . . But we going to hit up the gym asap... Ready to go back to some real weights.
This is the picture of the workout screen on the app after you finish it.

Joey's House

Last night was redicilous. After work last night me and Joey had went to his house to work out a bit. We started out with push-ups and pull ups. I was surprised to see that I can do 15 push-ups straight. That tells me that I made some progress compared to before but not too much. Joey said he would like to see me be able to do 50 straight.

Push-ups is a great thing to be able to do for workouts, even on Insanity they have their own modified version of push-ups, once again proving that they are a good thing to do. As you are going to see in the video my hands are a bit spread and for about the last 2 or 3 push-ups aren't as good as the first 10. I really hope to improve that. I don't really like the fact that I can't do more than 15 push-ups at a time but I have time for improvement.

Last night we worked on our arms a lot. We used the bar to do some curls, and we also used the dumbbells, pulling them up while we sit or holding them out and pulling them in while we stand.
Here is a sneak peek of that:

As you seen in this video I was a bit more smooth with it. Lol, We have a handful of other videos from last night workout also. I believe I can show some progress from now till March or April.

I've always known that I can workout at home, but this is the first time where I did a real workout, using weights, at a house. Joey guided me and showed me what I can do and that's great because now I feel even more motivated to workout at home if I can't make it the a gym. I learned that I can actually do 15 push-ups which I doubted at first so I've also learned to not doubt myself.

I have to get a lot more recording done for he workouts that I do but I also need to start recording for my martial arts. I'm getting there one step at a time.

Mid-Year Meeting

Being that I have been struggling with balancing everything and that I feel like I am a bit behind with my project I am going to call a Mid-Year Senior meeting.

I plan to hold this meeting before we have that week off for portfolio week. By the time this meeting comes up I hope to have my draft of my research paper done. If it's not done then I hope to at least have the draft very close to complete. I think this meeting will be very good to have because I can bring in a copy of my draft and how it looks as of that day. Then I can get some ideas on what else I need to add to my draft if I have missed anything. The more complete the draft the better.

This meeting will show some of my progress when it comes to what I think about martial arts and what I know about it. I don't want to reveal too much at this meeting because my final meeting is where I need to blow everyone away. So I have to make a mini plan on things to not present, which should be easy.

I am getting somewhat excited about this meeting because I feel like it will make sure I'm staying on track with my project and it makes it even better that I am actually getting this project done. In the beginning of the year I thought of this project as something that I need to graduate and that's all. Being that I am having fun completing this project is making everything worth it.

One thing that I do want to keep in mind is how hard it was to schedule my first senior meeting. So I'm going to tell Mariana today that I want to schedule my Mid-Year meeting so that we can try to start choosing a date that will be acceptable for everyone.

A Offer

As for any sport or activity there are some apparel that may be required to wear while practicing the art. For martial arts you need a thing called a gee. I believe the gee is what they call the pants and the coat like thing that you wear. Harry has always had one for me but he keeps asking me if I was thinking of getting one.

I do want one so that I can just come to practice prepared and I can say that I have my own which is always better. Plus being that I do plan on continuing martial arts after the project is over then I think I should grab me one from the store so it'll be easier to continue. If someone else does martial arts as a senior project then I wouldn't be able to continue practice until I do get my own gee.

I face two problems when I think about getting the gee; 1. I don't know where the store is. Harry has told me about two of them and I can look it up so I guess that really isn't a good reason. But also I don't have money for it, $30 sounds like nothing to some people but I have so many expenses and being that I'm starting to take off another day from work it's going to be a bit harder. I'm getting on my scratch though. Every penny I see, I'm saving it.

But I was surprised when Joey said he will help me with getting the gee. Man, he is already doing enough by agreeing to be on my committee and coming to a class with me so I don't want to ask for too much from him. Even though I take his word that he will help me I really don't want to depend on him to get it for me. It's my job to get the gee and that's what I will do if I need to.

Finding What I Need

So today I found out about this other place that practices martial arts. I'm not sure what the name of the practice is and when I saw the name I couldn't even pronounce it so I really have nooo hope in explaining it too much but I do have good news. The place is in the same building that I do my martial arts at so I don't have to go to a new place for this other practice. Another good thing is that Harry approves of it as a style I can use for one of the other styles I can compare/contrast for my huge research paper. The style that I'm referring to is known from this movie called "The big Epic" or something like that. One thing in concerned about is the money it may cost to go to one of the lessons. I hope it's not too expensive though. I really hope I can get to it for free. I got the number to the place because when me and 2 other boys had went to the door then it seemed like no one was there. The 2 others boys were actually looking for the place first and when I found out thay there was another martial arts place in the building I had walked them until we finally found the door that belongs to the martial arts place. When I call the place, hopefully tomorrow, I will ask about times that they have classes and from there I will adjust my schedule to make it to class. I think I am going to ask Tony to join me in some classes when I do decide to go so that I can talk to him to put a little more thought into the comparing and contrasting. And being that he also is going to all the practices with me he will understand more. This is one of the three styles I need. I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere.

Watch The Knee

About 7 or 8 months ago I almost fell while I was at work. Like they had these weird wood things on the floor because they were reconstructing something in the kitchen. It was really annoying to step on and just about everyone was tripping on it. One of the cooks, Dave, had to go back to his doctor for his knee because the floor was irritating his knee.

I had almost fell one day but I had landed on my knee in a weird way. When I landed on it then it hurted really bad for like 3 minutes but then it stopped. Ever since then my right knee would hurt on and off.

When I first started working out in September then my knee wasn't bothering me. It was always at random when my knee would start to thribe in pain so it was hard to say what caused the pain but ever since I have done Insanity then my knee has been hurting more frequently. During the workout my knee was fine, but the next day my knee was killing me.

Ever since that day, tomorrow will make it two weeks, my knee has been in some type of pain at least once everyday. When I first mentioned my knee hurting to my aunt (who is a registered nurse) she expressed that I should go and get it checked out by a doctor. I haven't been able to find time that will be good enough for me to get it checked.

But I need my knee. I have to stand with it and if I can't stand then I can't practice martial arts. My knee never hurts from martial arts until we do stretches so that's good. The thing that will help me most is appointment. The doctor can tell me what limits I should be pushing myself to and how to make my knee better.

My biggest concern when it comes to my knee is not being able to workout or practice martial arts because it's too late to change my senior project. Plus I don't want to change it because it's a lot of fun and I enjoy it. I have to make an appointment really soon so that I can make sure I'm not putting myself in any extreme risk conditions. I plan on making my appointment very soon. First I have to find time because I really don't want to miss any classes.

Once again, my struggle is juggling everything.

Preparing For The Future

Even though it's only December I have to start thinking about the things I want to present in my final senior meeting. I already know that I'm going to have a research paper done but I am thinking that I want to complete two research papers.

The first research paper will be on a person from the martial arts nation. And the second, longer one, will be what I was assigned during the senior meeting. I also have to present the stuff I learned in  martial arts and 5 self defense techinques. Harry can show us a few and give us ideas on what self defense techniques to use but at the end of the day the decision is ours.

I have two techniques that I know I want to use as of right now. One includes a person swinging a stick. I will show how to avoid getting hit by the stick and even countering with a strike that will give you the advantage. The second one has to do with getting out of a choke. When the person chokes you there are a few ways that you can get out of it and run away if you believe you can't beat the person, the self defense techniques that are used to get out of chokes can also be used to allow you a chance to strike your opponent if that is your plan.

I also have to show a Kata set during my senior meeting. We have started that last week at practice and I already was getting it down so I think I will be good to present that by the time we have the meeting. I will practice this at home but first I have to finish learning it at practice today.

Choice To Make

I'm in a struggle before between the things I'm doing right and the things I need to do next.

I got my college essay and resume done, it was also in Jamie mailbox before I left on Friday so I''m good on that but I still haven't turned in any applications to Jamie. I need to make some time to fill out the applications and sit down with Jamie. I love my life and my future is one of my biggest concerns. College is the next step though.

I'm a bit confused on what I should be doing. I don't waste much time on anything, but yet I'm still behind. The best times for me are in the morning when I come to school an hour and a half early. I bust down a lot of work during that time. 7.5 hours a week straight towards homework. Last year those mornings, combined with all the other time I put in, used to be enough. Now the work is overwhelming though.

I do have hope. I know that I will get this work done. Who wants to stay back from graduation because you can't keep up your work? The thought of taking off from work has been coming to mind a lot. But working gives me relief. I work at Highland Hospital where I can help people in need. And trust me when you bring sick people food, they love you forever. Working makes me happy, I'm not really sure why I ever had the passion to help and care but I do. So I wonder if taking off from work will make me more stressed because not only does it clear my mind but it gives me the money that I need to pay for this senior project and all the other things in life.

So I have a choice to make... Work less, less money or continue to work and keep up.

Seeking Help

Last Thursday I went to Jamie for help

I am passing all of my classes, that's never an issue, but man juggling everything at once is very hard. Work, School, martial arts, the gym & physical therapy, then the homework. Man. Lol. All I can do is laugh because I don't understand how I am still standing in good standings for most things. I'm somewhat proud of myself for making it this far but it's more than just that.

As of today we are on the date of December 4th, 2012. I made it from Kindergarten to here and I'm scared I'm going to screw it up. Jamie agreed that it isn't like me to be behind in anything, usually I'm ahead but all the work is catching up to me. I got my supplement applications for college over a month ago and Jamie is yet to see one of them completed. I have some completed but haven't turned them in yet, not smart. I'm going to college and I think just about everyone knows that but at the rate I'm moving I may only get accepted to MCC. I want to go to RIT and U of R and Wells College but I have to step up my game a notch.

Jamie told me, "You're in the big league now." That's when I noticed I am ready for this. I've been getting better every year and I know I can handle it I just have to figure out how. "The things that worked for you in the past, may not work now." That was another piece of crucial information that I didn't realize until it was said. I'm sitting here thinking that just because I worked 35 hours a week last year and did great in school that I can do it again. But the game has changed. More obstacles have been thrown my way. Things like My back hurting again, that's one that affects work, school and this seniro project but enough with the complaints. I need a plan.

So I told Jamie I would make a list of things to do, and that I would choose one day to take off from work so that I can make time for my college stuff. And I have been starting to do the things I have said ever since.

So this is what the list looks like...

Need Progress

I have been stressing overtime. This senior project is a lot harder than I thought. But the thing that is hard is balancing everything at one time. I mean it's pretty smooth going to everything but it's more of the academics that's getting in the way. I can easily go to the dojo or the gym and workout, I have made out time for each of those things so that is pretty cool. But I also have to write up a research paper on martial arts.

I was only assigned to do a big research paper on the history of martial arts and how it compares to 3-5 other fighting styles, but I also want to write up a research paper on the guy who was the leader of the bigger martial arts nation; I want to know more about the guy. Also I haven't practiced or even found another place to go to so that I can try a different style of fighting. Once I do that then it will be a lot easier to start my paper but I have things to do first.

I need to contact some people from recreation centers or other dojos/gyms that practice fighting style. I want to make up some interview questions so that I can see how martial arts is different from the trainers perspective. GOing to the gym to work with the trainer and interview them will give me a lot of insight into how the style are different. Of course I can't work on the style for months, so those one or two times that I do to work out in that style will be very crucial to research. I want to bring someone with me so that they can record the workout and interview so that I can bring it to my final meeting. Evidence is always better.

So I have these things to do:

1. Find 3 places that I can train at,

2. Make up interview questions

3. Make a date to go to each one

4. Find someone that I can rely on to come and record the workout and interview.

Joey's First Workout

For the first time, Joey had came to a workout with me, at the dojo. He came to pick me up from my house and he drove to the dojo. We got there at like 4:40 and stayed until 6.

Harry started our workout with some slow warming up using a stick. Right after we were done with that me and Joey put on the gloves and stood infront of our own mirrors. We put up them 18 ounce gloves and started with jabs, then moved on to a jab-cross. After that Harry had us do a 3 move combo, hit twice with the first hand then cross with the back. And the last combo we did was a jab-cross, knee.

I noticed that Harry put the timer on 17 minutes. Man I knew it was going to be long. He had me and Joey keep going with the combos. By the time we got through the first cycle of doing all the combos it was about 5 minutes left. After some punches he will tell us to bounce in place. But the thing that made it hard to bounce was keeping our arms up while doing it, if Harry said "Rocky" that means you keep your arms over your head. If Harry said "Superman" you keep your arms straight out. "Scizzors" means you move your arms up and down while they're in front of you. And "circles" means that you make small circles on the side of you.

After them 17 minutes Joey & I dripped in sweat, but Harry wasn't done. He gave us a two minute water break then pulled out the medicine balls and made us lift them. After messing around with the medicine balls for a bit we had to run with them. First he started by having us run with the ball over our heads. I thought my arms were going o fall off today. Lol, Joey thought the same thing.

After finishing the day with some stretches we slowly made our way out the dojo. Tired and in pain, it was about time to call it a day.