Blogs

I don't know how it is spelled, but I know that the ki-ahp works outside of Taekwon-Do. Case in point: it was Sunday morning, and the dogs wanted out NOW. But alas, someone, who shall remain nameless, had shut the back door way too tightly and the doorknob wouldn't budge. I tried to pull it left, then right, but it simply would not budge. Even the rubber kitchen device used to open stubborn pickle jars wouldn't work to open the door. I began to become increasingly frustrated as the dogs looked at me with desperation, their big brown eyes looking sad, tails wagging, as they began to whine, which in dog speak is "Mommy, we REALLY have to go out!" Then I gave it one last shot, with a hefty pull and more importantly a loud ki-ahp...and the door popped open!  read more »

I was watching TV and just learned something new (and sadly it wasn't on TLC or the Discovery Channel). Apparently, the World record for self-inflicted front kicks to the head is...or should I say was, 42 in a span of a minute. The guy on TV broke the record by only a few kicks. Had to laugh since hitting yourself in the head is what Sabumnim warns us not to do when doing rising kicks. I was thinking that it would interesting to see how many of these kicks I could do in a minute (without the hitting-myself-in-the-head part of course).

As an adult, how do you know when to stop eating? Knowing when to stop is the result of complex psychological and biological processes, which often don’t work quite the way we would like them to. Even with all the experience and resources available to us, we may still be unable to listen to our bodies and avoid overeating.
For children, this process is even more difficult because of their developmental level and their lack of experience interpreting the signals given by their bodies. In fact, studies on food regulation have shown that children have such a hard time “hearing” their bodies that often their eating response is more related to the portions on their plate than to their hunger level. As the adults in their lives, we need to help children hear, and listen to, their bodies.  read more »

Optimism means seeing the good or hopeful aspects about a situation. It is the power of the mind to think positively, especially when conditions are difficult. An optimist is a person who looks for good in things and is certain that good things will happen. Being optimistic is a powerful way to help you accomplish goals and live a happy and healthy life.
Optimists have positive attitudes, but that does not mean they simply go around trying to be happy all of the time. Optimists are hopeful about their skills and abilities. Optimists try their very best in sports, school, and work. They understand that if they remain hopeful and apply their very best, then they will reap the benefits.  read more »

Concerning the Red Tiger Cup. Please submit your entry form, and check made payable to: ALLEN'S RED TIGER TKD to me.

I will then send all forms together to the USTC Headquarters.

Sabumnim Allen will be singing the National Anthem at PNC Park on Friday, April 14.
Sabumnim will sing before the game begins at 7:05PM, then the Pittsburgh Pirates host the Chicago Cubs.
 
If anyone would like tickets to the game please let him know. If we get enough people to go, we may be able to get a section for Allen's Red Tiger. He needs to know how many tickets you want. After we reach our goal number he will send out an email with further instructions.

Congratulations Sabumnim!

I forgot to bring my heart rate monitor, which also has a calorie counter to class, so I was disappointed that I couldn't measure how many calories class burns when we spar. So far the monitor measured the following (some of which I tried to measure more than once in my half-baked attempt to be scientific):

1. Cardio kickboxing class - about 400
2. 8 hours sleep - night after a kickboxing class - 700-800
2. TKD class w/o sparring, but about four 30 second rounds of going against the bags.- about 430
3. Advanced step class at Bally's - 364
4. Overnight with about 8 hours sleep on a day when I haven't exercised - 200-300  read more »