Our Willingness To Discipline

One of the widest gaps in human experience is the gap between what we say we want to be and our willingness to discipline ourselves to get there.

-- Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878 - 1969), American Baptist and Presbyterian minister, Living Under Tension : Sermons on Christianity Today (1941)

Sa Dan

On Saturday April 12th I tested in front of my Taekwondo master instructor, 8th Dan Grandmaster Namsoo Hyong, for the rank of 4th Dan.  Tonight I received my new belt.  

Testing requirements included 20 poomsae (patterns or forms of about 20 movements each), including a creative poomsae of my own design, 40 different kicks, and numerous other combinations, with a few creative combinations of my own.  The testing culminated in sparring against a single opponent, and then sparring against two opponents at once.  

The last time I tested was April 2020, peak pandemic time, 5 years ago.  It took about 18 months to prepare for this test, including about 5 to 10 hours per week since the start of the year.

With this rank I have earned the title 사범 님 Sabeom Nim, meaning one who teaches, and who can perform all of the requirements at a high level.  In our system, you must be 4th Dan to judge Black belt tests, and to award others the rank of Black belt.  Achieving this rank checks off an item on my bucket list.  It will be about 4 years until I am eligible to test for 5th Dan, and from today's perspective, I wonder whether I'll test again.

Glad to have that behind me.

The Goal Itself

The value of the goal lies in the goal itself; and therefore the goal cannot be attained unless it is pursued for its own sake.

-- Arnold Joseph Toynbee (1889 - 1975), British historian and the nephew of Arnold Toynbee, A Study of History (1934–1961)

Illinois 5K

Today I ran the Illinois 5K as part of the Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon 2025 Race Weekend, alongside Mark Trott (one-time /afrotc on CERL PLATO).  Not a lot of preparation ahead of time, so our time was unremarkable, but it was a fun run.  

RIP George Foreman

I want to keep fighting because it is the only thing that keeps me out of the hamburger joints. If I don't fight, I'll eat this planet.

-- George Foreman (10 January 1949 - 21 March 2025), American two-time World Heavyweight Boxing Champion; nicknamed Big George, he became a successful businessman and an ordained Christian minister who had his own church; referring to his long boxing career, as quoted by George Plimpton in The Guardian "Thriller turned griller" (4 October 2003)

Eustress

The term eustress means "beneficial stress" -- either psychological, physical (e.g., exercise), or biochemical/radiological (hormesis).

The word was introduced by endocrinologist Hans Selye (1907-1982) in 1976; he combined the Greek prefix eu- meaning "good", and the English word stress, to give the literal meaning "good stress".  The Oxford English Dictionary traces early use of the word (in psychological usage) to 1968.

Eustress is the positive cognitive response to stress that is healthy, or gives one a feeling of fulfillment or other positive feelings.  Hans Selye created the term as a subgroup of stress to differentiate the wide variety of stressors and manifestations of stress.

-- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Haidong Gumdo 1st Dan

This weekend I had another 3-day Korean sword seminar with Grandmaster JeongWoo Kim, Chief of Education for the World Haidong Gumdo Federation.  At the end of the seminar I successfully tested for Black Belt in Gumdo along with four other HMD Academy instructors.

Our academy was the first stop of Master Kim's 2024 Pan American Haidong Gumdo Masters Training Seminar, in which he is conducting six 3-day seminars in six different United States during November before returning to Korea.

I look forward to continuing to train with Master Kim whenever possible, and I'm pleased to have a better understanding of Gumdo to share with my students.

해동  HaiDong!

Limitless

We are not just guides; we are trailblazers.  Let this be a call to every Sherpa to see the dignity in our work, the power in our heritage, and the limitless possibilities in our future.

-- Nima Rinji Sherpa, 18, standing atop Tibet's Mount Shishapangma as the youngest person to have scaled all 14 mountains that the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) recognises as more than 8,000 metres above sea level, 9 October 2024.  The previous record holder is Mingma Gyabu 'David' Sherpa, who achieved it at the age of 30 in 2019

W00t! Katie Ledecky

I'm proud of the time.  I just really wanted to put up a time that I could be really proud of and happy with.  I kind of let my mind wander during the race, thinking of all of the people that have trained with me, kind of like saying their names in my head and thinking about them.  

-- Katie Ledecky (17 March 1997 –), American competitive swimmer, when asked what she was most proud of in her 1500M race in which Ledecky won the gold medal for the 2nd time, setting a new Olympic record by 5 seconds, and beating the silver medalist by 10.3 seconds, tying the all-time record for most Olympic medals by an American woman (she broke that record later in the day with Gold in the 4x200)

Principles Of Olympism

In the name of the athletes.
In the name of all judges.
In the name of all the coaches and officials.

We promise to take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules and in the spirit of fair play, inclusion and equality.  Together we stand in solidarity and commit ourselves to sport without doping, without cheating, without any form of discrimination.  We do this for the honour of our teams, in respect for the Fundamental Principles of Olympism, and to make the world a better place through sport.

-- Unified Olympic Oath (since 2021), sworn by athletes, judges, and coaches at the Olympic Games

RIP Willie Mays

Gee, I've been asked hundreds of questions about that catch in the first game of the World Series.  The one that Vic Wertz hit for Cleveland.  Was it my best catch?  How did I play it?  Honestly, I don't rate 'em -- I just try to catch 'em.  When he hit the ball, I just started toward the place it was heading.  And I got there.

-- Willie Mays (6 May 1931 - 18 June 2024), Major League Baseball player for 22 seasons, starting his career with the Giants in New York, remaining with the team during their relocation to San Francisco, and then ending his career with the New York Mets, In "Willie 'Just Knows' His Job" by Mays, in The Daily Mail (25 March 1955) p. 16

Golden Anniversary?

Back in the day I was a Boy Scout camp counselor and lifeguard.  More recently, I worked as a lifeguard for the Champaign County YMCA from 2009 into 2023.  This summer I'll be working at the Bement Village Pool, and I spent the weekend getting my lifeguard certification up to date.  It was 8 hours of training on Saturday, and 7 hours testing out on Sunday, including 4 hours in the water, for lifeguard rescue, cpr & aed, and first aid.  

I wrote this nice Trvth bit tonight when I mistakenly recollected that I (in a class with Dan LaBerge) first got certified (by Red Cross) as a lifeguard back in 1974.  I thought it was my Golden Anniversary, but then I found a pic of my original certificate, and I see that it was 1975.  In any case, the new certificate is good for 2 years, so it'll be past 50 years next time, if there is a next time.  Stay safe in the water this summer.

The Next 5000

Today while taking attendance after teaching Taekwondo I noted that on March 28th I reached 5000 total student-hours of teaching (5 kids in a class counts as 5 student hours).  That took a little under 9 years to accumulate, with a 6-month gap in there while I recuperated from ACL reconstruction surgery.

I'm already looking forward to the next 5000.

Dreams Come True

Words cannot express my love for my teammates, coaches, fans and our university - Thanks for making my dreams come true.  Wearing Iowa across my chest the last four years has been an honor.  This place will always be home

-- NCAA basketball player and all-time scoring leader (men's or women's) Caitlin Clark, posting as @CaitlinClark22 on Twitter, shortly after her team took second place in this year's March Madness (7 April 2024)

Do Anything

To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable.

-- Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), Irish dramatist, essayist, novelist, and poet, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) Chapter 19

Texas Rangers Win World Series

The Texas Rangers have claimed their first World Series title in team history.

They bested the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 5 on Wednesday night, 5-0.

It's a first in the 63-season history of a franchise that started as the expansion Washington Senators in 1961.

The team did not lose a postseason game on the road this year, finishing it out 11-0.  

-- The Associated Press, "Texas Rangers are World Series champs for first time in team's 63-year history" (1 November 2023)

A Crazy Three Weeks

It's incredible to be here.  Normally I'm a bit out there watching these two guys stand up on the podium and, yeah, like I told them earlier on the bus, for me being with these two, with Primoz (Roglic) for the Giro and Jonas (Vingegaard) for the Tour, I feel so proud and honored to to be standing with them here in La Vuelta and it's been a crazy three weeks.

-- Sepp Kuss, support rider for cycling team Jumbo-Visma, on his overall victory at the Tour of Spain (La Vuelta a Espana), as he shared the podium with his teammates Primoz Roglic, winner of this year's Tour of Italy (Giro d'Italia), and Jonas Vingegaard, winner of this year's Tour de France, speaking at the finish in Madrid, 17 September 2023

No Education

There is no education like adversity.

-- Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (1804 - 1881), British politician, novelist, and essayist, twice UK Prime Minister, Endymion (1880) Ch. 61

I'm Happy

Tadej Pogacar is the best rider in the world.  He can do everything: the classics, the one-week races, the Grand Tours.  Not me.  On the Tour de France, I'm happy to have been the best for the past two years.

-- Jonas Vingegaard (10 December 1996 -), Danish professional cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam Team Jumbo-Visma, after winning the Tour de France for the second year in a row, referring to Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogacar, who came second both years after winning in 2020 and 2021, 23 July 2023

By The Other, Virtue

Reading is to the mind, what exercise is to the body.  As by the one, health is preserved, strengthened, and invigorated: by the other, virtue (which is the health of the mind) is kept alive, cherished, and confirmed.

-- Joseph Addison (1672 - 1719), English politician and writer, The Tatler (1711–1714) No. 147