brain exploding

Going back to class after testing usually results in starting to learn new things. This is my favorite time at Taekwondo but also the most difficult for me. The difference between conditional black belt and certified black belt is basically a lot of hard work and the addition of the following items we have to learn:

Taegeuk Chil Jang
Taeguek Pal Jang
Kicking Combinations 9 - 16
Escrima Sinawali 7-9
5 board breaks

We'll be tested on everything we learned for conditional black belt PLUS the above items.

We've already started on the forms. Some people already learned Pal Jang in the quarter that we took off at the beginning of last year so we're at a little bit of a disadvantage there. My daughter and I have never learned 2 forms at once before. We started on the second one last night and my brain is starting to hurt trying to keep them straight.

The kicking combinations are easy to learn in the head (list below recited from memory), but not necessarily easy to learn in practice.

9. Ilbo-hu-jin, back leg round house, fast kick, step behind side kick
10. Ilbo-hu-jin, back leg round house, fast kick, double ahp bar
11. Ilbo-hu-jin, back leg round house, fast kick, double ahp bar, back kick
12. Ilbo-hu-jin, back leg round house, fast kick, double ahp bar, spin hook kick
13. Ilbo-chun-jin, back leg round house, fast kick, step behind side kick
14. Ilbo-chun-jin, back leg round house, fast kick, back leg axe kick
15. Ilbo-chun-jin, back leg round house, fast kick, back leg axe kick, back kick
16. Ilbo-chun-jin, back leg round house, fast kick, back leg axe kick, spin hook kick

I don't have the info on the escrima yet.   I know I've practiced #7 at least once before though.  Escrima is also generally hard to describe.  Maybe I should make a youtube video of them all?

For the board breaks, we are going to have do an axe kick, back kick, palm strike, elbow strike, and side kick.  We've actually done all these breaks except for the palm strike before but never all 5 at once.  During the test, they give you the kicks in random order and random placement with the holder yelling out what kick you are supposed to do.  On top of that, they time you to see who has the fastest time. The fastest at the last belt test was 10 seconds shared by about 3 people. I believe it's possible to go faster even with the random nature if you work on being able to do the breaks with either leg or palm instead of just your strong side. I'm going to see if I can work on that myself as added incentive.