Field Trip

Hey team!  Yesterday I went on a field trip to Mountain View to see what the school was like.  I recognized some of the students who went to my school before they entered 6th grade.  The kids were giving us a tour asked us if we liked to run.  They told us that if we liked to run, we wont after 6th grade.  Apparently, there is a test that you get graded on depending on how long it takes you to run 1 mile.  I knew I would be great at that, unlike most boys in my school who don't like doing push-ups in PE.  Then, after the tour, we went in the Cafeteria for a popsicle.  I wasn't paying attention to what I grabbed, and I ended up getting a Root-Beer float popsicle.  It was root beer on the outside, and vanilla in the inside.  It was really disgusting.  Even though the popsicle was bad, I liked the school.  There were also a bunch of anti-bullying signs on all of the doors in the school.  Too bad I'm going to the SUMMA program at Highland middle school.  I just hope Highland middle school is just as friendly as Mountain View.

Back on track

Hey everyone, I took it easy on push ups, sit ups and rows while I was doing alot of cardio training for my races and now I am back to it. It was nice to go to kickboxing last night and to stay afterwards and work on my requirements. I also did a few form reps and worked on my basic kicks. I did not journal before the camping trip but am excited to finally have time to get on here and write about it now. I  really enjoyed the whole experience and love being outdoors. I really enjoyed getting to spend time with all of you and get to know you better outside of the studio. It was a great experience for me because I tend to really examine myself and my life when I am in nature. I got to really put some thought into the decisions that have led me to where I am today and to look back at some painful memories and realize that they have all been worth it. I took a step back and truly realized what a difference Aim High and the family that I have there have made in my life. For me this weekend reignited my drive to give 110% to this test and to work together as a team. Here we come Phase 3! Let's do this!

camping snoooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrr...........

hello forged testers! i am very very super super sorry about how i didnt blog about what i was going to expect but i very much loved the trip i loved the 2 tah 4 hour work out on the beach it was so awsome! and i also liked the hike ecept the uphill if ya know what i mean?..
compared to last time i thought we were just camping and would do just 2 forms and some sticks but no it was a HUGE WORKOUT VERY VERY HUGE WORKOUT i was very shocked but i loved it still!
i hope very one had enjoyed the awsome trip i think we all did really good!

keep up the good work and have a good 1
sincerly clark.....

Forged Camping Trip

Steven Cason Forged 1st Degree Candidate May 27, 2012.

Hello gang.  I wasn't sure what to write about up front so I chose to wait until we got back home to write the blog.

The Saturday workout was the hardest I thought.  The routines in the loose sand really took a toll on me.  Sticks were harder than I thought they would be in it.  It was very difficult for me to get proper stances while doing it.  Everything we did seemed to be in slow motion.  No secure footing makes a big difference in how I could execute.

The hike today was pretty interesting but I figured it would be challenging.  It was a pretty long hump up hill for just shy of 2 miles (I believe 1 3/4 miles was the official call).  Then when we got to the Rock Quarries the team put it together and collected a bunch of shell casings and beer cans good for everybody doing that.

My special thanks to BSBN Samantha (Girlsam) for monitoring me and expressing real concern that my blood sugars were not too low.  I appreciate that she cares enough to push me on this.  While I normally don't have major issues while doing these types of activities sometimes I will get caught up in achieving a goal and forget to check.  I checked about half way up the hill and it was 171 mgdl and when we got to Lost Lake it was 98 mgdl.  An Orange I had stashed in my back pack took care of this.  Overall today was a good day for Blood Sugar control.

We also had a bunch of newbies camping and it is always a pleasure for me to watch these folks have fun on their first camping trip.

Tonight I think I will get some shut eye.

Steven Cason

topic #20 and Special Olmpics

I know most of you are already at the camping site, but I look forward to this camping trip tomorrow. Im curious to see what interesting work out the Leitners and Bkjn and Kjn have in store for us, but Im looking forward in getting to spend more time bonding with the team. I've been camping occasionally with my family and friends which is fun. Last year our dad took us on numerous hiking trips including a hike on Larch mountain. Last year was also the first year that I went on the backpacking trip to aimhigh. It was fun to spend time together; the skits and the scavenger hunt were especially good to do. This past thursday, I helped with the Special Olympics track meet, that caters to the kids in the Beaverton School District. I helped a young 7th grader named Logan Mann to his activities. He was very lively and active. All he wanted to do was to step onto the track and do his race. Logan also loved dancing as well. That day I helped Logan run his track race. His grandma and mom were there as well. They thanked me for my help. It was also nice to have them there to tell me more about Logan and how I could better assist him. I was hesitant to go at first, because I didn't want to miss school, and last year when I went I felt useless because they had an excess of volunteers. Im glad I went though, because it's rewarding to see Logan and all the other kids have fun during those activities at the track meet.

topic #18

It's been a while since the last time I've posted, so I am going to try my best to catch up.

The question for topic 18 was "what age group do you represent?  what kind of an example do you feel you are setting for future testers in your age group?"


I represent the teen age group.  For this age group, there needs to be a balance between school, friends, and training.  In order to really be a black belt, you need to be able to find the balance.  The way I try to balance this is by putting all of my effort into every class.  As a team, we only train 2-3 times per week in class.  That's not really a lot of time, so in order to really make the most out of those classes, the intensity and energy needs to be high throughout the class.  On days when we have class, I get up at 6:00 in the morning to go to school.  After six hours of school, I go to Aim High to teach.  By the time black belt class starts, I am pretty tired.  In order to make the best use of my time, though, I need to be able to change my attitude.  By stepping onto the mat with a positive attitude, I can really make the most out of my classes.  I hope that this shows future testers that by changing your attitude, you can really turn something that may sound difficult into something that can really benefit you.

again the pumpkins and the difficulty of homework :D

Hello once again fellow black belt testers so today I'm feeling very great i dont know why but i just am. so today i kind of wanted to talk about the difficult part about this test, so lemme tell ya the most annoying thing i could ever imagine that's happening right now to me is cramming in homework with tons of karate work i mean its so difficult i cant keep up so much like just recently i have to do 2 huge posters and write 5 paragraphs. man it is really hard to cram it in but i hope i can fix that but thank you to summer break because now i can study all day long yay! :D

well im going to say thank you to the people that read my blogs it makes me feel like i can say something and someone will be there to answer my questions! thanks to the people that respond :)

octpbers coming fast have a good one!
sincerly, clark.ahrendt

#19 journal topic

My biggest challenge in training is finding balence between training, additional workouts, work and other social life activities. This for me has been difficult because I want to do it all and tend to run my body until it literally makes me give up by knocking me out by getting sick for a few days. I have then obviously not listened to the warnings that it has given me to slow down and by then it is too late, I have to rest.  This makes me have a greater amount of respect and admiration for the parents who train with us.  The Leitner family, the Hoskins, Brandy, Bo, Steven and any of the other parents that find time to do all of it plus take care of their family are the ones that inspire me. They have other people to take care of and find time to do it and I only have myself.  I would want to say to any and all of them that they inspire me and I have a huge amount of respect for all of them. I hope that one day when I am a parent that I can be the type of parents they are to their children. They are an amazing group of people and I am so lucky to have them as role models for what type of parent I would like to be someday.
This challenge of balence has yet continued with getting sick last week, the week before the Rock and Roll half marathon that I have been training for.  I was very frustrated and nervous when I woke up yet again with a fever that morning. I reminded myself of how important my attitude was going to be if I was going to make it through the race. I went and although it was hard, I finished it! I was so excited! It was a great experience that I would definitely do again :) Thank you to all you guys who supported me throughout my training!

My dad has been a big influence in my training. He has always helped jonathan and i workout at home or take us out on runs etc. Also he's a big influence and example because he constantly tries to improve his own training. Last year he trained really hard for a jui jitsu tournament. This year he kept up with his running for a half marathon which he completed today. One day last summer he showed me a motivational video and a quote stuck out at me; ' when you want to succeed, as bad as you want to breath, then you'll be successful.' I would say thank you for showing this quote to me and for always trying to push jonathan and i to do our best. Congratulations to all the runners out there who were running the Portland Rock n Roll Half Marathon today- my dad got 2:18:06. I also saw the email that jessica sent out about the camping trip and I'm very excited for that as well.

Saturday special training

Steven Cason 1st Degree Forged Candidate May 19, 2012

Surprisingly enough one of the people who inspires me the most is a student of mine Mike Kuni (spelling).  This guy has a hard time walking, standing steady, you name it.  He always has a positive attitude and he always keeps going.  He has gone between 16 and 20 training sessions without using his cane.  We worked on elbow strikes today and he was willing to listen and try to improve his technique.  (good attitude there!).  When we were done he requested we cover it more at our next training session.  Sure I see him have set backs and bad days (we all  do) but he seems to always bounce back and keep coming.  My hats off to you Mike for having the grit to keep going.  What would I say to Mike at my Black Belt graduation?  Thanks for motivating me and showing me how to improve my attitude.

My thanks to Bkjn Dan for giving us the unscheduled special training today.  I had a lot of fun there during the MMA style sparring.  The calisthenics were fun but I have to admit my most difficult one was the kettle bell.  My shoulders are feeling it tonight.

Its been a big week Dan is ordering our belts my affirmation 'Forward Resolution' should fit nicely on it.  I didn't realize it until I talked to CGN Melissa but we are supposed to be able to see our affirmation when we tie our Black Belts.

I am looking forward to the camping trip next weekend and I for sure want to check out KGN's new hammock.  Getting a good night's sleep is one of the most important things in performing well and according to rumors we will need it for Saturday.

very deep journal and the people who inspire me

hello once again team so today I'm going to share with you fellow team mates the person that inspires me to do my best honestly the person who i think encourages me the most is my family they want me to never give up they believe in me and i believe in them. everyday i wake up to smiles and a great positive area not a negative one and whenever times are hard for me they make them soft. they are truly my roll models im so happy to have alot of influence and when i get my black belt if i had to say something to them... words could not describe what i feel at that moment as im typing im actually getting really emotional because when i go this way and to see that i have a family that cares about me i feel very flabergastic :D

please stay awsome as usual and have a very great day

sincerly your best bud, clark ahrendt
also i am very happy to have the best testing team ever thanks you guys :D

Empathy Project in a Wheelchair!

Hey guys! I did some Empathy training at school yesterday.  In school, the 5th grade, our classes wanted to know how it would feel to be in a wheelchair!  Yesterday was my turn. For some reason, there was only a break for 1 of the tires, so if you press that brake and try to roll away, you would spin in circles.  Tether ball was a real challenge, and so was Basketball.  I wasn't allowed on the bark chips, so I could only do stuff under the undercover area.  Getting to my desk was really weird, using the bathroom was hard, and there is this little "ramp" in the halls that gave me a hard time.  If I ever break my legs, at least I've had some experience with a wheelchair. :)

Week 18 post (plus important ending)

I guess I represent the younger age group and I feel like I am setting more of a "get it done" example for other testers.  When we did that little test about strecthing, I made sure I knew each one.  When I start something big, I try to get it done, but honestly I am also setting a forgetful example too.  I even forget to check my email every now and then.  I also forget to bring my Forged book one day, and I nearly got kicked off the team for that.  I really hope people will make great examples next year.

By the way, I am sorry I missed practice on May 14th.  I was at an open house at Highland Park middle school (SUMMA program) to talk about the budget cuts and how the SUMMA program is different from the normal school.  It was at 6:30 pm, so I couldn't make it to class.  If I new this ahead of time, I would have told you guys about it and planned a way to make it up, but I think I am missing a lot of classes.

I've completed my first WOW!

My first WOW was me completing my senior capstone project. Each senior is to compose a 40- 50 minute monologue talking about future goals, past life experiences and advice to students. It also consist of a compilation of work to make up you're art component. As a school this project is very important and we dedicate basically a whole week for the school to go around listening to senior presentations. On top of that each senior has two teachers and one junior juror there to give feedback and comments on their presentation. The requirements were high and it was pretty nerve racking to go through with it. Looking back on it I know there were ways that i could have improved on my performance but it feels surreal to be over with it. In my capstone i talked a bit abou my experience of my first black belt test. Afterwards, my teacher advisor Mr. Gottshall asked me how going for my black belt compared to tackling this project. In some ways my capstone was more difficult. Going through black belt training i have a team going through it and my brother and i would train and practice with each other. While I know that all the other seniors in my class were going through the same thing, and I had Tammy as my mentor and teachers to talk to, this capstone really felt like an individual project. It was more of a self-discovery experience for me- don't worry though, I haven't reached apotheosis yet. No, it was me being open with myself and trying to see where my life can lead and how can I make examples of my experiences. I'm not very open, so it was weird sharing some personal experiences with some people I barely knew. After speeches students have to do feedback forms for the presenter. Yea, most kids don't care about the feedback forms, but it's nice to see some really genuine comments and that they were actually paying attention. Beside college apps, this is probably caused me the most stress my senior year and it feels good to be able to say I finally did it. Now i have to start thinking of my other WOWs...

I’m 18 years old going through my 2nd degree black belt. I started martial arts right before eighth grade, and did not think that I would stick with it throughout my years in high school. Most teenagers are super busy, trying to figure out future steps in life, working, homework, other sports related activities. I know personally that it’s hard to handle and that it can get overwhelming. I would tell future testers to keep planning ahead, and try to account things that could go wrong. But this advice isn’t really specific to my age group, since everybody has to balance all the things they do in their life. I guess as a 17-18 yr old everybody is looking at your future steps, what are you going to do career wise or once you become an adult. Your whole life is ahead of you. I was hesitant to start this test because I was positive I was going to leave for college before it ended, but I decided to still take on the challenge because testing and improving is something I feel is rewarding. As an 18 yr old, most people are uncertain of career goals and many interests change in college. For future testers my age, pursue this test for you and not for anybody else. On another note Pac Jewel this weekend was awesome- everyone did a great job. I love going to tournaments to see other people perform forms as well. They’re so interesting to watch.

yay jewels and examples :D

OLA or Hello team so today ive been reading all of the journals that people have been poasting hey and everyones doing a super awsome job oh my gosh there is so many comments about the awsome all epic and mighty pacific jewel tournament not even that but the demo team got first place they did super awsome i wasnt there to see it but i could with MY MIND.....        yeah well anyways the people who competed like alot of our team did really good i think most of them that you guys loved the most was the open or traditional forms. me too! its so awsome! i think that so many people are setting so much examples in theyre age group like grayson and stuff your saying that no matter what age you are you can always make a difference!

peace out and stay cool whip

sincerly,Clark.Ahrendt

you guys all did good at the pacific jewel on friday or sunday!!!1!    :D

Out of routine

Hey everyone I have had a hard time sticking with my routine of blogging and all my tracking lately so I am trying to get back on track. Two weekends ago I went to Spokane and did a 12k race. It was really fun but I have started having problems with my knee. I tried to rest from my running last week and then when I ran yesterday it started to hurt again. I am worried because we have so much training to do and my half marathon is this coming weekend. I am going to try to rest it more this week in hopes that it will be in good shape for the race. The idea of resting is frustrating to me so it will be a challenge this week.
So  now on to week 18's journal topic.
What age group do I represent? What kind of an example do you feel you are setting for future testers in your age group? I am 27 years old and started my martial arts training in 2009. I never did martial arts as a kid, but once I started as an adult I haven't been able to get enough.  When I was younger I was not the athletic type, I played a few sports but never really excelled in any area in particular except for music. I never really worked out regularly and did not lead a life style of fitness. Looking back I would have never expected to have the goal of becoming a black belt and now I spend the majority of my free time at the studio and love every minute of it! This test has also led me to pursue running. Before this I had never ran more than 3 miles and now those are my easiest running days. I am now training for a half marathon, and while as of yet I have no desire to do a full one, I am confident that will continue running after this test is over.  I hope that my example for other testers is that it is never too late to challenge yourself beyond what you ever thought you would or could do. It is important that you push yourself to your own limits and set a challenge for yourself at what you are capable of, not based on what others are doing around you.

Aspire to inspire!
~Chels

Pac Jewel and this week's assignment

Steven Cason Forged First Degree Black Belt Candidate 58 years old May 13, 2012.

Wow KJN, having me tell everyone what kind of example I am setting for future testers my age is a tough one for me.  It would be easy to explain how many bad examples I am setting for future testers of my age group I can always think of what I should improve, technique,  attitude, following through with commitments, you name it. But I think this is human nature.  As I just said it is easy to focus on the negative so each day my challenge to myself through this process has been to trade one negative feeling for a positive feeling.  So far I think it has been working for me.  Anyways right now I would have to say my example for future testers my age would be having the will to keep going, work hard, and realize that physically folks our age will most likely not outperform an 18 year old athlete.  I just try to do something better each day than I did the day before.

Pac Jewel was fun, I performed in the 18+ traditional forms competition.  While I was in the ring the only person from Aim High I was aware of was BSBN Girlsam.   After I had executed my routine I surprised by all  of the positive feedback from the Aim High team.  I would like to thank everyone for their support.

hello again testers so tonight I'm going to talk about my age group and how I'm setting an example to others i think me at the age of 13 represents and shows that anyone young or at my age can do this in fact i think that any one or any thing can do karate as long as they set they re heart to it the same goes with other things in life like soccer etc. and others all around me at the test older folks younger ones and teen ones they all inspire me and others too!

stay cool and have a nice chilly night!

sincerely, Clark ahrendt

Blood drive and other stuff

Steven Cason Forged 1st degree Black Belt Candidate May 8, 2012.

Hello all!

Today was a great day at work.   We had some confuser (computer) issues with our month end  processes at work and the GL was out of balance with the sales reports. Anyways after pounding on it for about 6 hours we came up with an answer to what happened and gave the accountants a way to fix the mess.  Life is good now at work.  Of course I still  have to figure out how to get  my regular stuff done. . . .but that is another story.

The point of  this is not every day goes according to plan.  As a matter of fact life would be pretty boring if it did.

Anyway the Blood Drive is coming up fast now.  May 24th is the date.   Currently we have 35% of our goal of 40 donors filled and my thanks to those of you who have committed to donating blood that day it is a worthwhile cause.

However that still leaves 65%  open or enough slots for 26 Donors.  If you are able to donate please do so.  Your contribution can save 3 lives.  You can sign up on the  web at www.redcrossblood.org sponsor code aimhigh or their is a sign up sheet at the desk in the studio and we will get  you signed up if you choose to do it that way.

I forgot to mention KJN says anyone who donates or volunteers will receive a Red Cross patch for  their efforts.  It is also on the calendar as a black belt event.

Its exactly one week until I present my first WOW to people at my school. I'm so nervous! I feel like there is still a lot of preparation I have to do still, especially since i don't feel satisfied with myself on my monologue yet. I know I've been saying it a lot, but I have so many things going on that I mostly just feel overwhelmed, anxious, and tired. However with yesterday's sunny weather and something a friend showed me, its good if I can take a step back and smile every once and while :) This weekend I also helped with the Girls Workshop at Aim High. It included a zumba lesson, self-defense lesson, nutrition lesson, snack lesson, discussion time and play time at the end. I was persuaded to do the Zumba lesson, which ended up being a lot of fun :) What makes this workshop so valuable is that these girls get to look up to people who have experienced and/or can give them advice on situations or issues they are having in their life. I felt lucky to be able to lead a discussion with the older girls. I'm also curious on how first team challenge goes tomorrow. Excited to see how the teams react to the challenge So, again I just want to say, if you're feeling stressed take a step back from what you're doing and try and find something that makes you happy, smile, or something or someone you're grateful to have in your life. Sometimes our lives get to busy that we forget to appreciate it. :)

YAY TEST SUMMER PUMPKINS WOAH THATS ALOT TO TALK ABOUT :D

Hello team i hope your having a great day because i am to i got all A's in school only one B but that's OK any way tonight I'm going to talk about how awesome this team is and how fast October is coming fast any ways i love this team because every one is super positive and when my spirits go down you guys raise em up again and again
 thank you team Ur all so aw some!! anyways.... October and the test is coming up so fast that i think I'm going pumpkins over this and i cant wait for the test how about you? anyways keep up the awesome effort and stay cool because the summer is coming!

sincerely, Clark Ahrendt
oh by the way leave a comment to me to tell me if your going swimming or not this summer and like i said stay chilly bye!

also before i go i wanted to add how I'm doing in my energy and effort  in requirements and class well yesterday i had low energy i was very sore and i apologize and with my requirements WHO wee I'm definitely going to own this test i hope you all will to see ya later!

My pen pal

                      Today, I got a mail from my pen pal from Rock Creek Elementry school from Ms.Hickey's class.  I know Ms.Hickey because she was my substitute for my teacher when my teacher had problems with her back.  My pen pal is in 3rd grade, and what suprised my class the most was that some of them play Black Ops, Skyrim, and other games like that.  We're at least 2 years older than them and most of us aren't allowed to play that kind of stuff!  My pen pal likes sports, loves games, and says he's an "outdoors" person, even though he likes video games.  There was a really cute letter from a third grader to my classmate Aubrie.  The girl wrote a full page of questions.  When my teacher read it out loud, she read " Question 1..." and then said "I will skip all of these..."  I know that this is going to be fun.

Hello team sorry if i am responding just a little late but super awsome job on the froged testing phase 2! if we keep going at the pace that we have been going then were going to all pass our black belt test and if we dont well not make it so come on guys we can keep this up also great jobs on practicing with our teams on wendsday we had a huge succesuful day!
im out peace!
sincerly<Clark

Phase 2 test May 1, 2012

Steven Cason 1st Degree Candidate Forged Team.

Darn it I hate when the copy and paste function doesn't work as expected.  Mainly because I need to rewrite everything so all have a chance to read it.
 
As I stated on the aimhigh blog I am finally feeling like I can get my pushups and crunches going again.  Over the last few weeks I had Kidney Stones (really slowed me down) then I injured my hip last Wednesday evening during training.  Hurt to walk on it on Saturday then I got up on Sunday and it was gone.  Like I said before I'll take this kind of luck when I can get it.  :)

Everyone was looking good last night and I was happy to see the younger testers doing so well.  As usual I was a bit sweaty by the end of the test (Sorry Chels.)

I didn't realize this was the half way point til I read CGN Jenalyn's post.  I had counted on it being about 2/5ths finished.  Anyways 2 more phase tests.

Everyone keep up the good work.

Steve