Best two weeks with a moral...

In two weeks I have made two HUGE memories that will probably stick with me for a long time: My first memory being the Josh Groban concert (courtesy of Mom, thanks) and my second memory being me getting my Black Belt.

For those that don't know, I went to a Josh Groban concert Wednesday April 4th at the Fresno Savemart Supercenter. In short it was SPECTACULAR! Josh Groban is a very talented performer who can sing, play drums really well, and he can make fun of Justin Timberlake. The music was really awesome, and his band, or the orchestra was super cool. Near the end of his performance he came out and put on a Fresno State jersey, which was really cool. There were something people who got his autograph, lucky snots, I wish I could claw my way through them and get one myself, darn. Anyway it was super fun and I would love to do it again, so thanks a million Mom.

As for my Black Belt testing, I thank everyone who was there for being there. Molly has recently sent me some of the photos and I still look goofy. The testing overall went well, although as Dad had pointed out it was easier than my testing to get my Black Belt Recommended. He's right, but I still value my Black Belt testing even more. Believe it or not I was working on the 9 angles for the Black Belt weapon drills on the day of the testing. It was almost nervewracking, but I pulled through in the end and did them. Being a Black Belt to me means that:

a) I have to have a "Black Belt attitude" at all times. (I don't know what it means, but I have a good idea.

(b) A higher standard will be placed on my head when it comes to things like sparring, basics such as a front kick or a side kick, or even balancing myself.

c) (Note: I am not complaining, rather explaining matter-of-factually) My next form will have 81 moves, plus I'll probably learn close to 3 different weapon forms, plus drills. However, I'm up to the challenge.

Another detail of my life worth mentioning is that on Saturday I went to a Tournament. Surprisingly I made a minor improvement over all my other tournaments: I beat a guy in free sparring. My form still stunk, I got a 9.5 on hand techniques, a 9.5 overall, and a 9.4 in kicks. The judges scale, from 0-9 although I have never seen anyone get a score below three. Unlike last time I'm not depressed about my defeats and now I want to go to another tournament and do even better than before. A funny incident that happened was that at the Tournament we were required to wear jockstraps (or cups) for free-sparring. I had no idea this would happen, because at my other two tournaments, it didn't happen. I didn't have my jockstrap, and I was really scared that I wouldn't be able to spar. Luckily they were selling cups, but unluckily for me I had no money! So in the end it all worked out because I had a close friend who was willing to buy me one.

Well, that's my life's story so far. I thank those who were at my testing for being there and for making it such a wonderful experience for me.

Love, Grant