The application process was long to go through them, but they were absolutely incredible! I was inspired and touched by how much time, effort and creativity everyone put in to making them great. So many of the applications were great representations of who they were. By looking through the applications, we picked who would be delegates and which 10 students in grade 11 or 12 would be the Skill Builders. The applications required them to answer 5 specific questions about leadership.

Just a few samples of the applications

 Skill Builders-Students are the group captains. There are 2 captains for each team.  They run the sessions and take care of their won group of 10 delegates.
Delegates: students who is part of each group.

The whole purpose of the camp is to have students work together in a safe, confidential and open environment where we can learn about ourselves and also learn how to work on our team building skills. We want to develop as many leaders (they come in all forms) as possible to make our school the best it can be.  These leaders will transfer everything they’ve learned into all areas of their life.  I’ve attended the camp for my first 2 years of high school and I loved it, so this was an exciting opportunity to see how to organize a camp.

Pujan and I had our first meeting 9 months ago in the summer to start the planning process since there is so much involved and we both have very busy schedules.  I think we were perfect partners since our personalities and strengths are different so we balanced each other out but had things in common so we got along really well.  Pujan was such a pleasure to work with!

Leadership Camp Coordinators Pujan Thakrar and Kayla Maduk

We had to decide and plan on:

• a theme for the camp – we chose the Olympics  theme (I might have been a little passionate about that choice )
• book an overnight location that had enough cabins and the appropriate facilities for our needs
• budget, so we knew where the money was coming from, how much we had and where it was going.
• activities for an Ice Breaker night at the school and then 2 full days/nights of activities
• guest speaker from the City of Ottawa on Youths making a difference in the community
• book bus transportation to/from the camp
• supplies for all activities that we planned
• review all the applications for the camp since we are only allowed to take 65 students and choosing the delegates and skill builders
• assign 5 groups plus their skill builders based on their applications and personality types .  Each group represented 1 of the  5 Olympic rings. After they chose a sport for their group. They wore costumes that relate to their team all weekend for team bonding.  Keeping people out of their comfort zone also allows them to be more open to participate and grow more as individuals.  You have to leave your pride at home, and be willing to be goofy outgoing.
• design and order camp t-shirts for everyone
• create, design and print the booklet for everyone to follow – the booklet  is full of quotes, the sessions that everyone will go through, and little quizzes and stories
• lists, lists and more lists…….and meetings, meetings and more meetings!

The first page of our booklets reads….. 

LEADERSHIP CAMP 2013

 WELCOME CHAMPIONS!

Congratulations on making it as participant in this year’s Leadership Camp! This is your chance to get to know yourself and other students at John McCrae and to become the champion that you truly are! We hope that you keep an open mind and take risks through camp and make the most of this experience. You will learn useful skills over the next few days that you can apply to your everyday life so make the most of this opportunity but more importantly have fun!

As skill builders and delegates, we want you to soak up as much as possible while having fun! Try to recognize the importance, meaning and usefulness of everything you will experience with your group!

Here are some key steps to making your camp experience AWESOME!!

Take risks: Step out of your comfort zone! Try something new! Gooo with the floooow! The best part about camp is experiencing new things and you won’t be going through it alone! You have a whole group to help you out!

Keep an open mind: It’s simple. Don’t judge it. Don’t criticize it. Just try it.

Trust your group members: If you share with them, they will share with you. Have confidence in the Four Wall Rule and the Right to Pass.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help: You will always be able to find someone who is willing to help! Just ask!

EAT. CANDY. : It’s pretty straightforward. Your dentist is not here! Neither is your mom!

We are so excited to see you all at camp! Show tons of enthusiasm, have lots of fun and more importantly BE YOURSELF!

Your camp coordinators

Kayla and Puj

The topics of the camp include:

• Communication Skills
• Trust and Taking Risks
• Leadership and Youth Involvement in the Community
• Stress and Time Management
• Problem Solving
• Goal Setting
• How to Implement Everything we Learned at Camp

Ice Breaker Night- The first time we are all together and were divided into the groups.  Let the games begin!

The full group at the Ice Breaker Night

The 5 amazing teams of Delegates and their 2 Skill Builders

Gymnasties

Swimmers

Ping Pong

Equestrians

Speed  Walkers

The games and activities may sound silly or juvenile but they are all designed with a specific lesson and reason to push you out of your comfort zone. The games/challenges force you to trust your team mates.  We chose these activities from previous camps that were successful and we also did a lot 0f research finding new activities.  I was happy that we were able to include my 5 step goal setting program that I created and use in my own workshops.  It always amazes me how open people are to talk about ‘real’ issues in this type of environment.  I think being away at a remote location really helps.  You really have to come to the camp with an open mind and just be willing to be YOURSELF.  That is why there is the selection and application process.  We really want to make sure that people are there for the right reasons.  Every single person that attends the camp always feels so much better about themselves and their abilities after the camp.  There is so much positive reinforcement given to everyone and very close friendships develop that wouldn’t normally happen in the everyday environment.  There is no judgement or criticism.  All these new relationships just make high school living that much more fun.  The positive energy is contagious.

Our hourly schedule of events for the whole camp

Off to camp – ready for anything and everything

I had so many incredible highlights at camp. I loved every single moment of it. I have to admit, it’s quite stressful even when all the work is done because Pujan and I really wanted the camp to run smoothly.  We wanted everyone to enjoy themselves and hopefully not have to deal with any major hick-ups. I had so many moments when the whole group was together, where I got to take a step back and truly realized and appreciate what Pujan and I had created. It was such a cool feeling. The atmosphere was incredible. It was so full of love, life, happiness, growth and warmth in so many ways. It was a place where everyone could feel accepted, appreciated, supported and a place they could be completely themselves. It was magic if you ask me. It’s where I suddenly realized that, wow, this is what it is all about, and THIS is why our school is so incredibly awesome. It’s because of camps and programs like these. It’s hard to describe.

At the end of camp, we do something called warm fuzzies. It’s where you write warm notes to friends and new friends you made at camp. It’s all positive and these messages are to take the time to tell people how beautiful they are, inside and out. I was touched by all the  personal notes from everyone on what they thought of the camp and how appreciative they were.  The feedback was amazing and it just goes to prove why these camps are important and why they need to happen every year!  I STRONGLY urge everyone at JMSS to attend at least one Leadership Camp in their 4 years of high school.  I promise it will change your life for the better. Just remember….go with an open mind and leave be willing to challenge yourself.

We couldn’t have had the camp without the help of:

• Mr. Schultz for providing the funding for camp and allowing us to make LC 2013 a reality
• Mrs. Henry and Mrs. Potter for all the support and guidance.  Not to mention all the hours that they put in too
• The administration for coordinating all the fees and paperwork
• The teachers who came to supervise the camp
• Skill Builders for all the time they put in and the dedication to the your delegates
• Delegates for coming to camp and opening up to everything the camp had to offer
• Gary Frederick at GDF PRO for making the awesome t-shirts
• Camp Bonnenfant for allowing us to host LC2013 at your campsite once again

I feel so lucky and privileged to have gotten the opportunity to organize the camp this year. I learned a lot about how much goes into organizing a huge event like this. I have grown a lot from it and I have realized how much I love team building, leadership programs and motivational environments. Who knows, maybe I will get to do more of this type of thing when I am older as a career. I would love to do team building and motivational speaking with either Elite athletes or even corporate companies.  Thanks to everyone who was apart of this incredible experience.

“NOW IT IS TIME TO GO OFF INTO THE WORLD AND BE THE BEST LEADER YOU  BE! ENJOY EVERY MOMENT FOR WHAT IT IS! YOU ARE ORIGINAL AND UNIQUE AND YOU SHOULD BE PROUD OF THAT! GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE IN THE FUTURE!”
-KAYLA AND PUJ

A special thanks to everyone who shared pictures with me!

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Today I trained with a great group of black belts and all we did was spar for three full hours.  It was exhausting but so much fun.  I am pleased with my cardio and I’m working on some specific footwork.  Like most sports….it all starts at the feet and works it’s self up.

It was extra special that my dad trained with us too.  I think he loves TKD as much as I do   People are always shocked with how quick his reflexes are.  He catches people off guard so it’s fun to watch.  My grandpa also came and watched the whole training.  I am always thankful that he can be a huge part of my life

Thanks again Mr. LeGrow for organizing today.  I am so happy that we can work on these sparring drills together.  It’s going to be an awesome summer with intense training

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When I heard that he had registered for Nationals I wanted to help him out since I know how seriously he takes his training.  I asked him to come today when the dojang was closed so we could just work alone and critique every movement of his pattern.  We went over it several times and filmed it so he could see what he was doing right and what needed correcting.  I love how he actually does what I ask him to do.  You could see that he was concentrating so hard. When I was Fritz’s age there were two teenage boys (Jonathon Martel and Max Riopelle) who coached me the same way that I’m coaching Fritz.  I will always be thankful for the time that the put into my training and now I get to know what it’s like from the coaches point of view.  It’s very rewarding.

I didn’t want to overwhelm him with too many details today so after about an hour and a half we called it quits. I would have loved to continue on for hours but I have remember that he is still 8 years old :)  It’s better to keep him wanting to come back to train more and feeling proud of his accomplishment than being discouraged.   I will continue to spend time with him after each class for the next few weeks.  Every night we will work on correcting one more element and reviewing what we have already covered.  Hopefully the video tape will be a good review for him on his own time.

I told Fritz he had to cut his hair to compete since he kept flicking his hair after every movement and it was too distracting.  Judges like to be able to see the competitors face and eyes.  As a good sport he actually let me take the first cut of hair and he is getting the rest cut tomorrow.  Now, that’s trust and dedication

Fritz and I have a lot in common and when I learned that he played the guitar I knew we had to have a little jamming session after the training for some fun.  I brought my guitar and we both played and sang a few of our favourite songs.  It was a great way to end off a fun training session!

 Great job today Fritz!

The post Private Coaching for Nationals appeared first on Kayla Maduk.

I absolutely LOVE the winter training.  The throwing events are so technical and precise so there is always something to tweak and perfect. I never get bored of it all.  My two coaches Bill (javelin) and Corey (shot put and discus) are amazing.  They are so patient with me and so passionate about their sport.  It’s been exciting since the throwing group has really grown in numbers.  I appreciate the one-on-one coaching since it is so technical and you can learn more individually but it’s also great to see more interest in the throwing events. It’s nice that there are more girls my age throwing now.

For the last month I’ve also had track practice for the school team three mornings a week.  There has already been two exhibition meets but I haven’t been able to go to them since I was either away at a Taekwon-do tournament or Leadership Camp.  My first school qualifying meet is May 16th and then I leave right after it to go to Quebec City for the Taekwon-do Nationals and National Team Selections.

Track is very important to me since I’m hoping that I can be on a university track team and hopefully help with some funding.  Universities look at the OFSAA results so I want to make sure I do my best this season.

During the summer I will be competing with the Ottawa Lions Track club every week as well as some away meets.

Although Taekwon-Do and Throwing events are extremely different they both require patience, persistence, perseverance, dedication and overall body strength.   Both these disciplines peak at an older age so I have lots of time. Since I’m still only 17 years old, I’m in no rush and am very excited about what I’ll be able to do in the upcoming years.

Good luck to one of my throwing team mates Valerie Chartrand who is also throwing Javelin at a meet in Cornell, NY this weekend.

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Obviously I was not going to help them with any of their basketball skills but the purpose of the night was to give them some new cross training drills, get them outside their comfort zone and get them thinking after about goals, and their progression.

These 15 year old guys are currently playing in an older age group which is great since it’s really challenging for them and it’s the best way to improve.  They all take their basketball very seriously and want to be the best they can be.

Practising 3 times a week is a good start and it’s usually the only amount of gym time that teams can get.  However, if teams really want to excel they have to put in a lot more work (physically and mentally) if they want to reach the next level.  They need to use their precious gym time to work on the specific drills and strategies for basketball with the expertise of their coach,  but there is so much more that they can do off the court to step up their game.

The first part of the workshop I gave a few new drills that they could do on their own.

I introduced them to:

• Tabida drills
• different cardio drills
• explosive leg drills
• resistance training
• core strengthening
• shoulder and arm strengthening
• I had them kick and punch shields for their first time
• stretches for the main muscle groups that we worked
• team building exercising where they have to work together as a team to accomplish a goal

The key to being successful athletically, is being strong and coordinated overall. A lot of athletes are one-sided. If you can balance out the strength, you will be so much stronger and also prevent injury. The great part about the drills is that you can do them just about anywhere and you can use the things around you for equipment.  You don’t need a fancy or expensive gym membership!

Over the years, I’ve picked up hundreds of drills from different coaches, personal trainers and training partners and made up a few of my own.  Mixing up your training also keeps it fun and challenging. Here are  some old pictures of the types of drills I do on my own.  This is just a very SMALL sample of things that you can do…..

We are all teenagers going through growth spurts and our bodies are constantly changing so it’s so important to stretch properly and be aware of the changes to help prevent injuries.  Most people are so inflexible and need to stretch every day.

We discussed nutrition and how hard it is when we travel so much for tournaments.  Having the right fuel in our bodies is so important to our athletic performance.

Time management is really hard when we are in high school with a ton of homework and also wanting to be with friends.  I discussed the difference of between making the choice to train vs. feeling it’s a sacrifice to train.

The second hour was on goal setting. I went over my five step process. It was interesting for me this time, because not only did I touch on individual goal setting, but team goals as well.  Each step of the process has key points, but for this team, the main message was “What are you going to do to reach that next level?”  I wanted to get them to think about when they can do as individuals and what they can do as team to improve.  I shared what I did/do in each of the five steps to give them some ideas.  I gave them each a booklet that we went through and I hope they fill them out on their own after they’ve had some time to digest everything that was covered tonight.

I emphasized the idea of having Swag. They laughed at first, but soon understood that really, Swag is confidence. Swag is feeling worthy of greatness. Stepping onto the court (in their case) and owning it, believing that they are the champions and playing like true champions knowing that they have put in all the work to get to that point.  It’s about being proud to wear their team jersey.

We finished off making two team push-ups.  Each line had 6 guys and they are all linked together and they had to do one team push up together.  It takes team work to find out who has what strength and where they should be in the line-up to make it possible. In order to do the push up everyone had to be part of the link. Everyone has to pull their own weight in order to be able to do a team push-up.  One line was able to do it right away and then it was fun to watch them go and advice and cheer on their team mates in the other line.  Hopefully they see the symbolism of being on the court together.   Jokingly they said they wanted to practice that and go do one in the warm up before every game to psych out the other team lol.  If nothing else, they would be remembered Great team spirit!

They seemed really receptive and I hope they were able to even pick up even just one little thing. They have so much potential and I think they can get to the next level, all they have to do is put in the EXTRA work and find their swagger

I look forward to hearing how they do at their next tournament.  Good luck guys.

Check out all the pictures from the physical portion of the night. Thank you Mr. LeGrow for lending me all the shields and hand pads for the evening.

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15,000 people filled the stadium that night but it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.  Our seats were really far away and yet, it felt like she was sitting on our couch beside us in our living room.  It was like story time of her life and lessons she has learned along the way. She is an incredible story teller.  She is comedic, intense, intelligent and extremely well spoken. There was a perfect balance of emotions throughout the night.

She had quite a few concepts that really stood out to me and I thought I would share a few of them.

Her opening question was “why are you here?”

Simple question right? I don’t think we take the time to ask ourselves this question enough. She said that we all have a calling and we need to listen to it.  She told a story about when she was little, when she lived with her grandma and they were poor.  Her grandma was doing the laundry and said, “keep watching me because one day you will have to know how to do this for yourself”….and Oprah had her moment where she heard her calling.  Inside a little voice said, “No, your not! This will not be my life”.  She called this feeling inside her an “emotional GPS” guiding her through life, listening and serving her calling. She said that you can’t hear your calling, until you quiet all the noise around you and are in silence with yourself. Then your calling will reveal itself. It is so true! To find the answer of what your true calling is, you need to be able to listen only to the voice inside of you. You won’t find your true calling if you are constantly listening to others and what they want you to do. When you become at peace with yourself, that’s when everything will become clear.

Thanks Julie LaSalle for taking these close up pictures for me.

She asked us what our purpose was.  Are you living with purpose?

Our purpose is not a goal, or one big moment, its a feeling inside of discovery, of growth. It’s ALL the moments. (it’s all about the experience ) It’s every experience that makes us who we are and it is linked with our calling.  I completely agree with this.  I even had a rubber bracelet custom made that says “it’s all about the experience” written on it and I have worn it everyday for 2 years (along with my other custom bracelets that mean so much to me).  I don’t want to put too much emphasis on the goal but more on the journey.  That is also why I started this blog three years ago.  I have so many amazing experiences every day and I believe that it’s all the ups and downs during the journey that makes you strong.  I never want to forget any of these special moments.

She talked a lot about energy. The energy you put out is the energy that will be returned. You only have control of YOUR energy field, no one else’s.

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I judged for a large portion of the morning which was fun. I was center referee most of the time, and it was all in French so my brain got a  good workout trying to remember all the terminology and commands in French :p

In the afternoon, I won 2 gold medals when it was my turn to compete. For patterns, I won my division and then had the chance to have an exhibition match against the winner of the women’s 3rd degree patterns division.  Audrey De Ladurantaye has been on Team Canada for several years and has been a medalist multiple times for Team Patterns on the International Stage.  Since it was an extra exhibition match for more experience I got the chance to talk to all the judges and got their feedback. This was SO helpful because all I want is to improve and be the best that I can be so I was extremely appreciative of the advice I received.  It was also the validation of the things that I am doing properly.  I know all these IIC’s, seminars, extra training and tournaments will pay off towards my big goals.

I won my sparring division. I was curious to see how I would spar in a high pressure situation with all the training I have been doing. I have been working on movement and a few new strategies so I was hoping they would come out in competition and they did. Each time I enter the ring, I feel like I am improving even more and breaking down my own walls that hold me back. I still have a lot of  work to do, and I am excited to see the progression continue. I always just want to make sure my points are clean with no warnings.

This tournament was great for me to have a bench mark for Nationals next month and to get some more feedback. Nationals is where it all counts since that is also the qualifying tournament for the 2013 National Team.  I am excited to meet up with the Western Provinces there as well.  I haven’t competed against them since the Pan Am Championships. There will also be more competitors from the East that couldn’t make it to this tournament.  It’s very expensive if you have to fly to these sanctioned events. I  know what I need to work on, so now it is back to the dojang!  I am very excited.

Double Gold

I was so happy  for all my friends and team mates who competed. You all did a great job and should be proud of yourselves. It was great watching the high calibre of competitors in the room. It’s inspiring, because I look up to so many of the higher degrees because they are such nice people and extremely talented.

My mom didn’t have a photographers pass so she didn’t have access to all the rings. She is sorry that she doesn’t have pictures of everyone.

Click on the image below to view and download all the images.

Click Here

The post TKD Canadian Eastern Championships 2013 appeared first on Kayla Maduk.

This will be a very light week of training for me:

Monday 

• Easter Monday (everything was closed)
• No TKD or Shot Put or Discus

Tuesday

• 2 hours light sparring and patterns at the dojang
• No javelin or weight training this week.  I have to finish homework for the week.

Wednesday

• 1 hour school track practice in the morning before school (circuit fitness training)
• Stretching at night

Thursday 

• 2 hour club track practice (shot put and discus)
• No javelin or heavy weight lifting this week
• 2 hours at the dojang including a great stretch and some yoga

Friday

• 1 hour school track practice in the morning before school (circuit fitness training)
• leave for Montreal for the weigh-ins at noon
• find a place for some stretching and a gentle run-through of patterns before bed – early night!

Saturday

• Competition Day

Every night I will be visualizing my patterns and different sparring situations.  Music is also a huge factor for me!!!!  I listen to all my favourite songs that relax me and/or pump me up.

I don’t know who I’ll be competing against this weekend but Grand Master Lan drilled one thing into my head……Never Underestimate Your Opponent!  Every day is a new day and every competition is a new competition. You just have to believe in yourself and all your hard work.

I prepare for every tournament the same way I do for International Competition since it’s good practice to perfect YOUR OWN routine.  That way when it really counts you know what you have to do mentally and physically.

This week is extremely busy with school work.  I am also organizing the Leadership Camp for my high school which is only a few weeks away so we are finalizing everything and rushing around in meetings when I’m not in class. I am just going to get through the week, and then I am leaving a bit earlier on Friday to clear my head from school work and stress. I can then turn on my switch, put the game face on and embrace the competition environment  I may not have a strict routine for the week, but I have set routines during my trainings and for when I arrive in Montreal.  It’s all about finding the things that help you perform the best you can.

The Canadian Western Championships are going to be held April 13th in Regina.  That includes competitors from the provinces of Manitoba to BC.   That’s when you realize how big Canada is as a country. Then we all meet for Nationals in May in Quebec City.  Both the Eastern and Western Championships are sanctioned events for points towards your seeding position in the final round robin at Nationals.  The top two placements at Nationals in the round robin are the qualifiers for the National team and will have the honour of representing Canada at the World Championships in Spain October 2013.

HERE. WE. GO. :p

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Click on this link to view all 800 pictures of the IIC  http://sdrv.ms/10bvbFw

All the Canadians at the Seminar

Saluting General Choi

This is my second IIC that I’ve attended. Although the format is pretty similar at every IIC there is always so much to learn since every time you attend a seminar you are looking for different answers and you’re at a different stage of your life so you pick up on different aspects.  This is especially true when they discuss the philosophy or the ‘Do’ part of Taekwon-Do.  I was especially interested since I was a 2nd degree at the last IIC and now I wanted some clarification on the 3rd degree patterns.  It’s also always good to learn new sparring drills to practice when we get home to our own dojangs.  I especially learned a lot with step sparring and self defense.

These IIC’s are so important to keep unification. It’s great that everyone is doing the same thing no matter what country you’re from.  This also helps with fair judging at International competition.

The Grand Masters divided us into two groups (up to 3^rd degree and then 4^th degree and up) and each Grand Master focused on their own specialty. This is a great method since it keeps things interesting. Each Grand Master has their own style and personality which is great since you learn so much from each one of them.  I’ve had the pleasure of training with Grand Master Lan on several occasions so I was really excited to see him again.  I’ve attended 4 seminars with Grand Master Marano and I love how technical he is with his critiquing.  This was my first time meeting Grand Master Bos and I was so impressed with his knowledge, high energy levels and his sense of humour it was inspiring.

I was thrilled when I had the opportunity to do Eui-Am with Grand Master Bos since it just reinforced everything that I’ve been doing in my training.  Throughout the seminar, people would volunteer to go up. This can be quite intimidating to volunteer and be picked apart in front of your peers and seniors. I look at it as an opportunity to learn from the absolute best. Grand Master Bos broke down every movement, stance, block, kick and punch. My biggest mistake was wearing my rubber bracelets   The rubber bracelets are all my own custom made bands with my own positive and motivational words written on them.  The words inspire me to train hard and be the best person that I can be every day.  They are my version of a ‘tattoo’ since they are just a part of me now.  I promise Grand Master Bos I will remove them when I compete

I also had fun doing Juche in a ‘mock’ tournament style with two gentlemen.  I love having the pressure of a tournament.  Grand Master Lan was sitting directly in front of me along with 7 other judges so it was fun.

I was so happy to share this experience with my Instructor Mr. Steven LeGrow

This was a two day seminar for up to 3rd degrees. On the first evening, there was a formal dinner banquet at a beautiful marina andI had a great time.  I got the chance to mingle and talk with new people.  This made the second day more fun in the sense that I knew more people, and I really found my comfort zone.

Dinner Banquet

The third day was only for 4th degrees and up.  Since they are school instructors they cover the business side of things as well as running successful dojangs.  It’s also one of the only opportunity that they get for critiquing their higher patterns so they need more time alone.

The 4th degrees and up talk about different things since they are mostly dojang owners.

I left the seminar with new friends from all around the world.  It’s amazes me how something like TKD can pull so many people together sharing the same passion.  That is how you know that TKD is not just a sport and art but truly ‘a way of life’.

I was one of the younger people at the seminar and I was impressed looking around the room and seeing people train who were 60+ in age.  It’s inspiring to see that TKD can lead to healthy lifestyle for my entire life.

I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

I’m just one happy kid right now

To view all 800 photos that my mom took click on the image below.  She took pictures of everyone and of all the different parts of the seminar.  I find looking back at the pictures a good review of what we learned.  Hope you enjoy them too.

To share these pictures click on this link http://sdrv.ms/10bvbFw

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Hey, she kicks like a girl too!

I’ve never been to NYC before so I was very excited and just wanted to absorb everything about it.  I felt like I was on a movie set since it felt so different from anywhere I’ve ever been before.  Walking around in the streets was cool since all the street vendors where out on the sidewalks trying to coax you into their stores, everyone was honking their horns, the train was REALLY loud right over your head and the traffic was insane.  The best part of going to tournaments and seminars is to explore and see different parts of the world and meet new people.  Our GPS didn’t work well at all so we kept getting lost!  We even got lost in Harlem.

The train tracks above you were so loud

It wouldn’t be NYC without the yellow cabs

Walking around Queens after dinner with guest Masters and Instructors from Columbia, Puerto Rico and Italy

I was a happy kid just taking everything in and enjoying the experience!

I have been very careful and committed to following a healthy diet for optimum energy and I’ve never felt better.  As I get older I appreciate and value the importance of fueling my body with foods that keep my energy up.  It’s easy to eat properly when you’re at home but travelling is always a challenge.

Before our training with master Suarez we went out in a group for a dinner in plenty of time for it to digest since we knew it was going to be an intense training.  It was a Colombian restaurant and unfortunately I immediately felt really sick after eating since it was more spicy and salty than I’m used to.  I was soooo upset and disappointed since I had looked so forward to this night.  As I started to bounce around I got all clammy, shaky and had a really upset stomach.  It was really awkward since all I wanted to do was train but I just couldn’t. I also felt extremely rude leaving the dojang and coming back in but I really thought I was going to be sick and needed fresh air.

Doing some light warm up drills with….. As soon as I started to bounce around I felt so sick from my dinner

This just reinforces how important proper nutrition is to athletes and it’s one of the hardest things to control when you travel for competitions.  Everyone was so nice to me and helped me with advice on what to eat and drink to settle my stomach.  We found a store so I could buy my regular food for the rest of the weekend which really helped.

At least I was able to stay and watch and still learn from the class. Mr. Perlaza ran the class and I hope to train with him in the summer.  The atmosphere in the school is very unique.  The energy is high and level of sparring is more intense which is awesome.  I wanted so badly to get in and spar with everyone.  I’ve sparred with Julio Carlos in Ottawa and it was awesome to learn from him.  I love how there was a lot of structure in the school.  Everyone knows exactly the routine and there was a huge level of respect towards one another.  It was a real ‘family’ atmosphere.  Every single person shakes everyone’s hand when the leave the school.  It’s nice to see the young kids have the confidence to greet everyone.  We all felt so welcomed into the school.

We watched one of the kid’s classes before we trained and it was impressive to see how hard they worked

Then it was time for the black belt class….

It’s always fun to watch Mr. LeGrow spar and he was having a blast.  It’s hard to find new sparring partners so you always want to take advantage when you’re travelling to spar as many different people as possible.  You get too much into a routine if you spar the same people all the time.  You have to be ready for the unexpected!

Alex Lapointe-Matta from Montreal was so excited to spar Julio again.  Alex is also trying to qualify for the Canadian National Junior team so the more experience he gets the better.

It was nice to see so many other girls sparring as well.

After every class at home I always stay a bit later to work on my own strengthening and stretching.  These competitors do the same as well.  They had a chin up bar and everyone takes their turn doing 5 reps of chin ups and then they did some really cool kicking drills with shields while they were still in a chin up position.  It was insane!  It’s these little extra things that you do above and beyond that can be the real difference makers for you.  Always stretch beyond your limits it you want to improve.

Thank you Master Suarez, Mr. Perlaza and your students for welcoming us into your dojang and I hope to be able to come back and really be able to train.  I was so thankful that I felt completely better by the next morning so I was ready for the IIC.

I will post a blog from every day of the IIC with all the photos that my mom took as soon as the photos are approved by the Grand Masters.  Stay tuned

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I looked so forward to the seminar since I know I’ll always learn new drills for training and also drills that I can pass on to the students in our dojang.  It was great to see many familiar faces, and to meet a few more people.  The room was filled with Masters, Instructors and students from Ottawa, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Saskeatchewan, and New York.

The patterns portion was great because Master Norman really picked apart each movement. Master Suarez from Queens NY TKD and Master Phil from Ottawa’s Black Belt Excellence also attended the seminar, so it was amazing to have so much knowledge in one room.  It was like a mini IIC.

The afternoon portion was an incredible workout! We did cardio drills, technical but tiring drills, and timing drills all for sparring. I could see the faces of everyone getting more and more red as the afternoon went on. I really enjoyed it! Master Norman has such great energy and enthusiasm it makes you want to work harder.  He also incorporated some games to help break things up.  You concentrate so hard during the seminar since you are not only working physically but you are also working hard mentally.  I LOVE how recharged you feel after these seminars!

Seminars like these are great for a few different reasons.

1. You get a new perspective and opinion on certain drills or concepts
2. You can ALWAYS learn something
3. It’s great to see everyone because we are a TKD family. It’s also a great way to meet new people and create new connections with different instructors and athletes.
4. It’s great for the mental aspect of gearing up for tournaments. The environment is electric and completely different from training in class every night.
5. It keeps you up to date with what is happening in the TKD world when it comes to technical, rules and ways of teaching.

I am going to my second IIC (international Instructors Course) next weekend in New York City and I am so excited! It’s going to be great.

Since I usually train late at night and compete out of town my Grandpa doesn’t get to see me train so I was really happy that he was able to come and watch.  He loves it so much and really gets into the drills and understands what’s going on.

Thank you Arcan TKD for organizing such an amazing seminar and a special thank you to Master Norman for coming to Ottawa to share your wisdom and your positive energy.

To view all 200 action packed photos of the seminar, click on the photo below.  Thanks mom for taking all the pictures.  These photos will be great memories for years to come

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Ha Tang (NYC), Agapi (Montreal), Master Suarez (Queens NY), Mr. LeGrow. Kayla Maduk and Lisa Perry

Master Suarez was extremely generous and gave a unique sparring training on the Sunday for the women that were in town for the seminar.   It’s so hard to find girls to train and spar with and it’s so important because women move and spar differently than men. I have to say…The dojang smelt a lot better.!!!  Same amount of sweat,  just NO BAD SMELL

The training was all on foot work, counter attacks and combinations. We focused on two main types of movement that day.

First we worked on the foot work

Then we added a counter attack to it.

After we were comfortable with it, we moved to practicing on a shield.

Finally, we practiced with a partner.

I loved how Master Suarez ran the training. Every drill was timed, so we pushed for a minute or two, and then had 20 seconds off for recovery. I am really excited about some of the things that I was able to pick up.  I was absolutely exhausted from all the training, but It was totally worth it!!

Next week at the IIC, I am going a few days earlier so I will get to train at his TKD school for a night. The more people I can spar the better right now.

I have a new training partner!!  Her name is Lisa Perry.  Lisa is 27 years old and is a 2nd degree.  Lisa has been to 3 World Championships, took a break to focus on school and work and now is back training again. She’s great and is making her big come back.  ! She works really hard, has the same drive as me and we can really push each other. We get along really well too, so it’s great to have another girl in the dojang to train hard with.

Before the Women’s Only portion Master Suarez went through some of  Mr. LeGrows patterns with him.  It was incredible to watch such skilled patterns and it was awesome to see the unity.  Great job Mr. LeGrow.

Thanks again Mr. LeGrow for organizing this and thank you Master Saurez for your time.  I look forward to seeing you again next week

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Working on our patterns using hand held weights

This year is going to full of adventures, ups and downs so I am glad we will have each other to go through the process with.  Most of the other Juniors have moved into the Adult division so we need to stick together .   It’s always easier when there’s someone else close to you going through the exact same thing.  It’s hard for our friends to sometimes understand or relate to everything that we are doing.  The best part of World Championships is all the little experiences like this leading up to it.  We will be seeing a lot of each other at different trainings, seminars and tournaments so I am really excited.

After our own training Alex and I had the opportunity to spend some time giving one-on-one training with two of the students in our dojang.  I’ve never seen these students work so hard.  They wanted to take advantage of some corrections and I think they liked the special attention.   When you put some of the drills into games they don’t realize that they are actually working on sparring foot work, cardio and strengthening.  Everyone had a great time.

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Mr. Ripley, 4th Dan owner of JC’s Taekwon-Do, Nova Scotia

Mr. Ripley is someone I hold dear to my heart.  I really look up to him since he is such an inspiration.  He is one of the nicest people I have ever met.  It’s funny how some people just make you feel good by being around them.   He arrived on Thursday, so he joined our regular classes that night.   It was great to be in a class situation instead of always in seminars or tournaments together.

After the classes we had fun just doing more fitness drills.  It’s great to learn from everyone around you!

Med ball drills are awesome for core strengthening. I do some every single day after class

Dad helps me with some resistance training. He pushes down on the ball really hard while I bring the ball down slowly and then explode throwing the ball up.

Explosive vertical jumps help with developing explosiveness. Adding hand held weights makes it even more challenging.

Mr. Ripley and I shared some of the drills that we do

Before the TKD training Mr. Ripley came to the indoor track where I train for my javelin, discus and shot put.  I think he was really impressed with the facility and he seemed interested in the track since I am always talking about it too.

Thanks for your company Mr. Ripley and I look forward to seeing you again at Canadian Easterns

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Today I competed in my first indoor track meet. I was only able to throw shot put since they can’t measure javelin or discus events.  I’m working on a new throwing technique that will be ready by the summer but I’m still tweaking all the details.  I had 6 throws.  I was really happy that I didn’t foul (step out of the circle) and that all the distances were really consistent. Each throw was missing a little something for the ‘perfect’ throw.  I felt a little diconnected.  As I tweaked a mistake in one throw I found I had to tweak something else in the next throw.  I guess it could be considered frustrating but I am excited that I’m figuring these things out on my own so I know what I have to do next.  There is such a huge learning curve with throwing events.  I was throwing with men and women who have been throwing for years so it’s always great to see experienced and talented throwers.

I got there really early so I could have a good warm and visualize all the steps required.

Jim Slepica has so such power and passion in this throws.

Last year in the regular season, I threw the 3kg and this year I have been throwing the 4kg. This meet was a good bench mark for the upcoming season and I have a lot of work to do but I am looking forward to it. I feel a lot stronger this year than last and I find I am improving at a pretty fast pace which is awesome. I have been enjoying the winter season so much and am really pumped to see what will happen this year.

There were so many things to focus on. I’m just glad that it’s starting to feel more natural as time goes on.

It’s great to see some friends compete as well.  I go to school with Shelani Fernando and she is an amazing runner.

I was also cheering on my friend Kerstyn Ferrell from school too.

There is always something so cool to watch while you aren’t competing. It’s amazing watching these athletes fly through the ski.

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This picture was taken at Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia back in 2011 when I travelled there for an IIC (International Instructor’s Course).

Standing on the rocks with the power of the waves and the wind was an incredible feeling.  I felt very ‘free’ since all my senses were stimulated.  It was truly the perfect place to visualize.

I love to travel to different parts of Canada and the world for Taekwon-Do.  These pictures are great memories of breath taking moments.

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My TKD instructor Mr. LeGrow,  invited me to join him along with another student (Pierce Rogers) from the dojang to go on the Day Time Talk Ottawa TV show on Rogers Cable.  The whole interview was only about 8 minutes long and it went so fast.  It was frustrating when they asked me questions because I could have talked for hours to explain things more but it’s hard to know what to say in a few short minutes.  We will be getting a copy of the recording and when I do I will post it.

Mr. LeGrow teaches a fitness boot camp during the lunch hour a couple times a week at the Scotia Bank Place (Home of the Senators Hockey Team).  Since we were together anyway I went with him and Pierce.  I’ve done it a couple times with him before and it’s always a blast.  The boot camp is for staff, management and even some of the wives/girlfriends of the Senators Hockey players.   The energy is always high and it’s fun to work out with different people.  Hopefully they can get a little taste of some of the drills that we do in TKD.  I wish my high school was closer so I could join them on my lunch hour.

I love the feeling I get when I am in a huge empty stadium like the Scotia Bank Place.  This building holds 18,000 fans. Two years ago I spent time visualizing in this very building with Grand Master Lan from Germany before the 2011 World Championships.  Today I took a few minutes to just be in the bowl by myself and relive the feeling I had in New Zealand.  It was the best feeling in the world.  It affects all my senses.  I can relive the feeling, the sounds, the sights and even the smells.  I don’t get nervous at all.  I just get excited.  I like to visualize myself doing patterns down on the centre ring.  I like to feel the rush you get when you know you’ve done the best you can.  I also like to visualize sparring and hearing all the excitement in the crowds.

Then I had to race back for 1 hour of school before I had to leave for  my 3 hour track practice.  Weight training was awesome.  My javelin throwing felt a lot better than it did on Tuesday night so that made me very happy.  Shot Put and Discus also went really well.  We were throwing with different weighted implements so it’s always a challenge.  Next Saturday is my first indoor track meet.

Sorry no pictures of throwing practice.

To end this perfect day I went back to the dojang for another training session.  I helped Mr. LeGrow with sparring drills for the coloured belts and then I had a chance to do my own training with patterns.

Thankfully with my new ‘Eating Clean’ diet I have the energy to keep going and I feel AWESOME!!!!  I also know I couldn’t have amazing days like this without the help and support of my parents.

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Saturday morning I was at the track bright and early to have a special javelin session with Bill.  There was also a university thrower who was in town visiting for the long weekend.   I had met him one other time before and it’s so cool to watch him throw.  I love being around some really good throwers since it’s very motivating and it’s a good chance for me to see how it ‘actually’ should be done   Thanks Bill for including me in the training.

Then I was excited when my friend Steph Boivin from Montreal came to picked me up at the track and she finally got the chance to see a bit of the training and meet Bill since she’s heard so much about him.

Steph came to run a 10km race Sunday morning.  We always have a blast together since we have so much in common.  Steph is training to compete in the Ironman this August in Mt. Tremblant so this was the kick-off to her competitive season. She is such an inspiration and her positive zest for life and training motivates not only me, but everyone around her. I am so proud of her!!!

We got up at 5:45 am Sunday morning so we could make her a power breakfast and head off for the 8:30 race.  It was -25C so you can imagine how cold it was.  You couldn’t take your mittens off for more than a few seconds.  The wind by the parkway was crazy!

Starting line. All the runners for the 5K, 10K and 21K started off together. Steph is wearing the white headband.

And there she goes…

The 10K runners did a 5K lap twice. It was hard for her to know where she was in the pack since all the distances were combined

It was so awesome. Steph placed 10th overall and FIRST out of all the WOMEN!!!!

I felt so bad for all the runners since there were hardly any spectators since it was sooooo cold!  I was cheering my lungs out  and clapping like crazy for everyone mostly to keep warm .  I was freaking out when I saw her coming down the finish line since I knew she was the first woman but she didn’t.  Each division wore a different coloured bib so you could tell who was running which distance.  She was running so fast I couldn’t get my phone out fast enough to take good pictures.  She said the freezing cold made her lungs really hurt but she pushed through it.

Stephanie Boivin wins 1st place for women!!!!

She won her medal, a cozy blanket and a couple gym bags but more importantly it was a great confidence boost for her for the rest of her season.

It was great to see her so happy and proud since I know how hard she has been training. Results like this don’t just happen by ‘wishing’….they happen because of the hard work before the race!

I can’t wait until our next visit since we always have some kind of fun adventure!!!!   Hopefully it will be at a taekwon-do seminar in a few weeks

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Right after school I ate one of my ‘little’ meals in the car on the way to track practice.  Bill put me through a great weight training session for about 45 minutes.  We did sets of front squats, bench press, cleans, straight arm pull overs and snatch pulls. We are doing decreasing pyramids so it is all about explosion!  Then I threw javelin for about 30 minutes.  I am making real progress and am feeling really good about the winter season thus far. I think Bill is pleased too.  I’m  also really happy with how my weight lifting is progressing and I am feeling a lot stronger! I love it!

Right after javelin was finished I started to train with Corey. We did a few more weight lifting exercises, ab-work, med ball exercises and worked on our glides and foot work.  Then we went right into throwing shot put and then discus.  I am really looking forward to an indoor meet March 2nd for shot put so I want to get as many throws in as possible just for my own comfort.

Time for another ‘little’ meal in the car and then I went directly to taekwon-do. I spent the first class instructing the colour belts in sparring and their ring management.  We worked on their angles. It’s so rewarding when you see them really understand what you’re trying to teach them.  There was some immediate improvement and they left happy and satisfied. It was great how they digested the info and immediately put it to use.  Great job guys

Then I had an amazing one-on-one training alone with Mr. LeGrow where we went through all my 18 patterns in slow motion holding light weights. (5 pounds)  Sounds easy right?  Not so much!!!  We were both dying by the time we reached the higher patterns but we kept pushing through it and it felt amazing to know we didn’t give up.  It was so hard to keep the perfect form when your arms feel like they weigh a ton   This is an amazing drill for overall strengthening and improving arm speed. I know I’m going to feel it tomorrow!

Finally back in the car around 10:00 having a protein shake I just felt so happy and fortunate to be able to do what I love so much.   I guess my true love on Valentines day is actually training

Thanks Bill, Corey and Mr. LeGrow – Happy Valentines Day!

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In the last couple of weeks I’ve had so much fun training with different people.  I truly believe I can learn from anyone and then choose some of the elements that apply to me.

While in Montreal for my birthday weekend I had a blast training with all my TKD friends. I love it when we get together.  The atmosphere in the room is always positive.  Not only was the training awesome they surprised me with a huge birthday gift and dinner.  I love these guys.

Samguk Crew from Montreal

They planned a nice evening for me and I loved being with all of them. I wish I got to see them more often.

Steph Boivin made me the sweetest gift! She contacted over 30 people from around the world that mean so much to me. She created a photo album with letters from all 30 people. I cried with every letter and their warm messages. Thank you to everyone who wrote in the album and thank you to Steph for making me the best birthday gift ever!!!

Mr. LeGrow and I have been working super hard as well.  Mr. LeGrow went to the Umpire Course in New York and I love it when he comes back from seminars since he is always pumped with new drills and a new excitement for competing.  I get the benefit of his enthusiasm   Learning all the new rules and proceedures for the World Championships is key in our training.  It’s so important to keep up with all the changes since the judging in TKD has evolved over the years.  Even though Mr. LeGrow is my instructor he is also a competitor so it’s an unusual relationship. I wish I could help him the way he helps me.

While Mr. LeGrow was in NY I was invited by Mr. Lim to train with Mr. Joel Denis.   It was fun being in a different dojang with 10 senior black belt adults that I haven’t trained with in years but it was like no time had passed.  I’ve known all of them since I was 3 years old so it was very comfortable   It was great seeing them again and training together.  It’s amazing how you get to know so many people through different trainings, seminars and competitions.

Mr. Lim and Mr. Choquette

The hardest part of my training is finding women to spar with in Ontario.  I spar men all the time but I need to train with woman on a regular basis since the style is a bit different.  Mr. LeGrow has made arrangements for me to spar Mrs. Cabanas and Lisa Penny every second Friday night.  We had our first session last night and it was awesome.  We are all working towards the same goal so we take it seriously and appreciate each others strengths so we can try new things.

Lisa Perry, Kayla Maduk and Mrs. Cabanas

Track has been going incredibly well as well.  Each throwing event is getting better and better.  I redid my javelin testing last week and I was pleased that every component of the test improved since the testing done in November.  I am also now on a weight training program so I feel really strong. Bill has videotaped some of our throws and that’s such a great tool to learn from.  It’s amazing how you think your body is doing one thing but then you see yourself on video and you see something very different.  Shot and discus are also going well! I feel like I am making progress in each event so practices are really satisfying and exciting for me. I plan on competing in an indoor track meet for shot put next month. I think the more time I have in the circle, the better.  Unfortunately there are no indoor meets for javelin or discus.

It’s definitely been a stressful few weeks with final exams and summatives and trying to fit all the training in as well but without the training I know I would have been even more stressed.

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Oh Boy,  I need to make some major changes!!!  I am apologizing in advance to all my friends.  I might be a bit grumpy at first until I get used to all these new foods

We talked about my daily nutritional needs with all the training I do and the timing between each meal to maintain my strength and stamina.  I need to be eating 7 little meals throughout the day.  The goal here isn’t to lose weight or anything, but to maintain the energy and I need to get through the day of intense training (track and TKD).  I need the proper nutrition to keep my body in top shape.  I haven’t been eating nearly enough!  To be honest, I have never tried some of the foods that he told me to eat so I am a little bit (a lot) scared. :p

I am an extremely picky eater but I know that this improvement is what my body needs and I am completely willing to eat/drink whatever is necessary to get the results I want.  Training alone won’t be enough.

I am taking charge of my diet so that means that I will be shopping and cooking/preparing my food for the week on Sundays.  I’ll be freezing my daily portions.  My biggest challenge is having the ‘right’ food prepared and that are portable from morning until very late at night since I’m never home.

Right after my meeting with Wayne I went to the book store and bought the book he suggested and a journal to keep track of everything.

I’ve spent my Friday night reading the book so I can start writing my meal plans.

This weekend I will be researching and shopping to prepare for the week.  Wish me luck!   I thought it was finally time to start taking control and doing what’s best for my body.  I am really excited about it.

Thanks Wayne for all your great advice.  Since Wayne is also a Martial Artist he understands the type of work out that I do so that is very helpful.

This will be my new Best Friend

I CAN DO THIS!  I AM DOING THIS!!!!!

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I have 9 months before the next Taekwon-Do World Championships in Spain so I am definitely DRIVEN to train.  LET’S GO!

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Bye Bye 2012 – Hello 2013!

Happy New Year from My Whole Family

1.  Received the Ottawa Sport Award for Taekwon-Do (Great to see Mayor Jim Watson and Carolyn Waldo again)

2. Had the best birthday party ever in Montreal with all my best friends

3. Gave my first Taekwon-Do seminar at Mount-Tremblant TKD

4. Was interviewed on Daytime Ottawa talk show with Mr. LeGrow

5. Was accepted as a Link Crew leader at my high school

6. Worked on the stage crew for our high school musical

7. Passed my 3rd degree black belt test

8. Met and trained with Wayne Thomson for excellent cross training and kick boxing

9. Qualified in all three throwing events at OFSAA  (3rd place Javelin, 4th place Shot Put, 9th place discus)

10. Instructed at Sherway Sports and introduced TKD to a large group of girls

11. Participated in the Relay for Life with my high school

12. Stopped soccer temporarily to concentrate on Javelin, Shot Put and Discus with the Ottawa Lions Track Club (in the summer competed every Wednesday)

13.  Attended two of Master Suarez’s sparring seminars

14. Wrote a theme song for the Canadian Cancer Society with Kelsey Hayes (Win This Fight)

15. Sang publicly for my first time at our high school coffee house.  So far I have written 20 songs

16. Won 3 golds and the Overall Best Junior Female Athlete at the Pan Am Championships

17. Moved location of our dojang and rebuilt the building with all the other families

18. Amazing holiday with all my TKD friends in Magog and supported my friends compete in Triathlons

19. Spoke and did a TKD demo at the Barrhaven Food Bank Fundraiser and another demo on Canada Day as a guest for Triggers TKD

20. Trained all summer with Shane Lynch for some intense cross fit training

21. Attended Julia Cross’s Sparring Seminar (multiple World Champion from Scotland)

22. Accepted as a member of the Speaking Bureau for the ’Because I am a Girl’ campaign

23. Family holiday with all my Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and Grandpa in North Bay

24. Started my own Poster business with motivational words and quotes that I live by

25. Attended the Coup de Quebec to support my friends who were competing

26. Gave a  90 minute talk/presentation to my old elementary school on goal setting to all the grade 4 and grade 5 students

27. Attended Master  Lajueness’s seminar in Mount-Tremblant which focused on the psychological aspects of Taekwon-D0

28.  Earned and maintained Honour Role for my school marks and the Healthy Active Living Award

29. Wrote an original song that was made into a video for a Media class project and now some other songs are being recorded too

30. Had the opportunity to train and spar with Julio Carlos from NYC ( World Champion)

31. Gave a pattern seminar with Mr. LeGrow and hopefully it will be the first of many.  Also got to run competition trainings

Happy New Year to everyone! I Know that 2013 is going to be full of adventures! Can’t wait

The post My Top 30 Memories of 2012 appeared first on Kayla Maduk.

I had the privilege of  training with some of the best in the World, I was fortunate enough to instruct and share my passion for Taekwon-Do,  have been improving in Track and  I was accepted as a Public Speaker and hopefully made a difference for a few people.  I’ve constantly pushed my own limits.  For so many years I only focused on sports and I thought that was perfect.  Now I still have sports as my main focus but  I also have been discovering other passions and interests in my life too.   Sports has given me the confidence, courage and persistence to try new things and work hard at them.

Taekwon-Do:

This year I had the pleasure of training with some of the very best TKD Practitioners/Athletes in the World.  I thoroughly enjoyed attending as many seminars as possible and even had the opportunity to give my own seminars which was extremely fulfilling.  Helping instruct the classes and being the Head Competitor Coach has been very rewarding as well.   I was pleased with all my tournament results over the entire year.

I continue to get stronger, more fit and more expereinced so I am really excited for next year’s competitions.  I also really enjoyed training again with my dad.

I love training with my dad

Javelin, Shot Put and Discus:

I’ve been extremely happy with the way the winter training is going for all three throwing events.  I’m not sure why, but recently things are just clicking into place for me.  These throwing events are extremely technical and they take a lot of patience and an eager attitide to learn and improve.   I love my coaches and the people I train with so it’s always fun.  I learn something new every single practice which is what keeps it so interesting and motivating to keep pushing! It’s all about the tiny breakthroughs This is going to be an exciting year for competition as well.

Music:

People associate me with sports NOT music.  I only picked up the guitar for my first time a year ago and only had one semester at school with instruction from my teacher Mr. Stoodley.  Mr. Stoodley was such an inspiration and I haven’t been able to put the guitar down ever since my first class with him.  He really emphasises trying new things, pushing yourself and just enjoying the music. It helped me with my confidence.  I’ve written 17 songs over the last 6 months and it’s been a blast.  All my songs have a story and message/meaning to them.  I surprised myself by actually singing in a coffee house and a couple other public places.  This is so new and exciting for me.  A friend from school asked me to sing a song for her media class so she could make a video.  Click on the following link if you want to listen to it.  This is just the first of many to come

Link Crew:

Being a part of the Link Cre at school has been a great experience for so many reasons. I feel like I can actually make a difference for other students with all the amazing activities that we do.  After attending different workshops it’s obvious how much programs like this help with the entire school population.  Not only am I learning about the program and how to make it great, I am learning about myself and really getting involved with the school.  I’m also working hard on preparing the Leadership Camp in the Spring.  I’m not sure if it will even happen with the Bill 115 but I’m going ahead as if it will so we will be ready.

One of the things that our school works really hard on is the Anti-Bullying campaign.

My Favourite Anti-Bullying T-Shirt

Imagine the impact these t-shirts have when you see an entire high school wearing their signed pledges against Anti-Bullying!!! Every little step towards anti-bullying helps.  Every student was given a shirt when they signed the pledge.  Awesome!

Public Speaking:

Over the last year I’ve had the opportunities to speak in front of large groups of students about goal setting.  I am always trying to challenge myself and do things out of my comfort zone since amazing things can happen.  I’ve written my own simple 5 steps of goal setting and it can be geared for any age group.  I’ve had really positive feedback from the talks and still receive letters from people with their updates.  This is something that I really want to do more of in the future.

I’m also on the Speaking Bureau for the Because I Am a Girl campaign.  I’m sure there will be many more opportunties with them next year. Right now there are limited events at schools with the teachers’s ban for extra curricular activities.

School:

The older I get, the harder the school work is but I’m realy lucky for the High Performance Athletic Program at John McCrae High School.  I get more one-on-one learning in the harder subjects like math.  Since I train so many hours every week between the Taekwon-Do and Track getting my homework done is definitely getting harder but fortunately I have great teachers to help me and I am trying my best to get everything done!  I want to maintain my honour role status this year again as well. I know it will be hard but I am trying my best   Marks are becoming more important now that I am starting to think about which university I want to got to.

The ban against Bill 115 has completely changed the school year.  All the extra things that are so important to students are not happening.  Sports, Arts, Music, Drama and several other programs are not running like they used to, or at all anymore.   This is particularly hard on the grade 12 students who really needed some of these programs for their university applications and scholarships.  I sincerely hope that there can be a  settlement between the government and the teachers since I don’t think anyone is happy right now under the circumstances.

Friends: 

Because I have pushed myself to try so many new activities, I have also been introduced to so many new people that have become really close friends in a short period of time.  I love training with new friends and I love singing and playing music with a completely different group of friends.  I have my close friends that I’ve had for years and now I also have some very interesting and fun people in my life that I probably wouldn’t get the chance to meet if I hadn’t tried so many new things.  I still don’t have a whole lot of free time, but when I do it’s nice to know that I always have great people to be with.

Family: 

My family is my rock.  Without my supportive parents and brother I would not be able to do all the things that I get to do.  For every hour that I’m training they still have to drive me around (until my full driving license) and wait for me since my training is so far away.  The are just as committed as I am.  I’m so happy that Greg still lives at home with us.  I’m going to miss him so much when he moves out.  I’m very thankful that I still have my grandpa living around the corner since he is very involved with everything that I do.

2012 was a great year for me and I am so excited for what I will do in 2013!

Don’t Wait For Things to Happen…Go Out and MAKE Them Happen!

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It’s good to have two instructors since we both have different personalities and wanted different things emphasized.  This way we can get through to more students.  We took turns instructing the seminar and while one was instructing the other was going around the room correcting what the students were doing.  It was a great team work :)

I think it’s so important to break down the basics.  As you advance forward in belt levels, things will be much easier if your basics are strong.

We spent 30 minutes on each pattern starting at the white belt right up to the black stripe pattern. We went into extensive detail (more than students are used to) and then gave a demonstration of the pattern, going over key points. The group started out large with all belt levels and then students were excused when we started to work on patterns after their highest pattern.  By the end of the 5 hours we were only left with the black stripes.

Mr. LeGrow had me demonstrate the pattern as he was pointing out specific things that he wanted to point out.  Mr. LeGrow spent a lot of time preparing hand-outs for each pattern to give the students as well so they can keep studying the fundamentals that we covered.  This is extremely helpful for those students who will be either testing or competing shortly.

The demonstrations can also help give visuals. I am a visual learner, so if I see something, I can remember it and emulate it within seconds.  Some students are visual learners, some need to hear the explanation while others need to physically do it. I think we did a good job covering all aspects of learning.

When we were going through all the new movements and stances, we were extremely specific.  A lot of the kids like math so it worked out perfectly. We were giving the distance in centimeters, angles, percentages of weight distribution.  All of a sudden, it becomes a lot more clear and measurable for them.  The whole afternoon was an interactive question and answer format. I’m sure they felt that they were back in school

Patterns are a series of set fundamental movements against imaginary opponents.  It’s very important to think of the execution of the movements. When you understand what they are for, you will block, punch and strike differently because you can imagine it actually happening. Personally I don’t think this is taught enough in normal classes.  It’s important to really understand the history and the purpose of each pattern and movement.

The students that attended were very focused and worked really hard. It’s a long time to be training and taking in so much detail but I hope they felt it was worthwhile.  When I look at all the photos that were taken, you can see how much the kids were concentrating.

I hope that these students will want to participate in other seminars that Mr. LeGrow and I attend in other provinces. These seminars aren’t just the hours you spend training and learning. It becomes much more than that.  It’s about meeting new people, visiting new places and sharing your passion for TKD with the rest of the country and world.

Thank you Mr. LeGrow for putting so much thought and preparation into the seminar content.

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So Proud of You Cameron

I was also excited because Ms. Trigger asked me to spar her students as part of their test. I had a lot of fun sparring and watching everyone test. I even got to spar Cameron

After the test, we all went out to dinner and I had a small gift for Cameron. It was more of a symbolic gift. When I got my black belt, my grandma gave me a little wishing box. Whenever I have a goal, a dream or something that makes me happy, I write it down on a little piece of paper and put it in this box. I still do it today. I thought it was time that Cameron got his own box.  I found a box that said Happiness on it and I thought that was perfect.

My gifts to Cameron were a wishing box for new goals, a book mark that says ‘Courage’ since I love the message on it, a  magnet to put on his fridge so he sees it everyday and a rubbing stone with’ Courage’ written on it to remind him to always have the courage to try.

Cameron (and the rest of the students) earning their black belt is not the end. It’s a new beginning with so much ahead of them. Being a black belt is when you really start to learn. The theme of Cameron’s’ gifts was courage. When you are a white belt, it takes courage to set a goal to become a black belt because it can take more than 5 years. When you’re really young, 5 years is a very long time. During this journey to becoming a black belt, it takes courage to get outside your comfort zone, to grow and improve. Earning a black belt is a bench mark of how much you have grown as a martial artist and as a person. The coolest part is the black belt is the beginning of this growth. Now that he is a black belt, there is more courage needed. Things change. Now, he is a more serious student, but also a teacher. There is so much more to learn, and the more we learn, the more we realize how little we actually know. Taekwon-do isn’t just about learning new patterns, learning the history and improving in sparring/self defense. It’s also about growing as a person, becoming more confident, sharing your voice and knowledge, helping your community and your world aspire to being a better place and and living with the morals that TKD teaches us  (courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self control and indomitable spirit) and the student oath. TKD doesn’t stay in our dojangs, it becomes apart of us, and everything we do.

Earning a black belt is just the beginning.

When we have the courage to try, we grow, and when we grow we develop a voice that deserves to be shared. We can all make a difference.

Congratulations to all the students who successfully passed their test.  I would also like to thank Mrs. Clarke for taking all the photos.

The post It Takes Courage – This is Just the Beginning appeared first on Kayla Maduk.

Shot Put and Discus Coach Cory Wingate

Javelin Coach Bill Heikkila

On Mondays, Cory coaches me in shot put and discus. Tuesday nights Bill coaches me in javelin and on Thursdays I either do a combination of all three throws or rotate between the three events depending who is there.  I’m lucky that both coaches want to work together to make sure that my training program doesn’t conflict with each other. I’m the only thrower with the club that does all three events so I have to balance between them.

Each training session is about 2-3 hours long. After the track I go directly to taekwon-do and train there for another couple hours.

I’m very excited since there are a few new recruits this winter.  It’s good to have lots of throwers since you feed off each other’s energy and we learn from each other but I also love having one-on-one coaching for the fine tuning.

I have my own personal short term and long term goals for each event.  Not only do I have measurement distances as my goals, I also have technical goals.  I know that if my technical goals are reached then the distances will come soon enough.  There is a certain ‘feeling’ I want to reach for each event.  I want to feel more confident as I go up to the throw in competition.  That will only come by practice and repetition.  Sounds easy right?….. not so much.  Throwing is very hard on the entire body!  Since each throw is so explosive you can only do so many throws before your body gets exhausted.  That is why the conditioning, strength training and using the proper technique is so important.

Welcome to my indoor playground!

Throwers follow a weight lifting program – we’re lucky to have the track as well for warm ups.  I want to do a lot more sprint training this winter for speed.  Speed and explosiveness will help me in all my cross training

We throw javelin on the turf so we have to use javelins with rubber tips so they don’t damage the fields.  We also throw javelins into large nets.  It’s hard when you can’t measure your distances to see if you are improving

Core strength is so important in throwing so we throw heavy medicine balls against the wooden wall.  We do a lot of ab work with different sit ups as well as upper body strengthening with different push-ups focussing on different muscles

We use the circle with huge nets to throw the shot put and the discus so no one gets hurt. You don’t get a sense of how far it goes but you notice the technique more

We spend a lot time practicing proper foot work and gliding drills. Like most sports, good skill starts from the feet up.  These drills are also great for leg strength

Taekwon-do – 2013 is going to be a huge year for me.   I  have to place in the the top two at the Taekwon-Do Eastern Canadians in March and also at the Canadian Nationals in May.  My main focus will be on my training for the next World Championships in October that will be held in Spain.  Being on the National team is a huge honour and commitment not only to the team but to myself.  I want to come home with double gold! (patterns and sparring)  My TKD training will definitely get more intense as I get closer to competition season.

Track – 2013 is also a huge year for throwing for me too.  I recently received a letter from a university showing interest about my track results and although I’m only in grade 11 I have to start thinking about it seriously now.  I want to do the best I can at OFSAA this Spring as well as during the summer for the Track Club since all my stats will be recorded with Athletics Canada.  I also want to keep my honour role status for my school marks to help with scholarships.  I’ve decided I want to go into Marketing at university with a minor in Psychology  so I need to look at what universities are a good fit.

BRING IT ON!!!

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It’s so cool to see how hard some of the girls were concentrating and trying to do what I was telling them to do.  They were determined to get it.  Others were just there for exercise and a chance to be with their friends.  I knew I wasn’t going to really teach much in a short period of time or in that type of environment but at least it opens the door for them to try new things.

I have been to the Sherway Sports Program twice before and it meant so much that they asked me back.  The last time I was there we talked about goal setting so while we were cooling down we sat and talked about it a bit more.  I think it’s so important to have dreams (no matter how big or small they are).  I loved hearing all their goals.  I just wish I had time to sit with every girl and help them with a plan.  These girls need mentors so badly to help them make a plan to work towards their goal.  It’s one thing to have a dream but everyone needs help with a plan.  I am super thankful for all the help I get.  I may compete in individual sports but I feel like I have a huge team behind me.

I love looking at the girl’s faces as they share with everyone what their dreams are…they all couldn’t wait until it was their turn to talk

I completely respect and admire my previous soccer coach Audra Sherman who organized this Program.  She really cares so much about the kids and she is the perfect kind of mentor for them.  Without Audra these types of programs wouldn’t exist and they are so important. I hope Audra realizes what a difference she makes is so many lives.  I know she made a big difference with me on and off the soccer field.

I knew they had a good time since they all still wanted to ask questions and keep kicking and punching even with their coats and boots on after we were supposed to leave the gym.

Tonight was extra special for me since one of my previous soccer team mates was there as well.  Keisha has been a weekly volunteer and it was obvious that the girls LOVE her.  It was great being with Keisha again and it was fun doing something outside of soccer with her.

There is so much about soccer that I miss but I just can’t fit it in with my Taekwon-do and my track & field training.  Unfortunately you just have to make some tough choices so you don’t burn out.

Thanks for inviting me back guys and I look forward to seeing you again soon.  Keep trying new things and have  FUN

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Master Suarez, Ms. Kayla Maduk and Mr. Julio Carlos

I was able to pick up so many drills not only for myself but students in our dojang as well. I love finding new drills and different ways of approaching sparring concepts. I am definitely going to practice all of Master Suarez’s drills, because they are effective and I am a big fan of them. The first hour was a long warm up full of games and drills to get ready for sparring. They were all new and exciting. Then, we spent a full hour simply on movement and foot work. This is Mr. Carlos specialty so it was really cool to watch him demonstrate while we tried to emulate him. Movement is so incredibly important in sparring for setting up combinations, defending (you can’t get scored on if you are never hit) and attacking. Then we did kicking drills, still using the foot work.

The last portion of the seminar was the coolest…. Mr. Carlos agreed to spar every single person that attended the seminar for 1 minute each. Now that doesn’t seem like a long time, but when you are sparring someone as skilled as he is, it’s long, tiring and FUN! I absolutely loved sparring him. I had so much fun.  He’s entertaining to watch, but sparring him is stressful because your mind races and you have to be fully engaged and ready for anything.

Seminars like this are really interesting too because half of the room was filled with black belts, World Champions, National Team members, Instructors, and then the other half was full of young kids, color belts and aspiring champions. Some day down the road, those color belts will really appreciate what they got to experience. In a room full of people like that, the atmosphere is different. It’s more intense, but positive and fun. Everyone is working and pushing themselves with positive re-inforcement. It’s a really cool environment.

I love training more than anything, and that environment is my favorite. Even though, I wasn’t in top shape with my foot and not training for a few months, mentally I was back to where I feel my best and where I feel most like myself. This weekend was exactly what I needed to get me back to feeling like myself and lighting the fire in my eyes and heart again. I am more motivated than ever and I am ready for a great year.

Thank you Mr. LeGrow and Mr. Cabanas for organizing the Tournament plus this seminar and thank you Master Suarez and Mr. Carlos for sharing your knowledge and experience.

To view all 400 photos that were taken at the seminar click on the photo below.  There are pictures of everyone who attended the seminar

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For me the highlight of the tournament was watching all the colour belts compete.  For several of them it was their first time competing so there was a lot of emotions going around the room.  Competing is completely different from class so it’s really important for the students to be prepared.  They need to understand the scoring system so they know how to earn points and know how they are being judged.  They need to be taught the proper ring etiquette (how to enter the ring, when to bow etc).  Most importantly they need to learn how to deal with winning and losing. There is always going to be a winner and a loser, and learning how to move forward and learn from it, is what is important.

I always like to give some extra help to the younger kids competing beforehand so they know what to expect and feel more confident and prepared going into a tournament. That way, hopefully they can enjoy the experience of a tournament no matter what their results. It’s all about their expectations and what they want to accomplish.  It’s also very important for the parents to understand how tournaments work so they can help their child along the way.

I spent the whole morning running from ring to ring coaching the students from our dojang but I also coached students from other schools if they looked like they needed a bit of help.

In the afternoon the black belts competed.  Although it was a friendship tournament 3 out of the 6 women in my division were on the National Team and one of them just competed at the World Cup so the calibre was very high.  They entered me into the U35 Age group.

I’ve been injured for two months and just got the go ahead from the doctor to compete on Friday.  I have to admit I was quite anxious competing again, but this was a great opportunity to get back into things psychologically.

1st place in Patterns

I was even more nervous for the sparring. I really haven’t sparred much since Pan-Ams, especially with the injury and trying to recover.  My first competitor was someone who went to the World Championships with me so I really respect her.  She has a wicked kick that always appears out of nowhere.  I wasn’t able to have the same speed and movement in the ring as I usually do, so I tried my best to control the ring, and stick to my game plan. My coach, Mr. LeGrow was really helpful. It was nice having him behind me. I feel like each time I spar, I learn and feel an improvement or notice something that I need to change or get better at.

Knowing that I have so much more to learn and room to improve, I find it exciting for the next year to see how much more I can push my limits and raise the bar.

1st place Sparring

It really meant a lot that my brother Greg came to watch with his girlfriend.  I don’t often get to compete in Ottawa.

Thanks for Coming Greg

To see all the photos that my mom took of the tournament click here.

I will write about today’s seminar and post those photos tomorrow but right now I need SLEEP! 

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Our morning started at 7:00 at John McCrae High School

Mrs. Cote took us downtown by taxi.  The day was extra meaningful to her since her son served in Afghanistan for 9 months.  She told us how proud but also how worried she was the whole time. It brings the whole concept of war closer when you talk to soldiers and their families.  Suddenly they become real people and not just facts and statistics we hear about.

We attended a presentation at the Chateau Laurier Hotel.  There was a man who talked about his project,  “Operations Veterans”.  The whole purpose of the project is to raise money for the veterans and make meal card so they can have a nice hot meal when needed.  He was so upset to see veterans who had served and protected our country but they couldn’t afford a meal.  It’s just wrong!   Schools raised money by selling poppies and receiving donations.  At the end of the day all the cheques were given to the project.  Every dollar helps.  After the presentation everyone walked to the War Memorial.

The army jets flew overhead.  I couldn’t believe how really loud they were. We almost didn’t them becuase of all the clouds.

I find Remembrance Day really sad so it helped having my friends with me.  The part that upsets me the most is seeing these soldiers standing proud, but behind their eyes you can see their sadness and grief. I don’t know what I would do if anything bad happened to any of my friends.  I would do anything to protect them so I can only imagine how the soldiers felt.

National War Memorial

When the 22 cannons went off I actually felt my whole body vibrate and I can’t imagine the fear that the soldiers felt with that sound going off all the time.  The impact of the sound, really made me think and reflect. It would be absolutely terrifying.

Wreaths were slowly laid one at a time all around the memorial statue. There were thousands of people there so it made it a bit hard to hear what the Speakers were saying.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Everyone laid their own poppies on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to respect all the soldiers that never returned and have never been accounted for.

After the service we walked to the Canadian War Museum and  had a nice sit-down lunch with all the students who were invited from other schools.  After the lunch there was a two hour tour of the museum.

Flags at Half Mast

Remembrance Day is the perfect reminder how to keep things in perspective.  We can easily get so caught up in our own ‘problems’ but when you think of what all the soldiers who died, soldiers that have returned, and soldiers that are still fighting had/have to go through,  our problems seem so trivial.

I would like to personally thank all the veterans and all our soldiers for protecting our country. THANK YOU. Lest we forget.

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Master Lajeunesse has so much knowledge and passion to share

I was so excited when Mr. Charlebois invited me to attend this seminar.  I trained in his dojang in Mt. Tremblant last February and I felt so welcomed.  I couldn’t wait to see him and his students again.  When you get the opportunity to spend time with someone like Master Lajeunesse, you jump on the opportunity since you know you are going to learn so much.  Personally I love all the psychology behind TKD so I could talk about it for DAYS with him.   So many practitioners really don’t appreciate it enough and I think it’s because it isn’t talked about as much as it should be.  I hope we never lose the ‘Do’ of Taekwon-do.

Mr. Charlebois, Ms. Maduk and Master Lajeunesse

One of Master Lajeunesse’s views, is that we need to become more in touch with our bodies. We don’t spend enough time alone with ourselves. When we do patterns, it’s important to be there in the moment and in that moment only.  A the beginning, we did quite a few breathing exercises and focused on certain muscles and chakra’s. Then, we did some patterns, but we focused on the emotions behind them. Patterns aren’t simply movements, but a way of expressing ourselves and a release of energy. I have always thought of patterns this way and when I do patterns, it’s my way of expressing myself. It is very therapeutic.

5 years ago one of my grandmothers lived with us for 9 months while she was dying of terminal cancer.  Our house was like a hospital.  It was filled with grief, anxiety, fear, frustration and sadness. I found the pain unbearable and my only escape was my training.  I put all my feelings into my patterns.  It was my therapy and it was the only thing that gave me comfort.  At the time I had a key to a dojang and I would just go train by the hour all by myself when the dojang was closed.  I was only 11 years old but I knew what my body needed to cope. It was a way to let out all my pain and fear through my body instead of words. There is something completely magical about patterns that you just can’t describe. I guess it’s similar to how musicians feel when they play their instruments or how dancers feel when they get lost in their movements.  I know when I do my patterns, I feel free and nothing can touch me. Nothing else matters. I think since I’ve done the patterns millions of times I no longer concentrate on what I’m doing but more on how I am feeling and how much energy I release. After a pattern, I feel incredible.

In competition you can see who is ‘thinking’ too much in their movements.  Their eyes are looking in the wrong place and their movements look mechanical or forced.  Having charisma is something rare.  Having charisma comes from not just performing the pattern, but completely giving yourself to the pattern and letting it take you on a journey. It’s letting your body tell a story through the pattern. Having charisma let’s others feel your passion and energy, not just see it.

Another aspect he touched on, was relating to the story of each pattern on a personal level. Each pattern represents a person in history and a story of the development of Korea and of TKD. Usually we just remember the meaning of each pattern, but what’s the point? We can truly understand and appreciate the history in TKD when we can understand it, and relate it to our personal lives.

After going through the psychological aspect of patterns, we looked at the practical side of patterns, which moved into self defense. Patterns are a series of set movements against imaginary opponents.  It was really interesting to go through the patterns and look at how it would be if people were actually attacking you.

Master Lejeunesse was also explaining to the group the importance of competing in TKD.  It’s important to learn how to cope with stress and pressure. You learn a lot about yourself and grow as a person.  I actually find I perform my patterns much better under a stressful situation. Even though competing isn’t a huge section of the TKD encyclopedia, it’s actually very important. When you go to tournaments, you get a new perspective, a new experience and develop a new community of friends from around the world.

He asked me to tell about my experiences of how the World Championships has affected me and he also asked his son Etienne to tell about his personal experience of competing at the World Cup last month in England.  We both had very different experiences but we both felt that we couldn’t wait to do it again  Competing means different things to different people.

Etienne Lajeunesse

As Master Lajeunesse was talking about his views and opinions, it was great reassurance, because I think the same way.

 I love travelling to different cities to meet and train with new people – it’s all part of the experience.  I love sharing our own personal tips with each other on what has worked in the past and how we want to improve in the future.  We can always learn! Thank you again Mr. Charlebois and Master Lajeunesse.  It was also very kind of Mr. Charlebois’ mom and sister to come and help out with the registration and feed us healthy snacks.

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Everyone has their own definition or perception of ‘training hard’.  The more I talk with other competitors the more I realize there is a huge difference.  Some train less but there are always some who will train more.   There is also a huge difference in the way people train.  Some train hard – some train smart.  I always want to know how they train, who they train with, and how they mentally prepare when they compete.  Seeing how people react to their wins and losses is also very valuable.  There is always going to be a winner and loser in a sparring match.  It’s what you do when the match is over that is just as important as what you did before the match.

There are several important factors to consider other than if you win a medal or not.

After you’ve sparred, you can ask yourself:

• was I fast/light enough on my feet?
• did I use all the tools I had to their full potential?
• did I use the ring properlyt?
• was I in good enough shape?
• did I listen to my coach?
• did I take advantage of every opportunity?
• did I have a good enough warm-up?
• was I strong enough mentally?
• were my points clean?
• did I leave it all on the mat?

Even though the ‘winner’ of the match is decided by the judges, that doesn’t mean that you can’t feel incredibly proud of the way you sparred. It’s what you take away from it that’s important.

Getting into the ring takes a lot of courage. If you don’t believe me….try it yourself!

You know what you are capable of but most of the time you don’t have a clue what your opponent can do. You might have competed against them before but you have to look at each match like you’ve never seen them before since you have no idea what they’ve been concentrating on during their own training. They might be a completely different fighter now. I know from personal experience being a teenager myself, I’m still growing and things change all the time! I remember Grand Master Lan said to me right before a match ‘never under-estimate your opponent’. Words of wisdom!

You have to be able to think clearly, quickly and be able to adapt to all different situations. That is why your own preparation is so important. Your movements have to be automatic.  They have to be instinctive.  You don’t have time to question your own abilities. The more you spar, the more things become easier.

Since I compete in sparring AND patterns, I always question what percentage of my time should I be cross training and how much time should I be sparring or how much time should I be perfecting patterns? I have talked to so many competitors, Instructors and Masters about this and everyone has their own opinion so who do I listen to? Is it different for everyone? Why is it usually the same group of people on the podium year after year? What do they do that is different from the masses?

Is there a Magic Formula?

My goal this year is to find the perfect balance between training (cross training, sparring, patterns), mental preparation, proper nutrition and rest that works for my body. If I can do that, then the desired results will follow

If anyone knows the Magic Formula…..Please let me know!!!!

The post Does Anyone Know the Magic Formula? appeared first on Kayla Maduk.

Saturday morning I went to watch the Coupe du Quebec.  I would have loved to compete but this is their Provincial championships and also my foot still isn’t in good enough shape to train yet.  The selection cycle is starting again for the National Team so I always like to see who is competing and who is doing really well.  With TKD there are always new competitors coming up the ranks with their tests and competing categories – especially in the Junior division.

Just waiting as things get set up

I had planned on just being a spectator but I ended up being a judge for the black belt divisions. Mr. LeGrow and Mr. Lim also came from Ontario and they judged as well.  I never go to a large tournament without my judging suit. Even though we didn’t compete in the Quebec Provincials I was glad that Ontario was still there in representation.  It allows the competing black belts to focus on their own competition and not worry about judging.  The higher your degree the more you judge.  I am qualified to judge up to 2nd degree black belts and I have been a centre referee.  I get re-certified as a judge whenever there is a course.  It’s so important to know all the current changes, rules and hand signals.

Glad I brought my judging suit Photo taken by Marieve Inoue

After the tournament I had a blast with everyone at our dinner out.  One of the best parts of TKD is the friendship that we have together.  We are all ages, all belt levels and degrees and it doesn’t matter what school you train with.

I enjoyed getting to talk to all the Quebec Instructors and Masters about upcoming events and tournaments.  It’s going to be an awesome year!  I was really happy that a few people even commented that my french was getting better.  Being in French immersion was the best thing I ever did since most of my training buddies (in TKD and even with my track & field) are french and it just makes it easier for everyone if I can speak french with them too.

Congratulations everyone on a great tournament!

The post TKD Coupe du Quebec appeared first on Kayla Maduk.

Principal Mr. Schultz

Receiving my awards from Ms. Rusch

It means so much that my Grandpa can be at these events.

The post School Awards Ceremony appeared first on Kayla Maduk.

I had a blast going back to my Elementary School – me in grade 5

When I was in elementary school my huge goal was to go to the Taekwon-Do World Championships.  I basically kept this a secret.  The only people that knew were my parents,  a few of my teachers and my Instructor,  Master Kou.  Most people think of ‘fighting’ when they think of martial arts.  I was petrified of being being labelled a ‘bully’ since nothing could have been further from the truth.  Being taller than all the kids was hard enough but being known as a ‘girl fighter’ was just not cool.  Girls couldn’t relate or understand me and boys were afraid of me (even if they wouldn’t admit that).  I would never think of hurting anyone at school or on the playground.  If you misuse TKD your belt can be taken away from you.  That is the biggest form of disgrace in the Martial Arts world.  Fortunately Martial Arts is a lot more popular now and it’s a lot more understood than it used to be.

I wrote my goal of being World Champion on a piece of paper and put it in my wish pot when I was in grade 4. It was my little secret. I didn’t have the courage to tell anyone.

I told the students about all the steps that I took in my training, the hard decision to switch dojangs to my new instructor Mr. LeGrow after being with the same coach for 10 years, qualifying and making the National team, training for the World Championships and how I’m restarting the cycle again for the world championships in Spain 2013.  I explained my 5 steps that I take when I set a goal.  I can only speak from my own experience but so far they’ve worked for me.  Together, we all wrote down our goals and most of them shared with the group what they wanted to do.  I was blown away with what they had to say.  It would be so incredible if they could all be achieved. If you combined all their goals sheets together Jockvale will have enough players for their own professional hockey, football, gymnastics and dance teams

I never consider hard work a SACRIFICE since it’s my CHOICE and I know it will only lead to something great some day

Writing down the goals isn’t enough!!!  Most of them even knew why their goal was important to them but I think the next stage is where things fall apart for some people.  It’s the phase that I call ‘ WORK’.  When I asked them what their daily routine was towards their goal most of them might put in an hour or two (maybe even 3 hours) a week towards it.  That amount of time is fine for daily excersice but if their goal is to be a professional hockey player, an olympic swimmer, a professional dancer or the next Canadian Idol etc. it requires a whole lot more than what they are doing.  I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, but competitive sports have gotten so much more competitive and the standards and expectations are so much higher that kids have to put in a lot more work earlier and younger than they did in the past.  All you have to do is look at the Olympics last summer.  New records of speed, height, weight etc were constantly being set.  PB’s are always being broken.  Unfortunately or fortunatey (however you look at it) more ‘work’ has to be put in.  I think the hardest thing for people after they’ve set a huge goal is not having a plan to follow or knowing who to talk to.  If they don’t see enough progress they stop and so does their dream   The good news is, they at least started the goal and they are better off than if they never even tried.

These are the dreams and goals for our future generation

I don’t feel that the problem is being lazy, but it’s the lack of direction as to what they should and could be doing towards their goal.   We wouldn’t expect them to be able to graduate from grade 5 without starting in kindergarden.  The same is true with goals. Kids need more support and guidance from parents, family, friends, coaches and teachers.  I can honestly say it was never my parents pushing me to train. It was my passion so no one ever needed to. I really believe that the drive needs to come from the kids, but they still need help with the direction. Goals CAN be achieved alone but it’s a whole lot easier, funner and faster if you have support behind you.

Having different props helped reinforce my messages

This is where I was super fortunate.  When I was their age back in grade 4 and 5 I had two 18 year old teenage mentors (Jonathon Martel and Max Riopelle). Both of them knew my goal and both of them had competed in a World Championship themselves.  They saw some talent in me and they knew how driven I was so they coached me privately for hours at a time on weekends when the dogang was closed. During the summer months they worked me hard like I was in a boot camp training beside them.  I trained just as hard as they did.  I had nothing but respect for them and I never questioned what they asked me to do even if it was repeating the same movement or drill over and over again for hours until it was perfect!  I figured if they made it to the World Championships they knew what they were talking about.  It was always just… ‘yes Sir’. This was additional to all my nightly training with my Instructor.  That is why I like to help younger students now.  It’s my ‘payback’ time.

Having a ‘work plan’ is key but then having the support of parents is crucial when you are just a kid.  If my parents weren’t willing to drive me EVERYWHERE and sit on hard benches by the hour to watch I could never had these opportunities either.  I think I have a unique ‘teamwork’ relationship with my parents.  I can’t expect my parents to give up 5 hours a night so I can train without helping them in as many ways as I can.

I was so pleased with the way the morning went with the students.  I have already received several thank-you emails from the students and I hope they keep me up to date with their progress.

It was fun to end the morning singing a song that I wrote about leaving your mark. I loved it when someone asked me if they could download it on their iPod

For me the highlight was reading through all the goal sheets when I got home. I loved all their little messages to me too and even their pictures.  They were all amazing and I really hope that the students get the direction that they need to help them follow through.  I loved the goals of making a new friend, trying harder in french, helping more at home and being nicer to my brother. However, one of the sheets literally brought tears to my eyes.  It said “I want to stop BEING a bully”.  If only that one goal is achieved, then I’ll be soooooo happy!!!!!

It was great for me to be able to go back and thank all the teachers that had supported, encouraged, inspired and taught me so well. It was amazing seeing you all again.  And of course it was great to see Mrs. Ball in the office again. She put many bandaids on my knees over the years :)

The post Kids Need More Guidance After They Set Their Goals appeared first on Kayla Maduk.

So much care and thought went into this HUGE banner that the girls had made – look at all the little messages written on it

Pink Lemonade Sales are a way of Fundraising for Because I Am a Girl

My Supervisor Lindsay Higgs flew in from Toronto to come and speak to the girls about gender equality, having a voice and how important education is.

This event was organized by the school.  Anyone can host a ‘Girls Night in Pary’ and you can do whatever you want at the parties but obviously the purpose is to address some of the issues that girls face around the world in regards to human rights.  Did you know that over 75 million girls today are not able to be in school.  I promise I will never complain about school again!

The night started with a group of girls from the school who created a Because I Am a Girl club at the school.  It was really cute to see how proud they were and how much work they put into their presentation.

The girls were then divided into stations of making some beaded jewelry, face painting, a costume photo booth and creating inspirational book marks.  The school was clever by including a donation of gently used books that were going to be delivered to a local safe house for teenage moms who are trying to finish their high school education.  We all need to help each other and we can start by helping our own neighbours.  We never have to look far to find someone who needs a helping hand.

It was a good chance for me to talk to the girls while we were working at the stations so I could get a sense of who they are and I could mold my presentation a little bit better for them.  I soon found out how intelligent these girls were.  They were very kind to me helping me with my crafts and costumes.

I could come up with motivational words for my book mark, and I got some help making it all pretty

Costumes to be whoever you want to be

I promise you will never see this look again but the girls thought this hat would look ‘perfect’ at the costume photo booth

I stayed away from the face painting since I thought it might be hard for the girls to take me seriously while I was giving my presentation if my face looked like a kitten or something. The volunteer painters did a great job

Just when I thought things were going to settle down it was time to Zoomba!  A volunteer from Good Life Fitness came in and put us all through a 30 minute workout.  It was a face off challenge between the girls and their moms.  I was glad I was on the ‘girls’ team since they really rocked it.  Me, on the other hand - not so great at Zoomba but it was lots of fun. lol

I think I will just stick with Taekwon-do. I just don’t have the swag for Zoomba

There was another guest speaker who came in and showed her videos of extreme marathons that she has completed all around the world.  I found it super cool and it inspired me to do something like that some day.  It amazes me how many unique challenges, races and opportunities that are available all around the world but you don’t often hear about them.

Then it was my turn.  I felt completely comfortable in this environment and I was looking forward to it.  My biggest problem was I had so much information and so little time.  My objective was ’Because I am a Girl’ I wanted to help these 40 younger girls make a goal and give them my 5 tips that I use whenever I set a goal.  Together we wrote them down on (pink) paper and put them into a big goal pot. That way,  together we can all achieve our goals together and we all did step one as a group.  Together we are Growing Champions.  We need to grow as many champions as possible since being a champion gives you confidence to help and make a difference for others.  Being a champion gives you the confidence to have a voice. It was really interesting hearing the different definitions of what a Champion is.

I discussed the 5 steps that I use when setting a goal

We talked about how champions help others to become champions too.  A medal around your neck does not define someone as a champion. It’s the character building through the journey that makes you a champion! We put all our goals in our ’goal’ pot and hopefully by being kind, supportive and helpful to each other we can all reach our goals.  The more confident, generous and strong girls we create, the more we can help our own communities and communities around the world.

Pot of Growing Champions. Watch us Grow!

As the girls were enjoying their bed time snack of ice cream sundaes I sang a song I wrote last week since the words were very appropriate to the event. Earlier in the night, there was another teacher who said a few words about mitzvahs, and giving back to the community.  She also played a song that all the girls were singing along with so I knew they liked music. They seemed to all like my song too so I was happy.

Music is the perfect balance in my life

The highlight of the evening for me were all the little conversations I had with the girls and their moms after the presentation.  I was touched by their comments, their goals and how they wanted to keep in touch and follow my blog.  I was supposed to be inspiring to them but I think I was more inspired by these young girls.  When I got home I read every single ‘goal’ sheet and I was so impressed with everyone’s goals and the mentality these girls have!  What pleased me most was that I could tell the girls got my message by the way they filled out their goal sheets.  If I can make a difference in just one of these girls lives that would be awesome.  I hope to hear from them along THEIR journey.

I left the night with three people asking me to come speak at another school, someones company, and I was invited back to this school for a longer session.  I would say the night was a HUGE success.  Congratulations everyone on a job well done.

The post My First ‘Girls Night In’ with Because I Am a Girl appeared first on Kayla Maduk.

I received the cutest email from a 10 year old girl that I have never met before.  She had to write a biography on someone and while she was doing her research she decide to write about me!!!   She went all through my website. To be honest I thought it was spam at first but the more I read I knew it was real.  As it happens she also goes to the same Elementary School as I did and she has a green belt in Taekwon-Do (trains at Triggers TKD) so thought it would be good fit.  As I get older I realize that we all connected in some way through different activities, schools, clubs, teams and friends.

I offered to meet with her and her mom because I wanted to meet this incredible girl.  I even went to watch her train in Taekwon-Do for a bit before we were supposed to meet.

Maysa was nervous and shy but I could tell she was super intelligent. I was soooo impressed how she took the initiative to write to me and ask a few questions.  She brought her ‘biography’ with her so I could read it and I was touched with how she had done all her research and answered all the necessary questions for her project. It must have taken her forever to gather all her information.

We ended up talking for over an hour.  It was a great experience for me too since this is the age group of girls that I will be working with while I’m with the “Because I Am a Girl” project.  It totally reinforced the importance of building up self esteem in young girls and I’m even more excited for my upcoming events.  I look forward to working  with many girls just like Maysa.

I really hope that Maysa gets a great mark on her project.  I don’t know of any other 10 year olds that would put in so much thought and effort in a school project.  Dream BIG Maysa and thank you for choosing me to write about!

Kayla and Maysa

                        Kayla Maduk

Kayla Maduk is a 3rd degree black belt who lives in Ottawa. She is 16 years old. She was born January 21st 1996. She went to Jockvale Elementary School, Cedarview Middle School and now goes to John McCrae Secondary School.

She is youngest of two children. Her older brother and her dad are both black belts in Taekwon-Do. Their mom sits on the sidelines cheering. When Kayla was too young to join Taekwon-Do she would study and learn it from her brother and dad.  She started learning Taekwon-Do at age 3 and in grade 5 she competed and won medals in her first World Cup. Kayla went to the International Taekwon-Do Federation Championships in New Zealand, where she won a gold medal for 2nd degree patterns, a silver medal for sparring (Hyper Weight) and another silver medal for team power breaking. Kayla trains at a dojang that’s 70 km away in Orleans!

When Kayla has to go to tournaments, her teachers understand and give her all the work early so she doesn’t have to do it while she is travelling. She is in a high performance athletic program at John McCrae. This program is for advanced athletes, which means students who train 20 or more hours per week.  The program helps  make sure that they do not fall behind at school such as in math etc.

When Kayla was in Jockvale Elementary School she won 2 Bill Guy awards. She also represented Jockvale for French public speaking; has competed in Jockvale Idol and was a MC for Jockvale Idol!!!

To help the community she volunteers at fundraisers for CHEO, the Diabetes Association and raises money for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. At school, Kayla is a Link Crew leader. In this program she helps grade 9 students partner with a grade 11 or 12 student. This helps the grade 9 student get used to high school and prevents bullying. Plus she volunteered with a “Girls Only Multi-Sport Program” where she taught inner city girls to learn Taekwon-Do. Another thing that Kayla does to help out, is she is an Ambassador for Plan Canada, Because I am a Girl program. For this group she will go out and talk to different elementary schools, specifically grade 4 and 5, about how girls have the right to do everything that boys can do.

Kayla also enjoys playing Basketball, Track and Field, Javelin, Cross Country and Soccer. Plus she enjoys hanging out with friends.

Here are two of Kayla’s inspirational quotes:

“No one said you have to do it all at once….take it one hurdle at a time.”

“It’s what you do before and after the competition that makes you a champion.”

BY:MAYSA

 

 

 

The post I Was Honoured by a Young Girl! appeared first on Kayla Maduk.

Today we celebrate endless possibilities for girls all around the world. Girls deserve the same rights and opportunities no matter where they are.  Today we support the movement to make that happen! One girl can change the world, but they need to be given the chance. Join us and support and celebrate every single girl in the world. Together we can make a difference.

http://becauseiamagirl.ca/page.aspx?pid=4432.

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I have my first talk October 23rd in front of 50 elementary school girls.  They have asked me to talk about my struggles and successes I’ve had being a girl in sports, especially in a martial art.

It’s great to have the opportunity to hopefully motivate and inspire some other girls to dream big and work towards their goal no matter what the obstacles, stereotypes or limitations. I want them to know that it’s OK to be strong and confident. It’s great!  I want them to know that strength within gives you the freedom to be heard and make a difference.  I want them to know that people will support them if they believe in themselves.  I have learned so much through sports and I just want to share my story and motivate these girls to be the best they can be no matter what! I want them to know that they too have the power to help others along the way. Everyone deserves the chance to try things. We all have different talents and everyone should have the opportunity to pursue their dreams.  We have so many privileges here in Canada and I feel it’s our responsibility to help those who don’t.

Because I am a Girl initiative is a national campaign that is unleashing the power of Canadian girls, women – and everyone who matters to them – to claim a brighter, safer future for girls in the developing world.

We believe:

• Girls have the right to eat.
• Girls have the right to be educated.
• Girls have the right to be safe.
• Girls have the right to healthcare.
• Girls have the right to be treated with respect.
• Girls have the right to pursue their dreams.
• Girls have the right to the same opportunities as their brothers.

…because girls’ rights are human rights.

Although girls are often the poorest of the poor, it’s proven that investing in girls is key to eliminating poverty. Empower a girl and she’ll change the world.

When a girl is educated, nourished and protected, she shares her knowledge and skills with her family and community, and can forever change the future of a nation. It’s that powerful!

That’s what Because I am a Girl is all about – harnessing the incredible power that girls and women have here at home and in the developing world, to change the future.

Girls and women are making real changes around the world and here in Canada to break the cycle of poverty in the developing world.

It only takes ONE girl to change the world.

I will keep you posted with my upcoming events along this journey.

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My mom takes 1,000′s of pictures all the time and they are REALLY good and unique.  I love thinking of inspirational quotes that help me either train harder or feel good.  Our skills compliment each other so we have started putting them together.  Here are a few samples and there are so many more to come.

We would love to spread positive messages to as many people as possible.  Everyone deserves to feel important, loved, strong and beautiful.

We aren’t 100% sure how we want to distribute them yet.  I am looking for different ways to earn an income that would help pay for International competitions.  If anyone has any suggestions to make this work please feel free to share them with me.  I would really appreciate it!  Thanks

The post A Joint Motivational Project With my Mom appeared first on Kayla Maduk.

I am also throwing shot put and discus under the coaching of Darrin Reesal.  Both coaches are with the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club and they are both amazing.

One year isn’t very long for throwing events and I really have no idea how far I will get with it I am enjoying learning the new sport and just having lots of fun :)  It’s hard sometimes when I compare my results to the ones I have in Taekwon-Do.  I have to remind myself that I’ve been doing TKD all my life so there shouldn’t be any comparison.  I always worry that the coaches will get disappointed if I don’t progress fast enough.  The track coaches are all volunteers so I really do appreciate every bit of time they give.

Bill always keeps journals on EVERYTHING which is something that we have in common  This blog is my journal.  It’s fun to look back over the year and see what we went through together and I’m looking forward to more success this year.

Thanks Bill for sharing all your wisdom.

September 2011

The post I Can’t Believe it’s Been a Whole Year! appeared first on Kayla Maduk.

These shaker bottles make drinking the shakes so much easier since the little ball really does take all the clumps away.

The post Blender Bottle Magic – No More Clumps for Me! appeared first on Kayla Maduk.

I get so FRUSTRATED when I hear athletes (from all different sports) complain about ‘having’ to train or doing things they don’t like to do in practice

It doesn’t make sense to me. Why do it, if you are just going to complain and be miserable the whole time? When I go through crazy workouts, I never complain because I chose to be there and afterwards I always really proud and satisfied. I want to be there and I treat it as a privilege that I get to be doing what I love.  I live to train and compete. Don’t just show up….Be there!

It’s a privilege to:

• have a healthy body
• have a family who supports you and is willing to make sacrifices for you to reach your goals
• have willing coaches to give you their expertise and time (so much of it is by volunteers)
• to have enough time to put the training in
• have the proper equipment for your sport
• get the proper nutrition for your body to perform at its best
• have the best doctors and physiotherapists when things go wrong
• financially be able to afford club and team fees
• wear a uniform representing your team or country so wear it with pride!

“There is a huge difference between getting a ride to train and being driven to train” -  Kayla Maduk

One of my javelin training buddies and I went to the track tonight for some throwing. It’s great having people to train with who feel the same way.  I didn’t do any runs or jumps.  It was strictly throwing with two feet planted on the ground.  I just want to make sure I don’t lose the ‘feel’ of throwing.  It was great to be there.  We basically had the whole place to ourselves.  I want to get as many throws in as possible before I have to train in the dome all winter.

Thanks for training with me today Val – I love your shirt

I want to train as much as possible outdoors before it gets too cold.  It’s too hard on your joints and muscles to throw in the cold

The post It’s a Priviledge to be Able to Train! appeared first on Kayla Maduk.

Next week  my friends, coaches and fellow competitors are going to England for the ITF Taekwon-Do World Cup.  For those of you who don`t know, there is a World Cup every two years and on the alternate year there is a World Championships.

World Cups are open to everyone, even for the higher color belts.   There is also a pee-wee black belt division (ages 9-13).  These tournaments are usually quite large since anyone can compete and there are more divisions. 

World Championships are only for the top two competitors in every division. There is a whole competition and seletion process to qualify to be on the National Team.  You must compete in the sanctioned tournaments and place in the top two at Nationals.  The World Chamionships is only for black belts starting at age 14.  It is such a huge honour to be part of the Canadian Delegation.  You travel, train and compete as a team and compete for your Country.  It also makes it easier for Sponsorship since it’s a World Championship. It was at the last World Championships that I competed in in New Zealand.

Both competitions are amazing and very different from one another.  I have my heart set on competing in Spain next year for the next World Championships.  I had to make a decision about either going to England now or Spain later.  Unfortunately it`s very expensive and since I`m still 16 I want my parents with me when I compete overseas.  It wouldn’t be the same without them there.  I`m looking for a part time job to help with some of the expenses but it`s hard with my heavy training schedule and school.

I’ve been training with my buddies who are going to England.  It`s been great since we’ve pushed each other and I got in good shape through the process.  Suddenly as the date gets closer reality has set in and I am pretty depressed about not going to England.  I want everyone to do well and enjoy their whole experience.  I have to admit I really wish I was going too! You make so many new memories and experiences at these tournaments. It’s funny how my circle of friends are from all around the world now and there are some people that I really want to see again.  I’ll just have to wait to see them in Spain.

School – New Bill 115 -   It`s also back to school time and I have a really heavy work load. School marks are so important this year since these are the marks that universities will look at next year when I put my applications in.  With the new Bill 115, the teachers have banned all extra activities.  I completely understand why they are holding their grounds but the whole school atmosphere is different.  I’ve been working with the Link Crew and love it, so I just hope we can keep it going since it`s basically run by students for the most part. I`m also organizing the Leadership Camp for the Spring but I`m not sure it will even take place now.  There just seems to be so much up in the air but I`m proceeding like everything will happen just in case it does.  I also worry about things like OFSAA not happening this year and that affects hopes of universities noticing you for scholarships.  I can tell the teachers are upset about their ban but this really proves how involved teachers are in all areas school life NOT just the class rooms.  Without the teachers all these extra activities can`t happen.

Music -  Last June, my music teacher challenged me to write 12 songs over the summer.  He knows how much I love challenges lol.  I wrote 8 new ones, not including the ones I have written before. I was looking forward to recording them at school this Fall.  I was so disappointed when it was considered  an `extra` curricular activity.  I find writing lyrics very therapeutic.  Needless to say I’ve written a another song this week!  I play the guitar every night before I go to bed.  It`s a great balance in my life and clears my mind.  Someday, you will  hear my songs

Health – For the last two weeks my foot has been in a lot of pain.  I had a bone scan at the begining of the week and I got the results yesterday.  NO STRESS FRACTURE!!  Yes!  It’s such a relief.  I do, however have a lot of swelling in my foot, so I will need to take some time off and maybe get some physio.  I`ve already missed almost three days of schools because of different doctor`s appointments.  In some ways I`m relieved I`m not going to England since I`m not sure I would be able to compete anyway. 

Tournament in NY City - I was supposed to be competing in a TKD tournament tomorrow in New York City but that is definitely out of the question with my foot. We would have left yesterday and  I really wanted to see NY City too and it would have been a great way to spend my Mom’s birthday.  Sorry mom   I hope I`ll be ready for a tournament in Washington at the end of October.  I NEED to compete!!!  I haven’t been able to do any real training for two weeks now and let’s just say…I get a bit cranky. I miss my training and I don’t feel like myself – hence this rant  

Track and Field – The other big reason I need to get my foot better is so I can start the Winter training season with the Ottawa Lions Track & Field Club.  We are having our physical test any day now.  Fortunately the test was cancelled last week due to a bad storm.  As much as I wanted to do the tests, I knew my foot would give me a lot of  trouble so I was a bit relieved for the delay. I’ve been working hard on explosive drills this summer hoping that it will improve my test results so I want to be pain free with my foot.

There are so many things out of my control right now so I just need to focus on the things that I can control and adapt to the things that I can`t control.  All these road blocks are just part of being an athlete   It’s how we deal with the road blocks that count!

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I could work on Taekwon-Do patterns all day, every day!  There is nothing more satisfying than doing patterns over and over tweaking them and trying to perfect them.  It’s the kind of sport that looks so easy but it’s the hardest sport/art I’ve ever done and that is what makes it so addictive.

Mr. LeGrow, my instructor is amazing at  helping me with my patterns.  Typically I work on patterns alone or in very small groups.  Today I had the opportunity to train in Gatineau with several of the Canadian team members.  It was awesome.  I loved the energy in the room.  Everyone was working so hard, writing notes, helping each other with corrections and basically just enjoying it. Most of them were gearing up for the World Cup, (open international competition) so the quality was really impressive.   Also, sometimes it’s just good to get together since training on your own can be a bit isolating.  It’s also reassurance that you’re doing your patterns properly and if not, it’s a way to be corrected instead of during a tournament.  There was no formal instruction today.  Everyone just worked on what they wanted to.  We also took turns performing our patterns in tournament style.  The more practice the better.

My foot was really bothering me so my stances weren’t as long as they should have been and my sine wave was not up to par and lots of other things weren’t either, but I’m not worried about that since I know it will be fine soon!  I’m sure my foot will be back to normal in week or so.  I felt really good cardio wise, and I felt strong so I know all my cross fit training is paying off   If it hadn’t been for my foot I would have done patterns all day and my body would have been up for it!

Thank you Mr. Parent and Ms. Bond for including me in the training session.

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What is Link Crew?

Link Crew is a program that our high school started 6 years ago to help grade 9 students make an easier transition into high school.  It’s a buddy system joining the grade 9 students with  a grade 11 and grade 12 student.  It’s to help prevent bullying, paddling and be a source of information to the new students. Almost all high schools in Canada now have something similar to this program to end bullying and make school a better environment for all students.

During the first day of school we work in groups with the new students with some ‘ice breaker’ activities so everyone gets to know each other and feel more welcomed into the school.

This morning was only for the Grade nine students so the Link Crew leaders were all there before 7:00am preparing for them to arrive.  The rest of the school started in the afternoon.

How do you become a Link Crew Leader?

Grade 11 and 12 students have to fill out a long questionnaire (last year) and apply to become a Link Crew Leader and then the teachers and staff select who they think will do a good job based on the applications, and also teacher nominations.  It’s a big deal to be selected since not everyone is.  They base their selection on finding different personality types to fit all the demographics of the students.  I was chosen for my time management skills since I am always juggling school, training and competition and for my leadership skills.  I guess they figured that I would be able to help other students who are busy outside of school as well.

Training to be a Link Crew Leader?

During the last week of summer all the leaders met for 4 different training sessions.  The first one was a team bonding night where we all went horse back riding and had a BBQ.  Then there were 3 intense mornings at the school preparing for the first day of school, and the rest of the year.  We were all assigned a partner to work with for the entire year. I was paired up with a Grade 12 student.  We are completely different from each other which is perfect since we can offer different approaches and views to the grade 9 students since we each have our own strengths.  Each pair of Leaders was given 9 new students that we are responsible for.  We had to call all the new students at home to welcome them to the school and let them know where to meet us on the first day.  These are our 9 students that can come to us at any time during the year if they have any questions or problems. The cool thing with Link Crew is that yes, we have our own group of students, but we are there for every grade nine, and each other.   We have been trained to know what the best resources are and the chain of command for every situation. This program will last the entire year and we will have sessions with our group throughout the year.

Why is important to me to become a Link Crew Leader?

I was very fortunate to have an older brother to show me the ropes of high school.  Because of him I was not afraid  or nervous to go to school.  I knew the school lay out and a lot of the teachers so I wasn’t nervous, but I know a lot of other kids were petrified if they didn’t have any exposure to it before.

In Taekwon-Do I coach and train with students ranging in ages from about 10-55 years old.  I KNOW that people can get along no matter what the age is as long as their is a mutual respect.  High school should be  no different.  Grade 9 students should not be afraid of Grade 12 students! This program makes a difference, and I am so excited and to be a part of that difference maker. I hope all the grade nines had a great first day at school!

I wear this bracelet with pride!

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This morning’s training consisted of:

• a good warm up
• 5 X 1 minute running intervals at 80-90%
• 4 X 3 minute running intervals 80-90%
• 18 minutes of circuit training with push ups, sit ups, ladders, hill sprints and weighted lunges

It may not sound like much but try it!!!!  You don’t have to work out long but you have to work out with intensity to get the desired results.  People at the park must have thought we were crazy

This afternoon, I am going with my friend Katie to do an other workout. Same concept with a few modifications. I have to squeeze it in before school starts!

I’m really starting to feel the difference in my everyday life.  I have so much more energy and my clothes are fitting me differently.  I love how the drills that used to be hard at the beginning of the summer are so much easier for me now.

Next week I start back at the track and I’m excited since it will be an awesome Fall/Winter for throwing events.  I know all this fitness is only going to benefit me for Javelin, Discus and Shot Put.  We will start to do more heavy weight training during the winter so I’m glad I did a lot of training this summer that doesn’t include building bulk.  Too much bulk can slow me down.

It’s also taekwon-do tournament season coming up.  Being in the hyper-weight division I always want to stay faster and have better cardio than my opponents since I know there will be girls bigger than me and I need to be faster than them.  Being strong will only give me nice crisp movements in my patterns as well.

How am I going to sit at a desk all day in school tomorrow?  HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Here are some pictures of my afternoon training with Katie

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We met Shane Lynch bright and early for some of Shanes great cross training.  I’m learning so much from him about how to create a perfect circuit training and why certain drills work well for the type of conditioning we need for TKD as well as my throwing events at Track and Field.  I never understood all the scientific background before.  I always just did what my coaches told me to do so I find this very interesting. I love training in this atmosphere with loud music and everyone pushing each other to their limits. It’s great that every training session is completely different with modifications within the circuit depending on if we train at a park, beach or the dojang.  It never gets boring and all muscle groups get exhausted.

 Then we worked on patterns which is nice to do in a small group so you have lots of room.  We really fine tuned little segments of each pattern.

Alex didn’t want to get on a 2 hour bus ride home and get all stiff so we finished off with some nice stretching and yoga.  Before we knew it, three hours had flown by!

I’ve had the best summer of training and I just worry how I’m going to handle sitting at a desk in a couple weeks.  All summer it’s been train, sleep and eat and it’s been HEAVEN!

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Seminar by Ms. Julia Cross 2012

Ms. Cross meant business, but made it fun and exciting for everyone. Her sarcasm and sense of humor stood out to me because I love joking around and having fun when I train.

It was great how she covered so many drills and concepts and I know everyone can take them and make them their own. It was a fast pace seminar which kept it interesting. I personally loved it and thought that the seminar was really unique. I also appreciated that she talked about the mentality for patterns and sparring. I paid a lot of attention to this part especially because I find it fascinating to hear different peoples perspectives on the mentality and philosphy for this martial art. It was also different coming from a woman as well. She talked a lot about passion and training from the heart.  And for me that’s what it comes down to so I agreed with a lot of the things she said and listening to her talk was really cool. 

Ms.Julia Cross and Ms. Kayla Maduk

The room was full of people and looking around, I saw Country names on the back of doboks. (Canada, USA, Australia, Scotland, Finland, New Zealand, Argentina).  The room had so many international competitors. These were doboks that were  traded with people from all around the world. You always take so much pride in wearing a dobok with either your own national team or one that you have traded after an international competition.  There were 5 World Champions in the room!  The Canadian National coaches and several of my national team-mates there too.  I felt like it was a reunion in many way since I also saw competitors that I have seen in years. 

As I meet and train with people from around the world, I get to learn about different training styles and mentalities from each country. Each place has their own idol, that they look up to. They each have a different philosophy on how to train,  different intensities, and different personalities. I like to learn about how other countries are doing things.

I am so fortunate to get the opportunity to attend these seminars. I learn so much each time. You meet new people, get a new perspective from someone who lives in a completely different continent and you grow an appreciation for the sport, the martial art and the World.

I was able to spend time talking to Ms. Cross at dinner and lunch the following day and I wish I had had more time for questions. She has done and is doing everything that I want to do.  Thank you so much Mr. Lim and Master Phil for organizing and hosting the event.  Travel home safely Ms. Cross and I look forward to seeing you again in Spain next year at the World Championships.

Mr. David Lim, Ms. Julia Cross and Master Phil

To View Over 600 Pictures From the Seminar

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All the local food cupboards really needed the help from the community and it was amazing to see the turnout of MPP MacLeod’s fundraiser. Everyone brought their bags of non perishable foods or donations.  The Works Burger was extremely generous and donated free burgers on the BBQ and the local farmers cooked up corn for everyone. I think they cooked over 700 burgers last night! The place was packed

 MPP MacLeod opened the evening with a powerful talk about how so many people in the community have had a hard year for various reasons and tonight was all about helping each out and celebrating some of the positive successes as well. 

MPP Lisa MacLeod

Let the festivities begin!

 The community gathered enough food in the donations to feed over 300 families.  I was so impressed with Ken Ross from Ross’ Independent Grocer.  He literally brought a truck load of canned goods.  The Legion was also a huge part of the evening by setting things up and delivering all the food to the surrounding Food Cupboards.

Food Drop Offs

Such Generosity!

Ken Ross from Ross’ Independant Grocer

 The fundraiser was also to create more of an awareness for becoming organ donors.  Yes, I am already an organ donor!   If it wasn’t for organ donors we would not have been able to welcome home Helene Campbell from the first double lung transplant.  It literally saved her life.  It was so nice to meet her.  I was inspired how much Helene has accomplished raising the organ donor registrations through her Twitter campaign yet alone surviving her major surgery and her positive outlook on everything.  She was awarded a HUGE green ribbon for all her accomplishments. 

It was so cool, as we were talking to each other there was huge rainbow behind us. I’m hoping it was a sign of good things to come

Helene Campbell

Receiving huge green organ donor ribbon

There was always something going on during the entire night.  There was a girl named Chelsea Kisil who wrote and sang a song and she was giving all the proceeds from the sale of her CD’s to Mental Awareness and DIFD.  Being a teenager I see first how much this topic affects my peers.  Mental Illness is finally not just associated with the older generation.

There was Zumba dancing, horses from the Carleton Raceway Track, Road Hockey Games and the Ottawa Lions Train rides for the kids.

I was honoured to be invited as a guest speaker and give a Taewkon-Do demonstration.  The community helped me so much achieve my dream of going to the World Championships.  I love having the opportunity to speak about my experience since I think it’s so important that people do dare to dream big and then work hard to achieve their goals. 

I loved how there was a huge rainbow behind me all the time during my presentation

It’s very difficult to give a TKD demo by yourself since you need a sparring partner.  I improvised and had a lot of fun by asking some volunteers to be my ‘kicking bag’ as I demonstrated certain skills that you learn in TKD.  I forget how much trust it takes for the volunteers to stand still and not worry about being kicked.  It’s all about control

I thought I was going to be finished after give a demonstrating my 3rd degree black belt Pattern but I was so surprised how suddenly everyone wanted to do some kicking or show me all THEIR moves.  Then I had questions about how/where to take self defense courses and where I teach.  I had parents asking me to talk to their children about what it takes to get started and  I had little kids ask me for autographs and have my picture taken with me.  It was the cutest thing and I was also really impressed with the types of questions I was asked.  I never know how these demos are going to be received depending on who the crowd the is but I think MPP MacLeod and her amazing staff (especially Kayla Fernet) set the perfect stage and atmosphere for everyone just coming out to celebrate our neighbours and also to help our neighbours.  At some point in our lives, we all need a little bit of help.  Congrats everyone for making it a night to remember!

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We ran intervals on the beach.  It’s so much harder in the sand.

After our running we did a strengthening circuit using the training bars that are at the park. We kept rotating the circuit as hard and fast as we could within the time limit.   It’s so great having a park like this in the city. It just goes to prove that you don’t need expensive fancy gyms for a great work-out.  I found this portion of the work out really hard since there was a lot of arm work which isn’t necessarily my strength  Eventhough I could easily get discouraged trying to keep up with Shane, I prefer to train with men since it pushes me harder.  I did the best that I possibly could and I feel proud of that.  These tough work-outs aren’t the prettiest, but I can already feel a difference when I’m training in the dojang which is exciting.

To end off the brutal workout we gave it one last push with some sprints up the hill.  It may not look like a huge hill in the pictures but believe me it was hard since my legs were burning.

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1. Explode!  It’s important to explode when you are  attacking forward but it’s equally to also explode when exiting an attack.  Most people explode only when they attack.

2. There are different ways of training when doing kicking and sparring drills.

• For explosive drills, it’s more like sprints.  You do less repetition but with more explosiveness.
• When training  for cardio, you can use intervals and more reps with less explosiveness.
• With more complex drills, the number of repetitions should be decreased.

3. Class schedules and teaching techniques

Since most of us in the room are instructors as well, he explained how they planned out classes in Argentina, and how he sets up his classes. He likes to focus on one thing each class. For example, a full class of sparring or a full class of patterns, or a full class of kicking drills.  I thought that was an interesting and a cool concept.

Nights like this reinforce that there is such a strong unity amongst TKD practitioners all around the world.  We might do some things a bit differently but we all have the same passion for the Art.

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At the beginning of the summer I made a goal to qualify for all three throws (javelin, shot put and discus) so I could go to Nationals.  I qualified for Shot Put and I was told by the coaches that I could probably compete in the other events since I am just shy of the National Standards for javelin and discus.  I have decided not to go to Nationals.  Since I will still be a Youth again next summer I know I will do much better with another year of training under my belt.  I don’t want to go to Nationals until I feel like I can go and be as competitive as I want to be. I can’t wait for an intense winter program for strengthening and technique so I’ll be completely ready for next summer.  This summer has been a blast so it was also a bit sad tonight since it was my last meet until next Spring.

So much happens on at the track that I miss since the throwing events are off to the side of the track.  I couldn’t help notice that there was a lot going on with all the announcements on the P.A. system. 

It’s cool to see the athlese that are competing in the para olympics in London later this month.  I see them train all the time but it’s nice to see them in competition. Good luck to you all in London!

 The CTV news crew was there to cover the victory of Jody Graham.  Jody was a soccer player who was in a bad car accident 6 years ago and she suffered severe brain damage and was left unable to walk.  They didn’t even expect her to live.  Tonight she walked with her walker the full 100 metres distance.  Her mom was right there with her. Everyone was going crazy cheering her on.  I wanted to get closer and watch but I was just about to compete so I couldn’t leave. Her next big goals are to be able to talk and eat on her own.  It was so touching.  Everywhere I look at the track I see so many inspiring athletes and that is why I love being there.

Incredible Story – Jody Graham completes the 100 metre Sprint

I am going to take a couple weeks off from track so I can focus more on my Taekwon-Do.  I am looking forward to train with the 6 time Taekwon-do World Champion (Julia Cross) from Scotland this month and then competing in New York City in September. I really need to spar against new competitors as much as possible so I can keep improving for Spain.  With the throwing events I can keep improving since I have a distance to measure against.  It can be hard at times balancing all the different sports but it’s definitely worth it.

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When I asked him what made him decide to do an Ironman (remember, no one really knew what they were back then) he said it was because he was tired of running marathons and wanted a bigger challenge.  Since it was such a new event there was no coaching to help with a training plan. 

He recalled how all the legs and arms flailing around at the beginning of the swim in the ocean and how small the huge boat looked in the distance that they had to swim out to.  He told me how his mind was playing mind games with him during the bike portion in the extreme heat and how hard the hills were.  He told me about the food and hydration he had on the course and it’s so different compared to what athletes eat and drink now.  He ran the last whole mile with his arms above his head and he was yelling with excitement since he really had no idea at all  if he was going to be able to finish it. You could tell that even after 30 years he was right back in the moment.   He finished in 11 hours 55 minutes and finished 178th out of 900 which is more than incredible!!!!  His goal was to complete it in under 12 hours.

As we were watching the Olympics this weekend we talked about how all the technology, training, coaching, nutrition and gear has changed over the years.  It seems even more impressive that he was able to complete it with what he had (or didn’t have)  to work with.

Uncle Doug still wears his custom  ’IRONMAN’ ring with pride.  Completing something so monumental in life changes you forever.  Looking down at the ring reminds him that he can do anything he puts his mind to.  He said whenever someone says that had a hard day at work he remembers how hard those 11 hours and 55 minutes were and everything else seems easy

That is why they say….’Once an Olympian, always an Olympian’, “Once a World Champion, always a World Champion’, and ‘Once an Ironman, always an Ironman’.

I always want to surround myself with people who have done great things so I can learn from them.  It’s cool that my mom still has this newspaper clipping from the event.

Newspaper clipping from 1982

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I love running circuits using the same muscle groups to the point of exhaustion.  As the lactic acid builds up it get’s harder and harder.  I love how it not only pushes me physically but mentally too. My goal is to be as explosive as possible and leg strength is key.

 Today was the kick start of a new and different 4 week training program.  I like the variety to keep things interesting.  I went to a park near my house and used what I had around there for my equipement.  It was a combination of  spider-man crawl, long jump, box jumps, burpees, sit-ups and between every set I ran 100m sprints.  The fact that your muscles don’t get any relief between each set is what makes it so hard. I did four sets of each of those exercises.  I start at a high number of each and then after each set the number goes down by a bit. I have been throwing a lot this summer, but now I’m getting back to TKD shape which is completely different. It’s not going to be easy or pretty at the start, but I will get there!

I also do a lot of work with 10lb medicine balls at the track.  I finally bought my own ball so I can use it more on my own.  My dad and I work together on this since I need his resistance to make the drills even more effective.

I want my entire body to be as strong as possible.   TKD World Championships Spain 2013 here I come!!!!!!

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I have to admit I get so angry when I hear the commentators and  fans criticize the athletes who don’t perform as expected.  I can say first hand that competing on the International Stage can be extremely stressful and the athletes don’t need to be put down - they need our support.  They have sacrificed so much for their entire lives and it’s such a huge achievement just to be an Olympian.  The average person has no idea what athletes go through on a daily basis mentally and physically to reach their goals.  If you ask any athlete they will tell you it’s totally worth it but everyone is human and everyone has moments when things don’t go as well as hoped.

You don’t have to be an Olympian to have ‘Difference Makers’ in your lives.  Who is your ‘Difference Maker’ and have you acknowledge them so they know? If not, take the time to acknowledge them now!

I have had tons of ‘Difference Makers’ because I have so much support. I have great friends, understanding and supportive school teachers, incredible coaches and the most amazing community behind me. If I had to pick a certain person or people I would have to say that my ‘Difference Makers’ are my parents though.  They have been there for me every single day but more importantly they have taught me that I can learn from every situation and every person that I meet.  They have taught me that if I set a goal for myself it’s important to work with the ‘right’ people to reach my goal.  They have taught me that everyone in the world has something special to offer and I just have to have an open mind and be ready to learn from others.  They keep reinforcing how important it is  that I only use the information/instruction that will be good for me and ignore everything else.  Being ‘good’ for me doesn’t necessarily mean I like it but it’s what I need :)  I’ve had some of the best world class instructors, coaches, personal trainers and training partners, doctors and physio therapists.  My parents have been the best Sports Psychologists and Life Coaches for MY needs.  They know when to push me and when to let me do it ‘my way’.  My parents have taught me that I have to think for myself and stay true to myself.  They have helped me through good times and difficult times. They taught me that if I want something, I need to work for it and put my heart and soul into it.   More importantly my parents have been there when I was standing on the podium and they have been there holding my hand when I lose and helped me move forward.  That is true support.  Thanks Mom and Dad xoxoxo

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I’m talking about my TKD friends in Montreal.  Since we have trained, competed and travelled together for the past few years there’s a very special between us.  We just understand each other and are a group of crazy people.  I feel like I can completely be myself and not worry about anything.  I love the fact that although TKD is the foundation of our friendship  but we all support each other in all our other interests too.  That is what makes it so exciting and interesting.

I just spent a week with a lot of them.  The biggest highlight of my visit was when we all went to Magog to cheer on a couple of them who where competing in a Triathlon and an Olympic Duathlon. Steph and Vincent have been training really hard so it was great to be there to support them   It was awesome and very inspiring to be in the environment of the triathlon.  The level of fitness in these athletes is incredible.    

Since we were all together for the day of the race we played volleyball, went swimming, had a BBQ and ate a whole lot of S’mors at our bonfire.  It was perfect  

Steph did so well on the weekend! I felt really lucky to be there to cheer her on this weekend because usually I just hear about it after so it was great to be there She has worked so hard.

It was awesome that Vincent decided to do a duathlon as well. We were all cheering him on – I would not have survived.

Of course we also wanted to take advantage of some taekwon-Do training so we did a little road trip to different dojangs.  It’s always good to learn from different instructors and train with different people.  It’s keeps it exciting.  I love how we all know everyone in all the different schools from all over Quebec and Ontario.  I am getting excited about gearing up for serious TKD training to prepare for a  huge tournament in NY this September.  It’s going to be a big challenge for me and I can’t wait!!!

I felt bad missing a couple track training practices while I was away so I squeezed in an amazing javelin training session early Friday morning  before I took the bus to Montreal.   I also took my throwing implements with me so I could still get in some discus and shot put throws between events since I had a Twilight Track Meet the same day that I go home.

Such an incredible week with all my favourite people and favourite sports all put together.   I guess that is why my training is my playing   Thanks everyone for giving me such a great time and it was especially nice to stay at Steph’s chalet where I got to meet so many of her Aunts, Uncles, cousins and other friends.  They really made me feel welcomed.

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Day 1 – Javelin:  This was a huge disappointment for me!  I didn’t throw well again. I was really upset especially after my great practice on Thursday. For the rest of the summer, I am going to train and enjoy throwing javelin without the pressure of big meets. I love javelin so for the Meets to go poorly the past little while, it’s tough.  I really enjoyed watching the senior women throw!  They were amazing.  I hope one day that will be me

After everyone was gone I had to take a deep breath and really think about what had just happened and what I wanted to do.  Its so hard when you want something so badly and you think you are doing everything right in training and then it just doesn’t pay off.  I thought about what has worked for me in the past and what hasn’t.  I am now even more determined to do some things differently. Results aren’t just going to be given to me, it’s going to take years and years of practice and training. I have been thinking a lot about all this. I have been beating myself up so much and for what?  It’s my first year.  So, I am done putting so much pressure on myself and I am just going to enjoy learning. It’s going to be a really long process with the throwing events and I am totally fine with that  After talking to my coach and my training buddies we came up with a plan for the rest of the summer and I am really excited about it!  

Day 2 – Today was a much better day and I felt so much more relaxed than yesterday.  Again I was against women that were amazing but I was extremely proud of my Personal Best in Discus.  It felt awesome.  I am still just shy of the National Standard but I definitely see the improvement every time I throw.  Since I didn’t make it into the top 8 I was only allowed three throws.  I wish I could have thrown more.  There were some incredible throwers who made the discus look like a little Frisbee

Then in Shot Put I had nice and consistent throws and made it in the top 8 so I was able to continue on with three more throws.  I ended up 5th overall which pleased me.  I was just shy of another P.B.  I’m not sure why but Shot Put seems to be my strongest event of the three.

I was glad to end the Meet on a positive note and I’m looking forward to the rest of the summer. It was also a special Meet since there were several athletes competing who will be representing Canada at the upcoming Olympics this summer in London.

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I  had two track meets this week.  I did O.K. in them and even had a couple personal bests but I think I had much higher expectations for myself this summer when it came to track.  That is very hard for me to admit and accept.  I think other people had higher expectations of me too which makes it even harder.

Those who know me well, know that I  have to  work really for my results.  I always make huge goals and  I believe you have to dream ‘BIG’ if you want things to happen. 

It’s hard to say this without sounding vain but I’m used to getting the results I want in TKD.  Now that I’m doing track I guess I expected to just jump in and get the same kind of results.  Silly me  – what was I thinking?   I’ve been studying TKD almost everyday for 13 years so of course good things happen.  I’ve put in the hard work, the endless hours of training and all the necessary sacrifices.

This is my first year with throwing events and  I’m training with people who have been throwing for years.  They are awesome to train with since it pushes me harder and it inspires me since I can see the possibilities.  My throwing coaches have told me that it takes a certain amount of throws to tweak and perfect the techniques.  That is something that just can’t be rushed.  You have to put in the time.

Tonight I probably had the best javelin training session alone with Bill.  I’ve had some time to train on my own over the last few weeks  and he was really happy with what I’ve done. He was also able to make a few changes and once I did what he said,  I’ve never thrown better.  It was also nice to have a chance to express how I’m feeling.  The last thing I want to do is disappoint a coach and I wanted to make sure he knew what was going on inside my head and how I was really feeling. Lately, it hasn’t been so great. It’s hard to keep optimistic and not discouraged.  We both agreed I just need a bit more patience. I am going to try my best to stay strong psychologically because I love track, it’s just tough right now.

Then at discus I had another great training session.  I finally got my Throwing Shoes and my rotations are smoother with them.  Cory was able to make adjustments with my arm and all my throws were consistently further.  I was having trouble this week so when he made the adjustment things felt so much better.  Thanks Cory!!!

Then I headed out to the dojang and that is where everything came clear to me.  I was so surprised to see some of my very favorite TKD people who were visiting. 

Mrs. Julie Lauzon (Goneau) came to train with us.  She has been an idol of mine for years.  As I was growing up I always wanted to be able to do a side kick like her.  Mr. Lim was there training with us too and he always pushes me to do my patterns better since I know he will give a critique.  Ms. Jobin was there and I value every training session and time we have together before she gets married and moves to California.  Mr. LeGrow was beaming having all his friends training together.  It was a room full of ‘history’. 

This ‘history’ is what has been missing in track for me.  When I’m in the dojang I am soooo comfortable and in my element since it’s what I know best. I know everyone and they are all my second family.  I guess I compare everything to TKD since it’s what I’ve done all my life.  Track is still so new and I’ve never had this feeling before.  I train to win and I hate to lose.  I love the throwing events and I’ve realized that it’s o.k. to not always be the one on the podium at this point.  I have to ‘do my time’ like I’ve done in TKD. 

Travelling last week to Oshawa with the track team was awesome since it allowed  us to get to know each other better and become friends.  During practices it’s hard to get to know someone since everyone is focused on the training and there isn’t a whole lot of talking.  Now that we know each other a bit  better, and the practices are more fun too.   I guess this is the start to creating a ‘history’ in track.  I don’t want it to be  just about the distances we throw but  also the friendships and experiences we are starting to share.  I’ve been focusing only the distances.  The distances will eventually come but now I want to enjoy all aspects of the training.  This is just the beginning. I expected to improve faster and be better, and it’s definitely a wake up call. Track is worth all the frustration, hard work, pain and time because eventually I will get to where I want to be.  Patience is everything.

Mr. LeGrow, Ms. Jobin, Mrs. Lauzon (Goneau), Ms. Maduk, Mr. Lim

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Tonight was only for Javelin and I really had high hopes to throw 37metres.  I increased my distance by over 4 metres from last weekend but I still didn’t make the standard.  Although I’m happy by the increase I know I have to do better this weekend and the Legion Provincial Try-Outs.

I am so thankful that Bill stayed after the meet with me for more training.  There was no way I was ready to leave the track without figuring some stuff out while it was still fresh in my mind! It was so weird….I threw much better when it was just the two of us out in the field.  At least I know it’s possible   Practice makes perfect! 

I’ve also been going to the park to track during the day to some jumping drills and running sprints working on my leg strength and explosion.  Hopefully all these extra little things will make a difference.  I’m determined to reach my own personal goals and I’ll do whatever it takes

It was awesome throwing with the javelin crew.  They are a fun group of people.  I was the only young thrower tonight in my division but there were several very skilled adult throwers which is inspiring.  On everyone’s last throw we all did the clapped to get the momentum going and it was a lot of fun.  At that point no one had anything to lose so it was a nice way to end the meet.

Next Wednesday’s Meet I will throw the Shot Put and the Discus.  Thanks for coming back from your cottage Bill for the Meet.  I really appreciated it and I know the other throwers love your encouragment and guidance too

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Then I continued with an hour of shot put and another hour of discuss.  They are both getting consistently better so that is exciting.  Darrin came back from Calgary with all kinds of new throwing techniques from Nationals which was cool.

It was fun to hear about all the results of the competitors who came back from Calgary. 

After a very successful Olympic/Paralympic Trials, the Ottawa Lions are proud to announce that 11 athletes will be heading to London to represent Canada! 

• Rachael Burrows – T34 200m
• Josh Cassidy – T54 Marathon
• Jason Dunkerley (guide Joshua Karanja) – T11 1500m
• Jon Dunkerley (guide Sean Young) – T11-13 4x100m
• Brandon King (guide Andrew Heffernan) – T11-13 4x100m
• Leah Robinson – T37 400m
• Curtis Thom – T54 400m/T53-54 4x400m
• Melissa Bishop – 800m
• Sultana Frizell – Hammer Throw
• Oluwasegun Makinde – 4x100m
• Oluseyi Smith – 4x100m

 After a good workout I really enjoyed going down to the waterfront to go and meet my brother and his girlfriend who were kayaking. I got a chance to kayak a little bit and it was fun. I just love the atmospere down there. It’s beautiful at sunset. I could sit out there forever. It’s going to be an incredible summer!

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Triggers TKD Demo Team

Saying the Student Oath

I was impressed with how many hours the entire demo team trained to prepare for the demo.  We did two performances and each were about 30 minutes long.  Hopefully some of the spectators liked it enough to join the school.  Taekwon-Do has so many benefits to young kids and it’s something that you can do at any age in life.  A lot of people like it since you don’t have to ‘make the team’ to be involved so it includes everyone.  You get as much out of it as you put into it.

It was nice to see Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson again.  We keep seeing each other at events and award ceremonies.  He is such a busy man but so easy to talk to.  He always takes the time for a little chat and I’m always surprised how he remembers things :)

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson

I was asked to do a 3rd degree black belt pattern by myself.  I also did some demo’s on different kicking techniques, step-sparring, sparring and another team pattern.  The other students also did a lot of self-defense, board breaking and other patterns. We tried to represent all aspects of TKD.

3rd degree black belt pattern

Kicking techniques on the paddle

Kicking techniques on the shields

Team Pattern Demo

Step Sparring

Don’t worry, we didn’t do full contact sparring in our demo the way Black Belts do in real tournaments

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Since this was an older age division for me (U18) I’ve never seen any of the other girls I was competing against.  I was kinda hoping that I had this summer to still be in the younger division for some more experience but that’s O.K.  It just makes it that much more exciting and challenging.  I just have to keep things in perspective a little bit  

I have such a great time with this group. I train with them 2-3 times a week for shot put and discus.

Even Grandpa was there to cheer us on. It was nice to have some ‘down’ time between events to just chill and get to know each other a bit better.

Shot Put: 2nd Place – Qualified for Provincial Team Try-Outs – Met National Standards 

I’ve never thrown with this new shot put weight and it really felt different.  The shot put was actually lighter but the National standard is a lot further and I found it a bit harder to control. I was actually surprised that it went so well and I know it will only get better once I get used to it. 

 Javeline: 1st Place – Qualified for Provincial Team Try-Outs – But Didn’t Meet National Standards 

I was really discouraged with my javelin distance.  I’ve never thrown with the new javelin weight and I didn’t like the ‘feel’ of it at all!  Because it’s a lighter weight, it completely throws off the balance and it flies differently.  I”m disappointed since my javelin training has been going so well with the old heavier weight.  I felt great with the run up but then I wasn’t able to execute the throw well.  Although I came first in this event I wasn’t excited since I know I have a lot of work to do in order to make the National Standards if I want to go to  Nationals in P.E.I. for javelin.  My biggest concern right now is trying to find a new javelin to train with this week before Oshawa.  Buying throwing shoes and throwing implements is almost impossible in Canada. I know that once I get the proper javelin and put in all the necessary training I will be fine.  There is just something special about throwing javelin  

Discus: 5th Place – Threw my Personal Best by Almost a Whole Meter

Although I didn’t qualify for the Provincial Team try-outs or the National Standard I was sooooo happy with my throws.  They were all consistent and I threw a Personal Best.  This is the only event that the implement was the same weight that I’ve been training with so I obviously felt the most comfortable with it. I have been having really great practices for this event and things are starting to improve at a faster pace now. I have really tough competition in this event but as I said before, I have to keep things in perspective.  This is just the beginning for me and I’m having a blast.

It’s going to be another fun week of training and I am also competing in the Twilight meet this Wednesday night for Javelin trying to get my distance further and get more practice before the try-outs next weekend in Oshawa.  I’m pleased with the consistencies in all my events so now I just have to get used to the new weights.  Good times ahead

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It’s so peaceful at the track when you’re there alone

All you could hear was the sprinkler system

 I am competing in my first track meet for the Ottawa Lion’s Track and Field Club this weekend in the District G Region Meet.  I needed to spend my own quiet time at the track today to get myself ready.  I found out yesterday that I will be competing with a different weight for javelin since I am now competing in the U18 age division.  The new weight is lighter. I’ve never thrown that kind of javelin before and I didn’t have one to train with today either.  All I could do was practice with my current javelin and hopefully I will be able to throw O.K. on Saturday.  I have to admit it’s a bit nerve wracking since the different weights of the javelin fly so differently.  I’ve learned with all my years of competing in different sports that it’s how you handle obstacles like this that makes you stronger.   I actually loved being at the track by myself. It was so peaceful and calm and it gave me a chance to figure some stuff out for myself.  I kept hearing all the advice Bill has given me floating around in my head and I was trying to put all the pieces together. Especially the practice before, I just like to go and make sure I feel good, and that’s it.

All my other throwing buddies are competing in Calgary at the Senior National Championships competing and even trying to qualify for the Olympics.  This is when I really realize how new this sport is for me and now much I have to look forward to.  I keep thinking of them and hope they’re doing well.  Somehow text messages from them just don’t cut it    I wish I was with them.

Slowly some Shot Put and Discus throwers came and we spent a couple more hours focusing on those two events.  I also found out that my Shot Put weight would be lighter as well but I at least I  had the right one to throw for my first time.  It went really far!  Discus is also going a whole lot better too.  These events are so technical and need so much repetition.  That’s why I love them so much. 

As I looked around the track I appreciated just how beautiful the facilty is and how lucky we are to live in Ottawa surrounded by water, trails and beaches.  There is always something going on.

I am really excited about taking the bus to Brockville with the club and getting to know some of the other athletes that I don’t get to train with.  Each event is pretty separate in the training process.

I am excited to now officially be a member of Athletics Ontario which means that my distances will be recorded at sanctioned events.  I was wondering why my results had not been posted from past school events and now I know why.  I have so much to learn about the Track and Field world

 I just hope I can do my best and realize that it’s only going to get better each week.  I have a whole summer of meets and I really want to qualify for the Youths Nationals in P.E.I. this August.  I’m still learning how the whole elimination process works but to be honest I don’t want to think about that.  I just want to keep improving each week and eventually I know I will get the results I want.  I only hope that my coaches know that I am doing my very best. Wish me luck

The post Do What Ever Makes YOU Feel Good Before You Compete appeared first on Kayla Maduk.

Then I raced to Blackburn for an afternoon seminar with Master Laquerre.  I had the unexpected pleasure of having lunch with him before everyone else arrived.  It was so nice to have a conversation about sports psychology and other training tools.  I’ve really enjoyed getting to know him more over the years.  Since he is the Technical Director of Canada I always love the opportunity to train under him to make sure my techniques are correct.  I was really looking forward to some critiques for my 3rd degree patterns.

The first hour of the seminar was all on physical strength/conditioning and kicking/punching drills.  I was really happy that I’ve been keeping up with my fitness.  I always get so shocked and impressed when I see the strength, flexibility and power that Master Laquerre has.  It just goes to show that you can do TKD your entire life and it will keep you in great shape. 

I love different sit-ups

check out how high Master Laquerre gets off the ground while doing jumping push-ups. Incredible

Different versions of push-ups work different parts of your body.

It’s fun to work in pairs with students from other schools

The second hour focused on coloured belt patterns.  We did patterns while he walked around the room making corrections.

The third hour concentrated on self-defense movements.  I found it a lot of fun since I know I will be teaching a group of girls this summer these techniques so it’s good to learn from the best. 

The fourth hour only concentrated on the black belt patterns.  By this time my legs were shaking from working so hard all day but I really wanted to do my best.  It’s not everyday that you have a Master to help you with your patterns.

These seminars are for learning. It’s great that we can get clarification from Master Laquerre on certain movements. It’s nice to have the encyclopedia to refer back to.

Black Belts

At the end of the seminar Mr. LeGrow surprised me by presenting my official 3rd degree certificate.  Although I tested back in March it takes several months for the certificate to go through a full process.

Receiving my 3rd Degree Certificate

Just a great great day.  Thank you Mr. LeGrow for organizing the seminar and thank you Master Laquerre for coming from Trois Rivieres for the day.  I look forward to training with you again soon.

Master Laquerre and Kayla Maduk

For more photos of the seminar click

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The weigh-ins on Friday night are always fun since you see everyone for the first time.  Nerves are usually running quite high so everyone reacts differently.  Some are talkative and some are very serious and quiet since they are getting in their competing head space.  Fortunately for me I never have to worry about ‘making weight’ since I’m a hyper-weight but there is always a lot of drama around people having to lose weight during the last week by fasting and doing crazy things in order to make weight.  Then they slowly have to introduce the ‘right’ foods into their system so they gain their strength back without upsetting their stomachs.

Saturday was great since it was for coloured belts and adult black belts.  That meant that I could spend the entire day focused on the students that I have been coaching for the last winter.  I was sooooo proud of them.  They all medaled but more importantly they all showed their ‘Indomitable Spirit’ throughout their day.  They showed great sportsmanship and never gave up.  I think I now know what a parent must feel like when their kids do well  They all performed really well, and I was impressed with how they dealt with the bigger and more professional environment.  I was also a judge for the adult black belts in the afternoon.  I was really pumped after watching the adult black belts compete too. They are awesome!!!  You really have to look through all the pictures that my mom took to get an idea of how good everything was

After 11 long hours in the arena I just wanted to have a quick pasta dinner and then get myself ready to compete the next day.  I need my alone time before I compete.  My friend Alex Matta and I found an open field where we could just spend quiet time going through our patterns.  We did patterns until it was too dark to see but I felt better going to bed having done them.  I also did some yoga which really calmed my nerves and got rid of any aches from the long day at the arena.  I don’t go anywhere without my yoga mat.

Sunday started early and I had huge butterflies in my stomach.  I’ve been working really hard learning my new 3rd degree patterns and working extra hard with my fitness and different sparring techniques.  I wanted the opportunity to try everything out.  It’s funny, I feel more pressure now to compete well since I never want to lose the respect of my peers and instructors if I don’t do well in competition.  I also don’t want to let myself down after all my hard work.

For patterns I felt really strong and just wanted to keep doing them!  For sparring I was really excited to meet three new Canadian hyper-weights that were really good.  I kept thinking of the great National team we will have going to Spain.

Then we had team sparring and I was hooked up with 2 of the girls that I just competed against in individual sparring plus another girl from Quebec.  It’s so weird how one minute you are competing against someone for individual events and then right after you are best friends cheering each other on while being on the  same team for team sparring  :)

The awards banquet Sunday night was amazing!!!!!!!!!  The banquet hall was so perfect and had a real party atmosphere.  The food was great and everyone had such a good time.  It felt nice to get all dressed up and receive our medals in front of everyone.  Unfortunately since so many people had to either catch their flight or drive home, not everyone was there but they got their medals at the tournament.

I was so proud to win Gold in 3rd Degree Patterns, Gold in Individual Sparring, Gold in Team Sparring and Overall Best Junior Female Athlete!

I would like to thank my mom taking 1,000′s of pictures during the weekend.  Click here to view all the photos of all competitors.

Here is just a sample of all the photos that she took.  Enjoy

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Today we had a breakthrough….I showed a junior belt the diagram of their pattern with tape on the floor.  As soon as he could ‘see’ where he was supposed to go he could suddenly remember the pattern

Each pattern has diagram on the floor. If you can see the diagram it can be easier to remember

For an additional visual aide, I filmed him doing his pattern since we often think we are moving differently than we actually are

I use videos all the time with my own training and I know how well it works as a teaching tool

It's even better if they can make their own corrections by watching their patterns. They remember it longer

I talked the kids through a closed eye visualization of how their patterns should look and feel during the tournament. I was pleased how seriously they took it

Right after the visualization, I've never seen him do his pattern with more strength and crispness - awesome

Everyone was working their hardest

After 2 hours of coaching I was able to work on my own patterns with Mr. Lynch and Mr. LeGrow.  Now that the OFSAA track meet is over I can spend this week really concentrating on TKD until the tournament.

We are all competing next week so we all want to perfect our patterns as much as possible.  It’s great to work with other people who love patterns as much as I do

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1.  Qualifying for all three throwing events.  There was only 1 other junior girl in all of Ontario that did as well.

2. Throwing a PB in Javelin and winning 3rd place.  I had to forfeit my javelin last year because of a conflicting soccer game and then an injury and I always wondered how I would have done.  This is just the beginning of javelin for me and I’m in it for the long haul.  I love the javelin! When I threw my BP it felt soooo amazing and I can’t wait to to throw again

3. Having my javelin coach Bill Heikkila there for support was extra special.  I felt so much more comfortable having him there. He was also the official who gave out several of the medals. I am proud to call him my coach!!! Everyone at the track knows who he is and they all respect his Javelin knowledge and kindness.

4. Throwing a BP by almost 20 cm in shot put.  I only lost the 3rd place by 2 cm!  So close but so far   I was so happy with my distance and it’s something that I know will only get better too with more practice.

5.  It was awesome having my parents and my teachers at all the events cheering me on.  They are such a great group of caring people.  They make it so much more fun.  I couldn’t believe they even stayed after an hour delay from a lightening storm.

6.  JMSS had 10 students qualify for OFSAA this year which is the most students ever so that was exciting in itself!

7. Having my grandpa there for the last event.  I know it meant a lot to him when he was reminiscing of when he competed in OFSAA for basketball for Ottawa Tech when he was in high school. I was so lucky to have him there.

8.  It was more fun this year since I knew more people from last year’s OFSAA and the other competitors and coaches from the Ottawa Lions Club.  I felt like I belonged more this year.  Everyone was so nice and helpful.

9. My discus was a disaster but it’s a good reminder how important the training is.  To be honest I couldn’t tell you what happened.  It just felt all wrong.   Of all my three events, it’s the one that I’ve had the least amount of experience and it’s one of the more complicated throws.  When it comes to competing, you need to rely on the muscle memory and experience to be a consistent thrower.  It’s so weird since I’ve been in second place for the last three meets.  I was initially frustrated and disappointed but it motivated me to do better in the other two events!  I was proud of myself for being able to shake it off and focus on the other events instead of dwelling on it.  I wasn’t going to let it ruin my javelin.  The other thing that was so cool was that when my teacher at school heard that I hadn’t done well with discus she gave all my friends permission to text me motivating text messages.  Now that’s school spirit!!!   It was really sweet and helpful.  Then, right out of the blue just before my Javelin event I received a beautiful email from Master Suarez who is a taekwon-do Master in New York that I trained with a few months ago. It came at the perfect time.   All these little things were perfect.  Thanks guys

10.  Met so many throwers and now I’m really looking forward to training all summer since I will seeing them again at meets throughout the summer.  I was inspired by so many amazing athletes all in one area.  Everyone had their own event but we were all there for the same great experience.  It was awesome that so many records were broken and so many PB’s were achieved. Until next year…..

Now it’s time to get more focused for the Pan Am Taekwon-Do Championship next weekend!!!

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Swinging the baseball bat uses the same hip action and emphasis on the left leg as in javelin. I also worked on the separation.

Extending the shoulder and arm is the hardest thing for me.  Bill pulls on a towel so I know when and where to release the javelin.  It’s such an un-natural movement for me.  That’s why I have to keep repeating it but not over-use my arm at the same time.  The towel works well to get the motion without putting stress on my shoulder.

Then it was time to put all the elements together with a full run up and throw.

It was awesome.  After doing these drills for about an hour I was starting to throw a lot better already. We were both so happy.   I was really starting to convince my body to do what I wanted. It was really cool  I just hope I can put everything together Friday!  It’s such an incredible rush when you have a good throw   After an hour of javelin I worked on my Shot Put for an hour and then did another hour with the Discus with Darrin.  John McCrae high school has never had so many students qualify for OFSAA so it’s pretty exciting.  There are 10 of us going and it would be awesome to bring back some medals for the school.

Based solely on last week’s distances I am ranked 3rd for shot put, 7th for discus and 7th for javelin in the province of Ontario for all grade 10, so I really have to work to throw well this week to place in the top 3.  I will be throwing against the top 24 throwers in the Province for each event.   I’ll be so happy if I make a PB in all events.

Right after track practice I raced to the dojang for another couple hours since I also have to get ready for the Pan Am Championships next week as well.  Once these two major events are over I will be able to balance my training more throughout the summer.  I’m really looking forward to competing at track meets this summer for more experience.  Oh ya, then there is those final exam things at school     I wish I could just be a full time athlete!   Yesterday I trained from 4-10pm and I loved every second of it

One of my favourite quotes is ”

“The vision of a champion is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion, when nobody else is looking” – Mia Hamm

Bill wants to make sure that I’m throwing the javelin because I love it and I’m having fun with it.  Nothing could be more true for me.  I’m practicing for myself because I do love it – not for a certain distance or a medal. I do it because it’s fun and I love the challenge.  The results will come in due time.

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I was involved in a huge TEAM project for the last 10 days.  T.E.A.M. = Together Everyone Achieves More.

Team Blackburn has moved location!  A big group of the parents and students worked around the clock for the last 10 days to get the new location ready.  We had to tear down walls, build new walls, paint, rip up the floor, put in a new ceiling, lay the mats, take down mirrors, put up mirrors, sort through everything from the old dojang, organize the new place and still keep classes running in the old location.  We only had to cancel classes for 3 nights which was pretty impressive.  We used all our little bits of expertise and together we pulled it off.

I don’t know how to do a lot of the actual building of walls so I took the kids to the old dojang and taught more classes so the parents could work on the new dojang.  I think the new place will be awesome and it too will be the home of future World Champions!!!!!

Teaching my last class at the old dojang

I have to admit I found it emotional to kick down a wall in the old dojang since it was like a second home for me.   I spent so many hours training in that dojang, but this is a new beginning with endless training possibilities.

Thanks to everyone who put so much time and work into OUR new home.  Let’s make it a huge success so we can all benefit from it. Having Jody Rubino work with us is going to be a huge help.  Go Team Blackburn!

We just had to try a pattern in the new dojang

High fives to our new home

Tonight was the first night of classes in the new dojang and everyone was excited.  The dojang isn’t completely finished but it will be by the time of the Grand Opening in July.

First official class in the location

Once the classes were over Shane Lynch and I worked on patterns for a couple hours.  We went through every single pattern, competition style.  I can’t wait for more training sessions like this.  It’s so important to review the coloured belts too so you don’t forget them.

Working on patterns with Shane Lynch - so happy he moved to Ottawa with his new family.

Mr. LeGrow critiques our patterns

Exhausted but proud and happy Mr. LeGrow

Check out the transformation of our new dojang.

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• 1st for shot put
• 2nd for discus – set a PB
• 3rd place javelin

I was excited to throw a PB in discus.  I’m probably more comfortable throwing the shot put since the motions are more similar to to some of the motions in Taekwon-do but I absolutely love the javelin.  It’s such a big challenge for me and I’m determined to improve my distances.  I love all the technical aspects of it.  The bigger the challenge, the more I like it.  The discus is starting to get a bit better but I need so much more practice.

It was nice to see most of the same girls from last year and I’m sure at OFSAA it will be the same. Everyone was a bit nervous but we still had a good time together – even in the pouring rain

This is only the beginning for me…I want to compete in track meets all summer and hopefully qualify for  the Junior Nationals in P.E.I. this August

All the throwing circles were big puddles!

Getting our instructions - nice to see familiar faces from last year

I was teased about my little sneakers. I guess I should really get proper throwing shoes

As soon as I released this throw it felt great and I knew it would be a PB

I had to change my javelin spikes at the last minute. Fortunately a complete stranger gave me the right size spikes for this track. Thank you so much whoever you are!!!!

I obviously want to throw further but I'm really pleased that my throws were very consistent. That gives me more confidence for next time.

Everyone's hands were so cold and wet. I'm glad I took my mittens

Happy to win first in Shot Put

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My past soccer coach Audra runs a ’Girls Only Multi-Sport Program’.  She asked me to come in and teach her girls some Taekwon-do and talk about my World Championship experience. Of course I was really excited so I accepted the opportunity in a second. There were two 1 hour sessions. The first group of girls were 9, 10, and 11 year olds. I took them through some of the drills I do just to give them a taste of what Taekwon-Do is like. I was a little nervous going into a room full of young girls and not knowing how they would react. These girls were incredible! They were full of energy, enthusiastic, attentive,  hard working and willing to go out of their comfort zones. They made it really easy for me :) I also covered goal setting because I think it’s so important for young girls to have goals and dreams. Working towards them is what makes you grow as a person.

Next there was an older group of teenage girls, some older than me. It was a different atmosphere because things were a bit more laid back but the intensity was high. We were working hard and teasing each other. I haven’t laughed that hard in a while. These girls had awesome dreams. Some wanted to be scientists, accountants, lawyers and one even wanted to open a bakery.  I told her I would be the first one in line! It was inspiring to me Not many teenagers have a clue what they want to do and these girls had it all figured out.  I showed them some of my favorite motivational quotes and next week when I go back, we will go over some of their favorites. I also made up little work book for them to fill out using a formula that I use when I set a goal for myself.  Hopefully they will bring their booklets filled out next week and we can all work together to help each other reach our goals.

Last night is an experience I will never forget. I was so happy in that environment. I felt comfortable, confident, proud and passionate about my sport. I was so inspired to see all these girls doing the crazy stuff I was asking from them with a smile on their faces. All I wanted to do was go and share my passion for sport, Taekwon-do, and being the best you can possibly be. I hope to do more things like this because it makes me so happy and I enjoy it more than anyone will ever know. Thank you girls, for taking my ‘I Kick Like a Girl Challenge’.

I already have so many ideas for next Wednesday night

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I love having my Grandpa there to cheer me on!

Ms. Rusch and Bill give me some advice between throws

I can’t believe how much I’m learning at each meet.  I’ve been competing my entire life with Taekwon-Do so I feel completely in my element in that environment.  Track is so different for me.  I feel like a white belt all over again I am still trying to figure things out.

Bill watches every detail

Not only am I still learning how to prepare properly for a meet, I’m still learning the basic movements in each of the events.  I love the fact that I have strong competition in all three events so it really pushes me. There are a few of us who throw within a few centimetres of each other.   It’s like a cat and mouse game.  One minute you’re ahead and then they have a good throw and then it’s time to play catch up.  Sometimes you do and sometimes you don’t     You don’t peak in these events until your mid-twenties so I have lots of time to figure this stuff out.  I just have to constantly remind myself to be patient.

My shoulder felt a whole lot better than it did last week thanks to a great taping job with Spider Tech tape by Anthony Aeillo.  I also only threw once last week to give my shoulder some rest.   Since I’m also training for the Taekwon-Do Pan Am Championships I’m finding my body is under a lot of stress.  It’s really too bad that my two biggest events for track and TKD are held in the same month.  It’s also exam time at school so I feel more stress with that too.  I just wish everything was spread out a bit more.

I make the ugliest faces when I throw

I won the Overall Best Junior Female award for this meet

I’ve had excellent TKD sparring and cardio training lately with Mr. LeGrow and Wayne Thompson.  Wayne says he sees an improvement in my performance every week which is encouraging  since I’m tyring to work on the stuff  he’s giving me.  Shane Lynch has been here from Nova Scotia for a couple weeks so it’s been great training with him too. I am so happy he’s moving here!  I’m so lucky to have these really skilled TKD practitioners to work with.

I love coaching on the weekends and I’ve been giving them some of the same work out drills as Wayne has been doing with me.

I've never seen them work harder and the time flies bye

Coaching in small groups is great since they really stay focussed

It’s going to be another busy week ahead with school, training for track and TKD as well competing in Brockville.

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Javelin – 1st Place

It felt really good  that my whole family was there to see it.  I could tell that Bill (my coach from the Lions Club) was really happy and so was my school coach Ms. Rusch.

As soon as the measuring assistants in the field thought it was further than the previous meet record they had to call an Official (Mr. Barkley Frost) to come and measure.  It seemed to take forever but they have to make sure it is measured properly.

The purpose of the this meet is to be in the top 8 so you can qualify for next week`s meet.  Once I broke the record I stopped throwing since my shoulder was starting to hurt.  My shoulder and back have been really sore since last week and I was really nervous for today.  I was hoping I wasn’t injured in any way.  I wanted to save it for the next two events.  It obviously would have been fun to keep throwing to see if I could throw even further but it wouldn’t be worth it in the long run.  I worked hard on my foot work with Bill last weekend to rest my shoulder and my run-up felt way more comfortable today.  I was still definitely holding back with the throw. It was like my body was subconsciously doing things and holding back to protect my shoulder.

Shot Put – 1st Place

My mom had to leave to go to work so I don`t have any pictures of the shot put.  This throw is the least painful with my shoulder.  As soon as I got a good distance I once again I passed my last throw.  I really need to listen to my body.  I was happy to win first place and I was pleased with my distances.

Discus – 2nd Place

This event is my most challenging since I’ve had the least amount of training in it and there is a lot to coordinate.  I only took my three throws and passed my last one when I knew I would be in the top 8.  It can be risky passing your throws since anyone can have one really good throw after you and bump your placement.  Being the competitive person that I am it was really tempting to take my last to see if I could have thrown further but I could tell with my last throw that I needed to stop.

I`m also training hard gearing up to the Taekwon-Do Pan Am Championships in June.  Between all the hours at the dojang and the hours at the track for three throwing events I`m not surprised I`m sore. 

To be on the safe side I went back to my physiotherapist  Dr. Aiello for a quick check right after the meet.  I just don`t want to do anything stupid at this point to ruin not only my season but ruin my TKD sanctioned events leading up to the next World Championships.  He gave me some acupuncture and deep massage and gave me the good news that there wasn’t anything really seriously wrong. I just have over-used and tight muscles that are pulling and pinching which is causing the pain. I just need to make sure that I am careful and listen to my body for the next week or so to make sure I don`t end up injured.  I`ll work on my footwork but limit my throwing for the next week.  It looks like ice packs will be my best friend for the next little while :)

I won the Overall Junior Girls Award for this meet

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John McCrae High School rented out the soccer dome for the night and we were all in teams of 10 people.  Each team had to raise at least $1,000 to participate.  From 7pm to 7am two members of your team had to be continuously walking the loop of the field.  Our school raised $42,000 for research.

The Survivor’s walk at the beginning of the night really touched me a lot as all Cancer Survivors did a Victory lap.  It gave a lot of inspiration and hope but I have to admit it killed me seeing little kids walk by who are obviously going through Chemotherapy or have gone through it.

Around midnight they turned the lights really low and everyone walked around reading messages that we had written on “luminaries” which are bags of Hope for their loved ones.  Inside each bag as a battery operated candle.  Reading some of the messages on the bags were incredible.

On a lighter side, there was also a whole lot of fun throughout the night.  There were soccer games with huge beach balls and there were even Zoomba sessions that I took part in. Yes…I was dancing.  It was actually so much fun and the energy in the room was so intense. I loved it!  During the talent show Kelsey and I sung our song the we wrote for the Canadian Cancer Society song writing contest.  It was a completely different atmosphere singing our song at this event than it was when we sang it at the school coffee house a few weeks back.  Everyone joined in the chorus and it felt very powerful.  I was having a really hard time not crying.  My family has been effected by cancer and I have many close friends that have been too.  When my grandmother was given 8 months to live from Kidney Cancer she moved in with us so we could take care of her until the day she died.  It was the hardest year of our lives but at least she wasn’t alone and it brought our family closer together.   The Relay for Life was a very emotional night for me, so singing our song in this environment was definitely a surreal experience. I am not quite sure how to explain it.  We won the talent show so that was pretty cool.

I was exhausted after staying up all night but it was so worth it.  Together we can ‘Win This Fight’.  Please donate to research.  Every penny helps

I’ll post some pictures as soon as I can….

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Tonight, he brought me through yet other incredible workout. I started off shadow boxing and doing burpees. He brought a vest with him that weighs 20 pounds that you wear. I shadow boxed with that on my back for a long time and  my legs really started to get tired but I felt light as a feather once it came off.   Strong explosive legs are good for all my sports.

I did a lot of sparring tonight with more emphasis using my hands and establishing my jab while having good movement. It was a really intense night because my cardio was being tested as well as my brain.  I love learning so I was mentally fried after.  Just when I thought I was done the next thing I knew, I was doing a suicides.  My heart was pounding and I could hardly  breathe.  I really needed mental strength to get through. Then I was doing alligator crawls back and forth the length of the dojang.  Then I had to continue doing the same thing with a push up incorporated.  I was so tired!!!!! I kept pushing until I finished and then collapsed I felt so good and proud after.  I love those work outs!  I have to use the vest and the tether belt on my own every day until I see him next week.  I wonder what he’ll put me through next? lol

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I was so happy that Bill came to watch.  He videotaped my first throw and then today we were at the track going everything. Then I spend three more hours practicing all three throwing events.  He wants me to train again on Monday and then no do anything until the first ‘real’ meet on Wednesday.  I really appreciate all the coaching that he does for our group.

The Ottawa Citizen wrote…

“Kayla Maduk of John McCrae was the meet’s only triple winner as she recorded top finishes in the girls’ junior shot put, 10.59 metres; discus, 28.38 metres; and javelin, 30.82 metres; She won the shot put by 3.26 metres, the discus by 4.93 metres, and the javelin by 6.54 metres.”

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I remember the first day I met Bill…he said “Kayla, javelin is the most volatile sport there is”.   I have to admit I didn’t have a clue what he meant by that but since I had just met him I didn’t want to ask him to explain it

Now after all this training, I know exactly what he meant.  You spend months (years) preparing for a meet.  You spend hours every week working on strengthening your entire body, you spend hours working on each step of your footwork in the run, you spend hours fine tuning the mechanics of planting your foot and then finally hours working on the actual release of the javelin.  No two throws (at this early stage of my training) are the same.  Then the day of the meet comes and you only get three throws (to continue on).  If the javelin doesn’t hit the ground tip first and sticks, it doesn’t count.  The smallest variation like wind or slippery wet grass can completely affect your throw.  Some days are going to be better than others just like in practice so now I have to figure out how to be mentally ready for this sport.

In a soccer game you have 90 minutes to figure things out and adjust your game.  In Taekwon-Do each pattern lasts at least a few minutes and a sparring round is 2 X 2 minutes long.  The only thing I can relate my javelin to is my Power Breaking events.  You only get one chance to break the boards.  The bottom line is, you have to give it everything that you’ve got in that one strike/kick/punch or the boards don’t break.  Now I have to do the same with throwing the javelin.  NO holding back plus having to make sure that it not only goes far but that it also sticks into the ground.

I’ve also been training for shot put and a little bit for discus since I will be competing in those events as well  for my high school.

I’m really lucky to be training with the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club since all the coaches are amazing and so helpful.  We spent so much time with strength training using medicine balls.  It’s vital to have a really strong core for all the throwing events to help prevent injury.  The core is where you get all your power from.  During the winter months we trained in the indoor dome where there was also a weight room which was great.   Now that we train at the outdoor track we can only use the medicine balls for warm-ups and strengthening.  I’m glad I’m doing some of my own cross-training  on the nights that I don’t have track to maintain what I did all winter indoors.

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Master Suarez, Ms. Maduk, Mr. LeGrow

The seminar covered movement in the ring and detailed footwork.  For the first two hours we did nothing but work on offensive and defensive footwork and movement.  Our feet were burning from sliding on the mats for so long. Like so many other sports you have to start with the footwork (the ground work)  and work your way up.  It wasn’t until the final hour that we actually did any kicking which just goes to show how important the foot speed is.  The drills were basic, but then when he added specific footwork, your cardio was being tested and your brain.  I can really see how they will make a difference.

Boxers shadow-box by the hour to get their footwork right, soccer players spend hours dribbling the ball for better control and I spend hours working on my footwork with javelin training before I even throw.  You have to be willing to work on the ‘basic fundamental’ stuff if you want to improve.

It was funny with all the different languages in the room.  There was Spanish, Korean, French and English commands going all the time but we all knew what each other was saying

We were all dying of exhaustion after the three hours (plus already being sore from yesterday) but I didn’t want the training to end since I was learning so much.  I look forward to training with Master  Suarez again sometime hopefully this summer and he invited me to a big tournament in New York next September.

Thank you Master Suarez for an incredible Sparring Seminar and thank you Mr. LeGrow for making it possible.

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