Another Life

A good friend of mine asked Gem if she would be interested in acting in a short film he was putting together. After months of work and lots of practice, here is Gem's acting début - Another Life:

I am SO very proud of her. She done an absolutely incredible job and stood shoulder to shoulder with the other actors who have much more experience than her.

Please visit the Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/AnotherLife.FanPage) 'like' it, show your friends, and generally support it in every way you can and hopefully we may be lucky enough to see it get some funding and maybe become it's own series. Here's hoping.





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Half way!

Last night, Gem and I received our red belts and started to learn our next set of techniques - Maek Cha Ki and our next form - Goh Geup Hyung. I love it already!

We are half way along our journey to Black belt now.





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2012 Kuk Sool Won European Tournament

Last Saturday Gem and I competed at the 2012 Kuk Sool Won European Tournament. As White belts last year, we had a fantastic time and came away with loads of medals. This year was MUCH tougher!

I only recognised one chap who I competed against last year, a really nice fella from King's Lynn named Chris. Everyone else was a new face.

Gem's age group started before mine so I was able to watch and partner her and Danny for their techniques before moving off to my own ring.

Gem and I were disappointed when her centre judge kept rushing everyone through their introductions and saying "not to bother". The introductions are an important part of the performance, highlighting the competitor's etiquette for which they seemed to not be marked for at all. Kuk Sool Won is supposed to be a traditional martial art with etiquette and manners being an incredibly important part of that, it felt a little like tradition was not being adhered to that day which was disappointing.

Gemma didn't place for her form or her techniques, although I thought her form was far better than those she was competing against. She made a mistake on her first technique which I'm sure cost her a medal as she still scored high despite it. Danny also didn't place for forms or techniques but got Copper for sparring - a difficult task as some of those guys were even bigger than him!

My form - Cho Geup Hyung, went well, although I felt that I rushed it a little and it could have been better. My techniques went well too - Sohn Mohk Soo 3 & 9, and Eue Bohk Soo 5.

Last year I wasn't able to spar because of my recent eye surgery, but this year I thought I'd give it a try. Sparring is my least favourite aspect of Kuk Sool so I wasn't particularly bothered how well I did, but I took home the bronze medal. I actually think I did better than that and know I landed more hits than I was awarded and lost points when I wasn't touched (we have video evidence! Hahaha), but ultimately the judges can only score what they see. I did land a beautiful crescent kick to my opponent's head and I discovered afterwards that he used to train in Kung Fu for years before starting Kuk Sool, so I am pleased with how I did.

I received a gold medal for my form and my techniques got a bronze which surprised both me and Chris (who took silver) as I thought we were both better than the girl who won gold. I should have chucked a fancy throw in there rather than being technical as the judges seemed to like those. Oh well. Lesson learned.

Finally Gem got her opportunity to spar. Due to low numbers they mixed all three Blue belt adult age groups. She did extremely well and won Gold!

We spent the rest of the day partnering other Kuk Sool friends and treated ourselves to an official Kuk Sool Track suit each. The demo was amazing and getting to see so many Lowestoft and Halesworth Black belts promote was awesome! Then we enjoyed a Pizza Hut for dinner, returned to our hotel and travelled back the following morning.





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New Job

It's been a funny old month or so since my last post. I unfortunately was made redundant and spent the majority of the 'consultation period' looking for another job.

I had an interview in Coventry which went very well, but they wanted me to relocate which I didn't really want to do. I also got invited to interviews in Sweden and Moscow!

Today, I started at a new company doing similar work but for a lower wage. I do get to work from home though which I think will be great! Fingers crossed it will all work out as well as I hope.

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Down, then up... and then down

Well, the year started badly with my dear Granddad's funeral, then it started to go really well: Ordered a new TV, Kick Start, back to Kuk Sool and enjoying learning the new Blue Belt form and techniques, finally got my computer to play Star Wars: The Old Republic...

...then today we are told that the company is downsizing. There is a very real possibility that I may lose my job.

I don't feel depressed about it necessarily, but I am quite scared and worried about what I'll do. This is pretty much my dream job. I get to draw and paint all day and I get paid well to do it.

Looking at Job websites, everything close to what I would want to do requires all sorts of programming skills which I simply do not have. Jobs around here also don't pay anywhere near what I earn currently so we may have to move, sell the car, etc, etc...

I don't think I've ever been so worried for my future before. It is not pleasant.





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Blue Belts

On Saturday, Gemma and I graded for and received our Blue Belts!

The grading was quite hard going and I landed badly on my knee, hurting it even more, which was very annoying but I managed to hobble through the rest of it.

After tonight's 'fun' class we have a break of about two weeks so I will do my best to rest my leg and hopefully come back to Kuk Sool in the new year, in the new dojang, fighting fit and ready to go.





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December Update

It's been a while since I last posted, but things have been relatively quiet so there hasn't been much to report.

I have been really struggling with my enthusiasm for Kuk Sool. I think it was just that we learned the form very quickly so we just practised it over and over without learning anything new. With winter coming it also got very cold in the Sport Centre which made the aches and pains seem worse. I've been hobbling around for weeks with a bad knee that just won't seem to heal.

The last few lessons have seen my interest perk up again though. Most likely because we have our Blue Belt grading looming (this Saturday). So it will be nice to have a new colour and some new stuff to learn.

We also had our second Black Belt Club at the weekend when we learned some Acupressure techniques and done some more archery. That was LOADS of fun!

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The release of Star Wars: The Old Republic is right around the corner now as well. I have been waiting for this game for about 3 years now. The beta was great although during the last one my graphics went haywire and I was unable to play properly. I've been having no end of trouble with the login details and stuff too. Problems galore! Hopefully I can get it sorted before launch.

My computer has been misbehaving in general lately and I can't figure out how to fix it, which is also getting me down. Hopefully it'll all turn out okay.





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