Sunday, September 13, 2009

RKC update!


I have allowed life to get in the way and have not posted anything that has happened except on FaceBook for the past month. I am going to back up and do my best to describe all that has happened factually and emotionally.

One Weeks after my last post we had another prep Saturday with what is now called the Iron Tamer Clan, more on that later. The Iron Tamer, David Whitley, Was running our class again. We were doing more teaching than training. He wanted us to get ready for that part of the RKC testing. It is a big component because if you can't teach what you know, you still can't pass even if you can physically do the work. Afterwards we did the snatch test again. This time I did it with no trouble and 10 sec faster than the week before. I finished in 4:30. I was really pumped now. Things were really coming together and as David said, "I found my hips"! 3 weeks until RKC

Next week, 2 weeks left. We did the grad workout, which was very difficult. I got in a hurry and used more of my back again than my hips and aggravated it. This may have been a little bit of a confidence shot. I has 2 weeks left which really meant 1 week left because we were all going to take the last week off to be ready for RKC. David said we were all ready and he was very confidant in all of us that we were going to do very well. I know all of the Clan was nervous but excited and could not wait until we got there.

The name Iron Tamer Clan began one Saturday really jokingly when we talked about having T-Shirts made to represent all of us at RKC. I believe Mark Snow said it first and it stuck and we loved it. It comes from being apart of David Whitley's Boot Camp because he is the Iron Tamer. The Clan consist of; Mark and Nikki Snow a cute fun loving couple that love to razz each other as well as any one else the like. Mark has been a great encouragement and friendly competition for the both of us. Nikki who is some what reserved until she gets to know you, in her own words like a little sister to me now. She has a great attitude and will attempt any KB task asked of her. She could put me to shame with a 10 minute snatch with a 20 kg. Jay Cannon, who like me wanted to attend RKC as a personal goal. He has such a witty sense of humor that would come forth and the most unique moments that we have all come to love. I first met Kristin McBryde at our Saturday prep classes. Her husband Matt, RKC from Oct 2008, also helped us on Saturdays. She is a little woman that is packed full of dynamite! By the time I met her she seemed to already be well prepared. She too has a witty sense of humor. I will never forget the Saturday she shocked us when Mark asked her where Matt was! She said," I called him a J... A.. and he stayed home!" We walked away shocked and dumb founded not knowing what to say next. She quickly said she was joking-"He is getting coffee!" This was the making of a group of people that may or may not have met or mixed before but now began a journey together that few make and few will understand.

Aug 27, 2009, Thursday: Mark, Nikki, and my self leave for San Diego together. It is a long flight with a stop in Houston but it was great opportunity for me to learn more about Mark and Nikki. We arrive in San Diego and Kristin is waiting for us at the airport. We arrive at the hotel and get checked in. We all realize that San Diego is having a heat wave which we were not expecting. It was as if we brought Tennessee weather with us. We meet up shortly with Mandy Whitley and David. I begin to meet what is known as the RKC family. Mark and Nikki as well as David already know who most of these people are, but it is all new to me. Thursday night we have the meet and greet. We find out who is our Team Leader and receive our Instructors Manual, which is a couple of hundred pages. As we are calling it a night at 9:30 p.m., we are encouraged to read our manual. I thought they were kidding, but they were not!

Friday- RKC begins! We spend the first 2 hours with introductions and true to our form we all let them know we were a part of the Iron Tamer Clan! The bar just got raised a little bit higher! By 10 a.m., the snatch tests begin. I wanted to calm my nerves down so I let most of my team go first while I watched the clock for our team leaders. There were several that did not pass. I was now beginning to see why there is a 25-30% failure rate. Now it was my turn. I told myself it was just like back home only 5 minutes of work. I begin and am doing fine. I am not tired and have a good pace. I hit 90 with a minute left and on the down swing before I switch hands the KB flies right out of my hand through my legs-disqualified! I am so disappointed! My confidence is low and frustration and anger high! My hands are in great shape but I am now afraid of the rest of the day and having to keep them that way and having to take the test again the next morning. The rest of the ITC pass. I feel I have let them all down. My Team Leader, Mark Cheng, reassures me not to worry- it was a freak thing and I would do fine and pass the next day. I am not so sure!

The rest of the day we learned swings and get ups. We must have done hundreds of swings all day. If the whole group was not fast enough with instructions, we did swings. If we were out of position during lecture, we did swings. We finished that day around 730-8 p.m.. I was tired but thank God my hands stayed in good shape. Many people's where not. Now I had to worry about the soreness and could I pass the snatch test the next morning. As the evening went on the body began to stiffen up. I noticed a pull in my left side that added to my concern. Thank God for advil, Infiaid and Kangen Water. I brought a Kangen machine with me and hooked it up in my room. I drank at least 2 gallons a day.

As I kept rehearsing the snatch test over and over in my head to learn from it and what went wrong I realized that at 85 my mind was telling me I should switch hands then. I did not listen. I kept to my plan and training. Saturday came early. We had to be there at 730 a.m. for the snatch test. We begin. Just like the day before I am going on the same pace. I hit 85 and decide to switch hands and do. I switch again at 90, 95, and 100!!! Done, I PASSED the test! I can not tell you what a relief that was. Even though that was only 1 piece I was not so sure how my hands would hold up by Sunday. I wanted to get it done! I was elated and now could enjoy the rest of the day!

We were taught how to press and after a full day and half of training, I was able to press a personal best of 40KG! We had some killer work outs that day but it was not as bad as Friday. My team stayed the latest that day working on our technique to get us ready for the technique test on Sunday. The ITC thought we were being punished with more work. Apparently Mark Cheng is one of the tougher Team Leaders. He is very intense. It is hard to describe his intensity. He wanted us to get it at times more than we did. He took his responsibility very serious and it showed. He is a great Team Leader and I am glad God chose him for me! I was feeling pretty good I think going into Sunday.

Sunday morning was a marketing lecture for 2 hours. After that was the technique test and the teaching test. All went well. Lastly was the grad work out! The Iron Tamer was right-we were well prepared! We all finished the grad work out! Next came the waiting to see if we passed. I was second to find out my fate! I passed!! I was now officially RKC!! YES!!!

The emotions where at an all time high! One by one I began to find out about Nikki, Kristin, Jay, and Mark last! The Iron Tamer Clan went 5 for 5! I cannot fully explain the joy of accomplishing this with out experiencing it. All the others have written about there experience on their blogs. We all have come away with a great sense of pride, gratefulness, thankfulness, joy, pain, and many others feelings not easily expressed. We have walked a journey together that is unforgettable and that has made us family. Many say it is not the destination that matters but the journey. It is what the journey brings out of you and how it shapes you. I can say for me I am a different man now! It has been 2 weeks since the day! I am still enjoying the accomplishment and riding the cloud! The big question now is "What next?"

This is not the end...this is just the beginning!

Please check out the other members blogs and the Grad Work Out video with the links below. See if you can figure out which one is me!