# Greetings, all!



## MidnightBlue (May 19, 2011)

Greetings, all,

I am new to MT, and newly returning to martial arts.  I'll try to make my story short:

When I was about 9--I'm turning 27 in a few months--I grew very  interested in martial arts.  I lived in a suburb of Pittsburgh where  there weren't too many martial arts schools at that time. I trained in  Ishinyru for a few months at the local American Legion until the  instructor suddenly stopped showing up for lessons.  Saddened, but with  limited options, I did as much research as a child could, reading books  on martial arts from the local university library.  Then, I visited  every martial arts school near me to meet instructors, ask questions,  and observe. I joined a Tang Soo Do school at that time and loved it!   While there, I trained on weekends in Hapkido, Aikido, and Jujitsu,  thrilled that I was learning how to use various holds effectively even  though I was tiny.  I trained for about two years at that school until  that school had to close because of a highway expansion project that  took the building.  That instructor moved away to start a new career, so  a few months later, I joined another Tang Soo Do do jang in a nearby  town.  I took some time off in high school--I wish I could say it was  all to excel in my studies, but I was also young and did not quite  realize how important martial arts was to me.  As a senior in high  school, I started training hard and regularly again--I earned my black  belt as a sophomore in college.  I trained and helped teach until I  graduated from college.  

Then, I moved to Delaware to start my career.  For the past six years, I  have not trained at all--I pursued my Master's degree, took a new job  that was a major vertical move but also takes a great deal of time, and  worked on balancing everything else in life. Now that I'm nearly 26 and  haven't trained for years, I find that my passion for TSD is stronger  than ever, but my balance, power, flexibility, and endurance have sadly  suffered.  I've officially been training again for one week and one  day.  I'm loving it, but I cannot WAIT to get back into shape like I use  to be so I can begin to advance my skills again and be a leader and  role model for the younger black belts and color belts. I also hope to get some real training in grappling and weapons, but not until I've gotten back into the swing with TSD.

This looks like a great community to belong to--I look forward to  collaborating with many of you. I hope to be able to receive and provide  advice as part of the MT family!  Right now, my biggest need is support  in getting back into shape--martial artist caliber!  If anyone has also  taken a hiatus from training and lost these things (balance,  flexibility, and endurance most of all--power will come when those three  are in harmony), I would LOVE your feedback!

Have a great day, everyone!


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## Touch Of Death (May 19, 2011)

Welcome.


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## tshadowchaser (May 19, 2011)

Welcome to Mt.


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## stone_dragone (May 19, 2011)

Greetings and welcome to MT!


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## OKenpo942 (May 19, 2011)

Welcome to MT and welcome back to the martial arts world. Glad to have you.

James


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## Bill Mattocks (May 19, 2011)

Welcome!


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## SahBumNimRush (May 19, 2011)

Greetings and welcome to MT!  I was in Pittsburgh last weekend for Grandmaster C.S. Kim's 37th annual tournament.  I'm assuming that your experience with TSD in the Pittsburgh area was affiliated with C.S. KIM?  

Glad to have another TSD guy on here!  Our Korean forums are very active!


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## MidnightBlue (May 19, 2011)

Hello, SahBumNimRush,

I trained under Master Peter Oien with North American Karate & Fitness.  I'm a girl, too.    How was C.S. Kim's tournament?

I'll follow up in the Korean forums soon!

Thank you,
Jamie


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## Yondanchris (May 19, 2011)

Welcome to MT!


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## shima (May 19, 2011)

MidnightBlue said:


> I'm a girl, too.



Hurray for more female martial artists on the forums  Welcome to MT!


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## sfs982000 (May 20, 2011)

Welcome aboard.  What part of Pittsburgh are you from?  I'm orginally from that area, I grew up in Beaver County.


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## SahBumNimRush (May 20, 2011)

MidnightBlue said:


> Hello, SahBumNimRush,
> 
> I trained under Master Peter Oien with North American Karate & Fitness.  I'm a girl, too.    How was C.S. Kim's tournament?
> 
> ...



The tournament was good, a bigger turn out than I had expected this year.  It was held at the Galaxy High School Gym in Monroeville, so I expected it to be smaller this year (it's usually held at Pitt's Fieldhouse.. .).


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## MidnightBlue (May 21, 2011)

sfs982000 said:


> Welcome aboard.  What part of Pittsburgh are you from?  I'm orginally from that area, I grew up in Beaver County.




Thanks!  Wow, small world....  I was born in Beaver and lived in Industry until I was four.  Then, we moved to Murrysville (east suburbs).


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## MidnightBlue (May 21, 2011)

SahBumNimRush said:


> The tournament was good, a bigger turn out than I had expected this year.  It was held at the Galaxy High School Gym in Monroeville, so I expected it to be smaller this year (it's usually held at Pitt's Fieldhouse.. .).



I'm glad it was a good tournament.  I've never been to that one.  My former do jang used to hold ours at St. Vincent College in Latrobe.  Now, it is held at Seven Springs Ski Resort.


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## C Denny Run* (May 23, 2011)

Welcome to MT Jamie! When it comes to getting back in to MA shape, I just recommend lots of stretches, working your core muscles, cardio, cardio, cardio, and more stretches. 

I had been going to the gym for about a year before beginning my MA carrier, but was NOT in MA shape at all. Ha ha! It was a huge wake up call for me. I was only weight lifting, and going for mass....... Well, now I do a half hour of cardio before I do any kind of lifting. I also stretch for at least 10 mins, before and after MA class, and work outs. I can safely say, I feel the best I've ever felt in my life. 

It shouldn't take long to get back in to shape. A few more weeks, and you'll feel great! Wish you the best, and have fun!


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## delaford321 (May 23, 2011)

Welcome to MT! So are you nearly 26, or about to turn 27?


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## MidnightBlue (May 23, 2011)

I'm 26, turning 27 this summer.  I know it's not old by any means, but gosh do I feel like it when I'm so out of sync with training!


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## oftheherd1 (May 26, 2011)

Welcome to MT from another relative newbie.  Good to see you getting back in to MA.


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