the korean dojang

A comparison of concussion assessment and management protocols used by medical personnel at elite taekwondo tournaments in the Republic of Korea and t

2012-01-23T17:34:00.000-08:00

My undergrad thesis project finally comes to a close. Here is part of my project published in the Archives of Budo. My co-author is Rod A. Harter. The full article is available here:

A comparison of concussion assessment and management protocols used by medical personnel at elite taekwondo tournaments in the Republic of Korea and the United States
Gabriel P Fife 1, Rod A Harter 2
1 - Dong-A University, Department of Physical Education, Busan, Republic of Korea
2 - Texas State University, Department of Health and Human Performance, San Marcos, USA

Background and Study Aim: Little is known about the assessment and management protocols used by taekwondo tournament medical personnel to evaluate concussions. The purpose of this study was to compare the methods used by medical personnel in the Republic of Korea and the United States to assess and manage concussions sustained at elite taekwondo tournaments.
Material and Methods: Between 2006 and 2008, pencil-and-paper questionnaires were administered to 18 medical personnel providing sports medicine services at three national-level taekwondo tournaments in South Korea, and at one national-level taekwondo tournament in the United States.
Results: Four of 11 South Korean medical personnel (36%) held registered nursing (RN) credentials, four were physical therapists (36%), and three (27%) were emergency medical technicians (EMTs). In comparison, 2 of 7 American medical personnel were physicians (29%), two were certified athletic trainers (29%), two were EMTs (29%), and one was a physical therapist (14%). Of the South Korean medical personnel, 55% had less than 1 year experience serving as medical providers at taekwondo tournaments. In contrast, 71% of the American medical practitioners had greater than or equal to 5 years of experience serving as medical personnel at taekwondo tournaments, with the majority reporting greater than 10 years of experience at national level taekwondo tournaments. Both groups reported using symptoms checklists and clinical examination as their principal methods of concussion assessment.
Conclusions: We recommend that taekwondo national governing bodies only assign medical personnel who have extensive direct experience with the sport of taekwondo to provide medical services at national-level tournaments.

개인 다기: One-person tea set

2011-12-30T04:17:00.000-08:00

here is my one-person / personal tea set. it bares the striking resemblance to my 청옥 cheonok designed three cup tea set. the name at the bottom of this one is different and does not appear to say "청옥", so i'll have to do some dictionary searching to figure this one out

청옥 다기 Cheongmok Tea Set

2011-12-23T05:42:00.000-08:00

for my birthday i was given a gift certificate to a large department store and took the opportunity to purchase a tea set. usually at department stores EVERYTHING is way over-priced and not worth the money. With a 100,000 won gift certificate i wasn't about to waste it on overly priced clothes, so i thought i'd purchase a tea set that i'd actually get some use out of.

the set i picked up has the same design as a individual tea cup strainer set that i acquired through my mother-in-law. the single person cup set i have is designed with a grey floral imprint (wording?) and is NOT glazed, keeping the more stone-ish look and feel to the cups. this not being glazed allows the tea oils to stain the cup quite easily and from what i have been told, can even sink in the flavors of the teas into the cup (my tongue is not so fine to notice yet).

the underside of the lid showing the clay exposed (not glazed)

today's purchase shows the same floral design. i am not sure if it is actually made by the same person or if it was made by a student of the person who makes this floral design.

here is the pot's underside and the character imprint of the apparent artist

and the top view of the pot

a look inside

i was told by the store assistant that it is designed by an artist named 청옥선생님 (mr./teacher (assuming) Cheongok). i have seen this same design at a number of other department stores and can't be sure if it is a quality piece or not. it's quite a pleasing set to look at and is comfortable in the hand and pours well.

bamboo puerh : 죽통차

2011-12-13T05:41:00.000-08:00

first fragrance from the bamboo shoot is not so strong as before. the original fragrance was quite strong with a more charcoal smell.

upon first rinsing, the fragrance is immediate and gives a slight chocolate scent, but is quite lucid.

the first real draw is followed by by the chocolate scent but infused with a hint of citrus-like representation. the initial taste is light and i am a bit surprised as this was quite the strong drink before. anticipating more character upon the second draw.

second steeping does not produce the smokey taste...

third comes along and awakes the smokey taste, it's a nice reminder of the earlier taste i experienced about 2 months ago...

i'll enjoy this one myself now as it has been quite some time since drinking this tea...

5 year aged korean tea pot

2011-12-12T03:43:00.000-08:00

almost five years ago, during a summer research trip, i took the initiative to purchase my first tea set. before this purchase i was teaset as a gift, however at the time i was sure the giftset was not of original craftsmanship (made by a large korean porcelain group "haengnam: new c'est bien".

after my first tea visit with brother anthony (aka: an sonjae) he gave me the kind recommendation to visit a small tea shop (gwicheon/귀천) of which was managed by a famous poet's ( Ch'on Sang-pyong: 천상병) wife (mok sun ok:목순옥). the tea shop's name, gwicheon, was named after one of his poems.

after making my way to the teashop and enjoying a few cups of green tea, i asked ms. mok if she could recommend a place to purchase a korean made tea set. she kindly took me outside and directed me around the corner to a shop that sold mostly tea-ware. the tea set included the tea dispensing pot and five cups . i also purchased some other useful tea utensils that are still in good use today. the tea pot is one of which i am unsure of the maker, however a symbol, of which appears to be a mountain. is provided at the pot's bottom and of each serving cup.

here is a photo showing the spout which was broken and repaired.

East and West: A Taekwondo Journey by Grand Master Jae Kyun Shin (신재균)

2011-05-14T23:08:00.000-07:00

I just received a book gift in the mail from my Grand Master's son and current President of the Oregon Taekwondo Association, Chief Master Rick W. Shin. The book is an autobiography of Grand Master(GM) Shin, highlighting his international adventures of introducing taekwondo to the Kingdom of Nepal and Bhutan in the early 1980s.

I always heard, by mouth, the great things that GM Shin did for taekwondo and Nepal (numerous world medals, including Olympic, World University, and Asian Games medals), but it's now that I have the great adventures to read about the details of his failures and successes.

I will attempt to provide a segmental review of my take on the book. I say segmental as I am unsure if doing a chapter-by-chapter review will be possible.

Back

2011-05-09T05:22:00.000-07:00

Here I am on the number 2 line headed to bucheon. It's been four months since moving to Korea. After finishing my Master's degree at UD, my wife and I made the decision to move to Korea and make it our home, permanently. I have applied to two doctoral studies programs in exercise and sport science here in Seoul and will begin studies in September.

Being here in Korea is really a dream come true and this dream source can be tracked back to a 2008 may entry about my thoughts for doing doctoral studies in Korea.

Since our arrival I have been making money through teaching English. I was referred to a position teaching pre-school aged kids at a college educational program and it's really a good job. I work about 25 hours per week and make a decent salary with a small studio apartment provided by the university.

In the coming summer months I loo forward to what the Lord has in store.

where it began

2010-10-05T21:12:00.000-07:00

here is a link for the first investigation i did on taekwondo from a biomechanics platform....fun stuff :). for some reason the wrong video clips were loaded. not sure if my old high school physics teacher still has the original files :)

europe research activities come to a close

2010-09-30T17:49:00.000-07:00

my wife and i finally got back home after a long 6 weeks of travelling through europe. we started our journey in london where we stayed for about 10 days. in london i collected data at london south bank university with some british national tkd team members. we had 12 subjects in total and were able to process and analyze the results in time to submit an abstract to the ioc world conference on prevention of injury and illness in sport.

after london we went to my colleague's parents' place in dublin where we took some rest and processed our data. we also got a good look around dublin and some nature scenes.

our biggest data collection stint was in spain (near murcia) where we collected data on 60 some subjects. i plan to use all the data for my master's research project and produce some full publications in the coming months. our last stop was in poland where i attended the 2nd world congress on combat sports and martial arts. i presented the results of our pilot study that took place at seoul national university.

all in all the project went well. there were many ups and downs but all came to the end of a good result.

2010-07-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

after the semester came to a close i have not really had much to do as my project has been well planned and not much in our procedures have changed since the winter pilot study. so now at spare it time...i have rarely had this kind of free time and quite enjoy it as i have taken on a new hobby...reading books...no not text books or theses but real book of stories and dialog.

currently i have been reading a couple books about the kwangju democratization protests (kwangju uprising). while studying at yonsei university from 04-05 i had taken on modern korean history course and knew of the protest during may of 1980. i simply knew it only by name and that it was lead by students from the area.

the kwangju uprising has been reffered to 'korea's tianamen square massacre'. during this protest to a newly formed military dictator (chun doo hwan) it was reported that over 200 innocent civilian protesters were killed. there however have been reports that this number is far from the truth.

the two books i am reading and not finished with yet are called: 'the kwangju uprising - eyehitness press accounts of korea's tianamen by henry scott-stokes and lee jai eui' and the first korean report of the massacre called 'kwangju diary: beyond death, beyond the darkness of the age' by lee jai eui.

after i read these and probably after my research trip...and maybe after graduation i will be able to give a good thought of the books. so far they are interesting.

소나무 찻상: pine tea table

2010-07-08T21:33:00.000-07:00

ever since my interest in the korean way of tea i have been longing for a good natural tea table like that used in korean tea houses. traditional korean furniture boasts in its ability to bring out the nature of the wood, without complexing the wood work with exotic treatment oils or chemicals. it is most important for the wood's beauty to be expressed and a table with these characteristics is quite expensive to come by, especially if a professional korean carpenter does the work...unless you convince a university groundsman to cut you a slab of wood!

this morning i was considering a drive out to the countryside to ask someone with extra wood on their property to cut me a piece. just as i pulled in to my driveway to drop off my wife and make my way out to the rural areas of newark, i spotted a groundsman cutting down a tree. i walked up to him and asked for him to cut me a one meter slab of wood. he obliged and i bought him and his co-workers cold water and i had my self a nice pine tea table!

i spent the next hour or so sanding down the top surface with a sand drill and now am sitting in front of a potentially great piece of natural korean style furniture.

i am now looking forward to learning about how to best treat the wood in a natural way as the korean way of furniture making calls for

update on studies

2010-06-24T19:19:00.001-07:00

the last few months have been very progressive and at times worrisome on the research end of things. because of our pilot study during the winter in seoul our methods are pretty much set with a few adjustments due to the agreement to collect all of our data in europe at various locations. the only thing remaining in preparation for summer data collection has been funding. the more i progress in this project and anticipate doctoral studies the more i realize how important ample funding is.

over the course of 10 months my advisor and i have applied for five different sources of funds. out of the five we have secured three and each of the three were awarded in the full amount available for request. in total we were awarded with 7,500 USD for the duration of our summer data collection. 500 $ of the funding is actually specifically for attending one conference in poland but nonetheless will help in our overall research effort to make known our results. one of our funding sources is from the university (largest source) and another is a national grant awarded for the second largest amount of funding. the third is also a university award and is to be used for attending the conference in poland.

it is really humbling and amazing to realize how expanded our research effort will be internationally. our first stop will be in london which should be about 3-4 days of data collection. after collecting data in london my colleague and i, along with my wife, plan to make our way for 1-2 days in dublin to visit my colleague's family. after that we plan to be working tirelessly on processing the data....in paris! we may also have a few days before our murcia spain data collection session where we can process our london data in maybe madrid or barcelona. the specific of where we will spend time processing have not been determined but we will consider costs above all.

the last leg of data collection will be in near konstanz germany at the taekwondo competence center in friedrichshafen. the tcc is the national taekwondo training center for the german team and also serves a primary place for scientific development of taekwondo in germany. i have been told that konstanz is a beautiful place and the surrounding area near lake constance is one of the most popular vacation spots in germany, especially in the summer.

our last stop will be in rzeszów poland where i will be giving an oral presentation at the 2nd world scientific congress of combat sports and martial arts. my topic of discussion will be that from our winter pilot study conducted in seoul.

we now have about 1 month before we leave (aug 4) and our time in europe (1.5 months) will be amazing to say the least.

2010-05-07T16:55:00.000-07:00

with the semester coming to an end i have been quite busy completing course projects as well as participating in conference activities. most recently i was notified by the american society of biomechanics that one of our abstracts was accepted as a poster presentation at the 34th annual meeting of the american society of biomechanics. this is a great step in success for this project and my career. ASB is one of the premier research societies in the world of movement sciences and says a lot concerning the importance of our research efforts so far.

also last week, in a hurry, i attended the 2nd annual delaware health science alliance research conference held at the christiana hospital in newark. the conference was a large one in respect to the state of delaware and also very important as the DHSA is one of UDs greater collaborative initiatives between mid-atlantic partners. after the DHSA conference i was notified that my poster was voted a 3rd place winner among the other posters. to me this is quite an honor as each primary investigator participant in the winning group were either PhD holders or doctoral candidates.

with the upcoming data colleciton dates scheduled this summer in europe i am quite excited to see the result, especially when our primary efforts are to get a good look from the IOC and WTF.

update on activities

2010-04-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

this past week during the spring break has been pretty active for me in regards to my research project. last week i submitted my thesis proposal document to my advisor but actually made some changes after refining the specific aims and independent variables that really helps the project to be more focused.

also on wednesday we submitted an application for the nata osternig master's grant program. the total amount of funding available in this grant is 1,000$. it is not as much as the GUR grant that we were awarded but any amount will help our efforts.

also this last week was the approval of our abstract to the 2nd world scientific congress of combat sports and martial arts. our submission was accepted for an oral presentation and the congress will be held from september 17-19 of this year in Rzeszów (Poland).

i am very excited for this opportunity and will be praying for funding to allow for the trip. last year when i attended a similar congress in viseu portugal it was kind of a last minute preparation for the abstract and i ended up being awarded the alumni enrichment award at UD for $650 which really helped. i am hoping for a similar funding opportunity or something better.

thesis proposal document finished

2010-03-26T20:47:00.000-07:00

i just submitted my thesis proposal document to my advisor via email.

my scheduled oral proposal is april 16th.

on another note, we did not get awarded the global grant. we think it's due to a lack of funds form the international department.

continued funding push

2010-03-14T17:13:00.000-07:00

after the other week when hearing that our research project is to be funded under the GUR grant program we were quite relieved. however, we still have needs in order for the project to continue as planned. So far the project has really gone exactly as planned with a few minor hiccups (not a lot of pilot test subjects, not getting to use the ATD we originally planned to use). nonetheless my advisor has not failed to run across more funding opportunities.

just after getting word of our award, we got word of two more international funding sources at the university. one is the international research award with grants up to 10,000$. the second is another great opportunity by the name of the global partnerships grant ( up to 25,000$). i am not sure what should be done if all awards are given and whether or not we would have to deny the winnings of one if all are won. i will have to consult with my advisor on this one.

the last of our proposals will be of an nata research foundation osternig master's grant with a total amount available of 1,000$. at this point we can only count on having one award from which we won previously and any amount helps tremendously.

a lot of work to do as my thesis proposal it self is up for april 16th as well as the two courses i am taking this semester as well as the summer research project planning that needs to be done! i love it ! its fun so far...

2010-03-05T22:08:00.000-08:00

here i am with another announcement of an upcoming international scientific conference. on april 7 through the 9 of 2011 the IOC world conference on prevention of injury and illness in sport will be held at the grimaldi forum in monaco.

the conference will hold a variety of symposia under many topics. of special interest to me are the symposia on concussion and helmet safety. the oral presenters have already been selected but there is a call for abstracts for poster presentation.

after our summer data collection i am under the good thought that our completed project will fit just well in the conference.

my advisor

2010-03-04T20:21:00.001-08:00

after working with my advisor for just over a year now and seeing how he has really put his hand out for me and to see how much time he puts into our athletic training education program really is respectable.

here is a story about his most recent academic honor, being named a fellow of the national athletic trainer's association . from the nata website it can be seen that there is only a couple dozen of inducted fellows in the nata

general university research program grant awarded!

2010-03-04T13:57:00.001-08:00

my advisor and i were just notified today by letter that we have been awarded $6,000 from the GUR grant!!! this was one of two grants that we applied for that i was not really confident about but it was a great surprise to find out that we were awarded such a great amount!

the second grant we are waiting for should be announced by may but as summer research projects are coming near i would assume the university would notify winners far before that to allow for ample planning.

a great step in my research endeavors and the success/completion of my master's thesis.

2nd WORLD SCIENTIFIC CONGRESS OF COMBAT SPORTS AND MARTIAL ARTS

2010-02-25T19:15:00.000-08:00

over the winter break my colleague and i (david o'sullivan) of seoul national university were able to collect some pilot data for our head injury study. we had a small selection of subjects but were able to refine our methodology that will be important during our full effort of data collection during the summer months in korea, and possibly areas of europe.

as a result we decided to submit a report of our initial findings to the 2nd WORLD SCIENTIFIC CONGRESS OF COMBAT SPORTS AND MARTIAL ARTS to be held at the University of Rzeszów in Poland on September 17 - 19. willy pieter is also submitting a separate abstract to participate in the meeting (he is also a listed author in our study). attending this conference would mark my third oral presentation and third trip to europe to do so. some might argue that the conferences i have presented at are not in front of a "challenging" audience but i would beg to differ in that one of the sole purposes of conducting research is to communicate findings to groups of people and individuals in order to foster partnerships and to exchange knowledge and ideas that might further the development of scientific/medical advancement.

i am excited to participate and will praying and looking for funding opportunities to attend the poland confernce. next week also marks the time when our first grant application result is to be announced (3/4/2010)

global grant submission

2010-02-15T17:17:00.001-08:00

its been since october since i last submitted a grant proposal for my master's project. the university has called for submission of grant proposals in support of international travel directly related to research efforts.

since last spring i have been planning to submit for a number of grants to fund my research data collection efforts that all require international travel (korea, spain, greece, and possibly brazil). while in korea I worked on the first rough drafts of the global grant and really got to work after touching base back in the states.

i think we really hammered own a well refined edition of a grant proposal which will really help in future submissions to more important (larger funding) proposals.

the total amount that can possibly be awarded is 5,000 USD and will be well spent if awarded.

praying for the best as i know my heavenly father has favor upon those who seek his love.

2009 trip 2 to korea

2009-12-13T17:35:00.000-08:00

the last time i was in korea was during this last summer. after my first semester at UD i was in the position of not having a full summer teaching assignment (only one summer session of biology 207). this in turn required that i find some way to make some cash to pay rent. athletic training never pays well and to rely on random sports camps to pay rent wouldn't be so responsible to the next best thing to do was teach english in korea and make just enough for our flight tickets and one month's rent.

now, during the winter, same deal. no teaching appointment and the next easiest thing is to teach english for a month to pay rent. also, i have a great opportunity to work on my master's project with a friend at seoul national university. so in the next couple weeks i will be working to get things situated to get as much work done in korea during the short month as possible.

i really like korea in the winter (any time of the year as a matter of fact) but i have always liked winter weather and with the frigid weather that is typically on display over the peninsula, we are sure to get a good fix of korean winter. a great thing about korea in genera, and especially during the winter, is the street food vendors. although not always the cleanest of food, there really isn't a better thing that having odaeng soup (오뎅국) and spicy fried rice cake (떡뽁이).

another thing i have really enjoyed doing in korea is attending traditional korean concerts. just before our wedding, my wife and i took my parents out to a pansori 판소리 concert which was a real treat. i hope to get another taste if possible.

looking forward to the hard work and fun time in korea!!

becoming korean II: dual citizenship

2009-10-30T13:31:00.001-07:00

the last time i posted on this topic was back in the spring i believe. the original information presented through online sources stated that dual citizenship would possibly be offered to people with exceptional talents (athletes, scientists, artists).

today, however, a new bit of information has been reported by the korea times stating that "If the revised bill is passed, foreigners who have married a Korean will also be able to become Korean without having to renounce their original citizenship. " and "Foreigners who have a Korean spouse or lived in the country for five consecutive years would need to pass a naturalization test to obtain a Korean passport. " .

this puts me in the category of a spouse of a korean national. to me it seems as though i would just have to show proof of my marriage to my wife and take a citizenship examination. looks like i will have to brush up on my korean language skills, history, judicial system and cultural studies. this is really exciting for me since i am genuinely interested in all of those topics. it just gives me another reason to engulf myself in these things. my first thought is to take some classes at a community center while in seoul. my wife and i will be going this december to visit family as well as this coming summer for data collection of my third research trip.

also, the final version of this dual citizenship bill will be part of a special public announcement just two weeks later!

two passports!!! bourne identity here i come!!

irb approval

2009-10-22T20:41:00.000-07:00

my irb application was approved!! second semester in the program and i feel like im blazing along! my advisor and i worked on it for a few days straight and sent it in along with another application for a graduate student grant. i got word from my advisor while in copenhagen that the project was approved. usually a project, at UD, will have to go through a committee interview process to address any issues with the protocol or subject recruitment...but they had no comments!!

the grant we applied for is the general university research program grant and allows up to 6K for funding. we made a request for near 10K hoping that they see it fit to give us more. we need to purchase a hybrid III crash test dummy and other things (accelerometers) to conduct the study. a few days ago we also got some good news from the grant committee that we may be funded! they sent a response asking for some changes in the protocol and some other clarification. at this point i don't know how much we will be awarded but anything will be great! i think the committee is asking for revision to allow for a "cleaner" application to be sent to the dean, however the date for the dean to take a look at it is the 22nd of october and that is tomorrow. so at this point i am not sure where our application stands in line for funding...but it looks good!

looking forward to see how the project progresses. so far so good.

2nd internationl symposium for taekwondo study: globalization of taekwondo

2009-10-12T15:43:00.000-07:00

2nd internationl symposium for taekwondo studyheld in conjunction with the world taekwondo championships.

willy pieter, and koh jae ok and I all presented on concussion topics in taekwondo. it was really nice to see all of us presenting at the same meeting and for all of us to voice our thoughts and results from previous studies. there was a presentation at the meeting concerning the development of the taekwondo interest group and the world taekwondo academy (world taekwondo park). the world taekwondo park is a 180 million dollar project being launched in south korea where a large area of land will be used to construct training facilities, research buildings and other education centers. these are both initiatives to help promote taekwondo worldwide.

some other good news is that my irb application (ethics approval)for my research project was accepted without request for a full board meeting to discuss the project.

irb and graduate grant

2009-10-07T14:58:00.000-07:00

after about 4 appointments and a good number of hours, my advisor and i have sent out my irb ethics application and a graduate grant for my research project. my project will require the use of a hybrid crash test dummy and can be very expensive. we have a few other grants that we will be applying for in the coming weeks as well.

also on the agenda is a possible application for a symposium on preventing concussion in sport. the IOC will be holding the World Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport in April of 2011 in Monaco. i have spoken to two other VERY well known concussion researchers who have really been leading the concussion research community about participating. if it goes the way i understand, i would be the one organizing the symposium for the concussion segment. the concussion symposium would include about 8-9 presenters for a total of like 90-120 minutes of presentations and discussion. i don't know if i am really the man for the job but i am sure as hell interested in it so i think i will do alright

general university research program: grant

2009-09-24T17:15:00.000-07:00

the past few weeks have been good in regards to developing my research project. my advisor and i have been working on our IRB application and have eyeing a few grants. today i started typing away for the general university research program that provides awards up to 6K$.

i worked on the grant for about 3 hours today and completed all the sections for the application but will now need to take another day of edits. on tuesday i will meet with my advisor so we can work on completing the IRB application as well as the GUR grant.

IRB ethics application

2009-09-17T13:43:00.001-07:00

last week i had a sit down with my advisor. we began making more serious plans to approach some grant proposals that will be crucial in the completion of my research project. the first step however was to discuss applying for IRB ethics approval for our research project.

after our meeting, a couple days after, i downloaded the correct IRB files and began filling in the blanks. on tuesday of this week my advisor and i had our first true meeting to work on the IRB application procedures section. we worked together for about two hours and got a lot done.

since the meeting i haven't gone back to the newest edits but will most likely take another stab tonight. along with the irb application is my thesis proposal. this fall semester i am fortunate to have signed up for our research methods course which basically provides the step by step guidance for preparing a proposal. my next step in the proposal is to first get a literature review completed. the class due date for a brief lit. review is the 31st of this month but i plan on having the whole lit review prepared by that time.

wish me luck!

korean fixie connection

2009-08-20T06:29:00.000-07:00

after a great dinner with my in laws, we went for a stroll along the han river. we made our way to the car and my father in law recieved an important call. the rest of us waited in the car. as we were sitting, i spotted a cluster of fixies hanging out next to the river on the river walk.

i brought up enough courage and asked my wife for the camera and walked over, introduced myself and took some shots of these guys. on guy had just purchased his bike the night before. the other has been riding for a few years or so.

i hope i can get my bike on the plane next time so i can take some rides around seoul.

fixed gear site from korea:

skidbikes.tistory.com

http://seoulfixedgear.com/

north korea (dprk) and south korea(rok)

2009-08-17T07:43:00.000-07:00

the past several months have proven quite interesting for the korean peninsula and the united states. about 4 months ago a hyundai employee at the kaesong (개성) industrial complex was detained by the dprk for some reasons i didn't really read about. around the same time, two u.s. reporters were also detained after supposedly crossing over to the north from china illegally. all three people were held for about 3-4 months and recently released all within a two week period. the first release was of the american reporters and was orchestratd by former president bill clinton. i personally was quite excited about their release as i sent a letter to the secretary of state clinton urging her to put every effor forth into having them released. about 8 days ago the c.e.o of hyundai made a trip to the dprk and met with kim jong il. a few days after her arrival the hyundai employee was released and rights for south koreans to visit mt. keumgang (금강산) and possibly meet relatives for this years chusok/harvest celebration (추석).

with all these events oocuring within sucha short time it strikes me as simply interesting. there may very well be much said about the issues however as i am not an expert on the peninsula issue i can not say a whole lot. i just hope and pray that there would be peace on the korena land.

two months in korea

2009-08-14T21:58:00.000-07:00

on the 3rd of july my wife and i flew to korea. we have now been here for about two months and have had a good time so far. after the first month i started teaching english at a 4 week summer english camp. the camp has gone well and the end is approaching. next saturday will be the last day.

during first month my wife and i seemed to have made daily trips to either the hospital or the dentist's office. i had a root canal to be done on a tooth that had been rotten for 3 years + and my wife as well had some work to be done. my wife also took the opportunity (as medical treatments are much cheaper) to get some physical check ups as well as some consultation about pregnancy. she is not pregnant now but we have been considering for some time now and might try to do so shortly.

also during my time here i have been writing alot. i had two articles to write (one for a physical therapy magazine and one to be included in the proceedings for the symposium in copenhagen this october). i have also been working on my presentation or copenhagen as well as my thesis proposal.

there has been many things to do and there defineately is not enough time in the day to get everything done...or have i just taken on too many things!???

2nd International Symposium on Taekwondo Study: Copenhagen

2009-07-17T18:45:00.000-07:00

the result is in! i received an email from the copenhagen organizing committee two days ago and informing me that my abstract was accepted for the symposium. the email was not clear as to whether or not i would be participating as an oral presenter or not but my feeling is that i will. the committee also asked that i submit a full manuscript for publication in their proceedings after the symposium.

since the news i have written the full manuscript and am now working on putting together my tables/figures for the script. my netbook (hp mini) has a speadsheet program but it lacks the regular excel program functions so it has been difficult putting the tables/figures together. i am now waiting on a download from "open office" which has the excel program that i will use. the dload is taking quite a long time so i will get on it once the dload is complete.

a close friend from korea, a professor of sports philosophy with a focus in taekwondo, informed me that the symposium in copenhagen is not of high publication value. this is typically a concern for researchers as they strive to publicate works of high quality and those that go through rigorous review (high quality). for me, at this stage in my career, i am not so concerned about that as i will have many opportunities to publish in "respected" journals. my main purpose is to get the word out about concussions and the importance of developing quality medical care at all taekwondo tournaments.

i have made a strong point in the manuscript that the IOC and WTF should follow their stated missions to ensure the safety of all athletes. this is also important to the development of high caliber competition as safety is essential.

2nd International Symposium for Taekwondo Studies

2009-06-30T19:05:00.000-07:00

now after participating as an oral presenter for the scientific congress on martial art and combat sports and recently coming back from my poster presentation at the national athletic trainer's association symposia, i am back for more!

just before my trip to viseu i found information for the 2nd International Symposium for Taekwondo Studies to be held in conjunction with the 2009 taekwondo world championships. after speaking with a friend (willy pieter) who has clearly made his mark on research in taekwondo, i was encouraged to attend.

currently an international group of sports and the management of concussion have encouraged international governing bodies of sport to adopt concussion safety standards. attending the ISTS in copenhagen would be a great opportunity to present crucial information to an international group of tkd researchers.

i just submitted an abstract to be presented as an oral presentation and will wait for the results. kyung hee university (경희대학교) will be the organizing institute and will hold the symposia at the university of copenhagen.

i look forward to presenting with willy again since our first presentations together in viseu went very well.

new saddle

2009-06-23T19:31:00.000-07:00

well i have been looking to get a brooks saddle for my bike for a while. they are a bit spendy and i haven't found the funds to support a purchase yet. however.....my step-dad is a master of the goodwill store scavenger hunt and found a honey brooks team pro saddle. yes, at goodwill he spotted, purchased, cleaned up and has of today sent the saddle in the mail. looking forward to breaking it in and enjoying rides to come!

c-4 south korea visa process

2009-06-14T19:39:00.000-07:00

for the past few months i have been searching for summer english language camps in korea. my spring semester recently finished and i need a bit of money to be making my rent payments and such. as an athletic trainer, finding a short time summer job that pays enough money is pretty much non existant. next best thing, a trip to the land of morning calm, an okay salary (enough to pay the bills) and some time with the in laws.

two weeks ago i agreed to teach english at the seoul christian university summer english camp from july 27 - august 23. on friday morning i received the necessary documents from the recruitment agency in korea, just moments before i was to make my way to dover to get my background check (state of delaware, not fbi), and apostille.

this is a new process for me since the only two visas i have had for korea are a student visa, and tourist visas. for the c-4 short term employment visa, the consulate general requires a university diploma, with (apostille) and background check (with apostille) be submitted. prior to this process, i had no idea what an apostille was. all i knew was that i needed to drive about 45 minutes south to dover, obtain my background check, get an apostille for that, and also get my oregon state university diploma apostilled.

in the state of delaware, before obtaining an apostille, there needs to be a notary given by someone within the state of delware. this was no problem for my background check, as the background check was completed at the state bureau of identification and was easily accountable for by the SBI and secretary of state (delaware). my oregon state issued diploma on the other hand is a document issued by the state of oregon and pretty much unaccounted for by the state of delaware.

after much conversation with the secretaries at the state office, i finally discovered that my oregon state university diploma could be given a notary by someone at a local copy center. at first, when speaking to the secretaries, i was under the impression that my diploma would need to be sent to the state office in oregon and be notarized and then sent to the secretary of state to be given an appostille. this would have been a major headache knowing that i now only have about 3 weeks before i plan to depart to seoul.

the apostille for my backround check took about on hour to be processed. after this was processed i went over to the copy center for my diploma to be notarized. my original diploma itself was not notarized but just a copy. the apostille for my diploma ended up being processed within about an hour and a half which was right when they were closing their doors for the evening.

i never thought i would get all that done on friday but am very happy about all that being taken care of.

now i need to drive to either washington dc or nyc to the korean consulate general to process my c-4 visa application. first thing tomorrow will start with a phone call to washington dc to confirm whether or not i can process my application there, as people living in delaware are supposed to go to nyc. i am not sure if this rule can be bent, but i will know by tomorrow morning.

Martial Arts and Combat Sports Congress: Report

2009-06-04T21:09:00.000-07:00

it has now been just about three weeks (may 14-18) since my trip and presentation in viseu, portugal at the 2009 scientific congress on martial arts and combat sports. i have been finishing up projects and papers for the spring semester and now have a bit of time to make a repot on my trip to portugal.

my flight, from philadelphia, was at 6:30pm. i left newark with another doctoral student who was on his way to interview for a faculty position at a west coast school. once i arrived to the airport i easily got my e-ticket and made my way through security with no hiccups. just hours before leaving newark i developed a bit of a head ache and wasn't looking forward to 12 hour trip across the atlantic with that on hand. as i was walking through the terminal and spotted a small massage setup and threw down "a few bucks" for a massage which proved successful. i also grabbed a quick bite from an italian joint in the terminal. i boarded the plane on time but ended up waiting in the plane on the run way for clearance to take off. i think our official take off time was around 7pm.

my first landing to the european land was in barcelona. it was around 8am when we landed to barcelona and i had a bit of time to kill so i took the time to explore a inner terminal mini mart. at the mart a bought a pack of chocolate cookies called "filipinos" and some spanish coca cola. the flips were good and the coke washed things done just right. before going through security there, i scarfed down the cola as much as i could and packed the cookies in my cary on bag.

while waiting for my TAP (portuguese airline) i enjoyed watching the people and listening to the different languages. it was interesting to be around spaniards as well as portuguese at the same time since i hadn't heard portuguese before and my preconceptions were that they were similar. they are, but the portuguese language sounds a bit slavic. while waiting for the plane i was listening to a group of guys chatting away. i was confused since i thought they were russians and didn't understand the reason for russians to head off to portugal. i was thinking that maybe there were good business relations between the countries and that might be the reason for their trip. i soon found out that they were in fact portuguese as they spoke the same language to the flight stuardists.

the last landing of that day was in porto international airport. we landed on time, maybe early, around 11:30 am. since i had already landed into spain, customs in portugal was nothing much. i was questioned by one official just before exiting the baggage claim as to where i was headed. i informed him of the congress and he let me pass with no stamp or anything to that sort. after coming out into the main gait i was looking for a sign marked "gabriel fife". nothing to that make was around so i spent about 30 minutes or so walking around like a foreigner wondering how i was to get to viseu. i called the director of the congress and he informed me to look for a man near a cafe in the airport and that i would go along with a few other attendees of the congress. i was greeted by a man who did not speak english. he was the driver and was quiet throughout the drive to viseu. the other attendees were two from belgium and one lady from spain. i was pretty tired but maintained constant conversation with the group all the way to viseu except for about 10 minutes of shut eye.

once we got into viseu we were driven to the hotel where we checked in painlessly. after putting my bags in my room i met the two belgians and spanish professor in the lobby where we continued to a restaurant across the street. at the restaurant we met professor abel figuerierdo and professor willy pieter. willy has been a researcher whos research i have been following for the past 7 years. it was a pleasure to finally meet him and our trip served as a great time to discuss future directions of tkd research. at the restaurant i enjoyed a grilled salmon steak with bread, olives, potatoes and cola. the salmon was great and the potatoes were also a great compliment to the meal.

after dinner, my crew (marc, one belgian doctoral student, and marquel from spain) explored viseu. we took pictures and enjoyed the scenes and crashed back at the hotel.

i woke up early the next morning after setting my alarm for 5am when i meant to set it for 6am. for about 3 hours after waking up i was confused as to why no one was ready when i was. my reason for waking up early was to get out into viseu and take pictures. the city is gorgeous and i look forward for the time to go back again. i wandered around for about an hour and enjoyed the city with no crowded streets or traffic. after taking pictures i made my way back to the hotel where i enjoyed a wonderful breakfast by myself (remember i was an hour early!). my breakfast that morning (and the day after that) was of cereal, bread, cold cut ham, cheese, milk, juice, fruit and coffee. this was the meal included in the nightly rate and i would probably not bother to find another hotel if i went back again. although the hotel itself was not the cleanest (brown bath water), for a place to sleep and enjoy a good morning meal, i wouldn't pay a buck anywhere else. after my lone breakfast i went back to my room and made notes for my presentation that day. after i made sense of time, i made for round two of my breakfast where i joined willy, marc and the other belgian (phD student). around 9:30 we all boarded a van going to the polytechnic institute of viseu.

the school seemed small but we didn't get a full tour so it was hard to tell the size. the day and day after that (sunday) was spent by listening to presentations, asking questions during the open debate (of which i was continually for initiating productive discussions). there were coffee breaks in between each session and i enjoyed one of these. the coffee break i did enjoy was with two portuguese national wrestling athletes who are not professors, as well as a frenchman who was a judo athlete. we had great discussions about the education systems as well as research ideas. one big cultural impact i got from the coffee breaks was the way they drink coffee beverages. they drink a thing called "cafe" which is just a shot of espresso with a shot of sugar. i pretty much drink it everyday like that now since i have my own espresso machine.

my presentation was quite fine. i think i delivered fine and was presented with some important questions by audience members.

off to viseu!

2009-05-13T19:05:00.000-07:00

well... im off! it's about 10pm east coast time and i will be boarding my 6:30pm flight tomorrow evening to portugal.

when i look back to being 9 years old and learning taekwondo, i could never have thought that i would be presenting my own research across the atlantic at a martial arts conference. although my research is not greatly scientific, i do believe that in the future there will be ore opportunities to present more observations in taekwondo research. i can only thank the lord in my success and look forward to more opportunities to glorify the lord in the things i do.

i am looking forward to the great days ahead this coming weekend.

updates after my return will follow.

scientific congress on martial art and combat sport: viseu

2009-04-18T21:23:00.000-07:00

things are starting to fall in-line for the congress that i do an oral presentation on my study of concussion management and assessment protocols used at taekwondo tournaments.

i purchased my air ticket which will leave on the 14th of may. the price was not bad, setting me at $644. i am still looking to score a scholarship through the alumni association at UD which should offset the costs.

i gave my practice presentation during my seminar course on friday and things went well. i got some good feedback from students and from my statistics professor. my professor seems to think i could get some support for continuing studies on the impact forces on the head from taekwondo kicks. it is thought that collecting data in korea would be best and also be a good image for the university.

Portugal Conference

2009-04-16T21:54:00.000-07:00

so the result of the first funding proposal was denied. however, today i turned in another proposal which if won, would cover all costs for my trip to the scientific congress on martial arts and combat sport in viseu.

tomorrow (today) after i wake up, i will be giving my first public presentation of my research results from data collected in korea. my abstract for the portugal conference was accepted for an oral presentation. i have prepared about a 10 minute powerpoint slideshow.

the conference takes place next month from may 16-17. i purchased my two way tickets taking, taking of on the 14th and coming back to the states on the 18th.

looking forward to the trip and if things are okay with my finals schedule and time allows, my wife may also come along!!! 2nd honey moon coming up!

Funding for Portugal Trip: Grant Writing

2009-04-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

recently my abstract was accepted for presentation at the martial arts symposium in viseu portugal. last week i was notified that i was not selected for a graduate travel fund through the university. however, my advisor has shown me another opportunity to apply for other funds.

i have now written three grant proposals and am 2/3. for some reason this proposal is tough as it asks, "explain why you would be a good candidate for the scholarship".

i can write many reasons why, but i am not sure they are the reasons they would look for.

i will be writing over the next few hours to see if i can come up with something good for the application.

Abstracts: SCMACS and NATA (Concussion in Taekwondo)

2009-04-04T11:38:00.000-07:00

below are both of my abstracts which were accepted for poster presentation for two scientific conferences. the first is for the national athletic trainer's association national symposium which will be held in june 2009 in san antonio texas. the second will be presented at the 2009 scientific congress on martial arts and combat sports in viseu portugal in may.

becoming korean

2009-03-26T07:06:00.000-07:00

so i woke up to an interesting bit of information...possibly quite useful in the future. the korea times reports that the korean government is in the process of offering dual citizenship to non korean nationals (foreigners). apparently the requirements are that the applicant be someone of "talent" and with that talent serving, or advancing the country of korea through their talent.

i find this as an opportunity to take my abilities with korean language and academia into consideration. hopefully by the time i am conferred a doctoral graduate i will be able to serve the country as a researcher in sports medicine.

link to the article

'73 raleigh grand prix fixed gear

2009-03-21T11:02:00.000-07:00

i finally have the grand prix up and running. the next thing i would like to do is make a switch on the front brakes. they are original and it would be nice to get something newer. i would also like to up grade to a brooks saddle as my plastic coated foam padded one is already torn/cracked on one corner.

new teaching assistantship: truly a dream come true

2009-03-16T19:56:00.000-07:00

so it came that about a week ago my advisor and i began discussing my assistantship in terms to come. as my assistantship with biological sciences was VERY last minute and not garaunteed after spring term, we brain stormed possibilities. first thought was to pursue the assistantship at delaware state university with athletics. secondly, my advisor recommended the thought of teaching again, but in the health sciences department.

shortly after our dicussion, with a teaching assistant course list and competencies sheet in hand, i filled out all the classes of which i thought i could teach. one of which is a "self defense" course. BINGO! i can do that! with over 11 years or more teaching experience of taekwondo i would be a perfect fit. i filled it out and at home put together a "taekwondo resume".

well today came the day for the full application. my advisor and i sat in his office and constructed a proposal (1 page written letter) of my interest in teaching self defense and emergency management of injury/illness. we sent it along and i made my way home (on my new fixie!) and enjoyed a nice pot o' beef curry. i spoke with my wife about the application and we spoke about how nice it would be if i could stay on campus to teach and continue research work.

about an hour after leaving my advisor's office and making my way back to the AT lab i was informed that the assistantship was APPROVED!! yes...so i will be teaching self defense and emergency management of injury/illness (need a certification for teaching first aid and cpr). so its set and im totally excited to continue teaching as this is right in line with my interests to be a professor and continue research.

confirmation in the bible

2009-03-16T19:42:00.001-07:00

while sitting in our church during the sermon i began to think about how the lord had blessed me so much lately. i remember a few days ago trying to think back about the verse that my uncle david sent me through text message which really was the confirmation from the lord about my decision to pursue graduate studies in sports medicine. those few days ago the passage in jeremiah had slipped me and i could not recall the location. anyways, during the sermon i finally remembered the passage and wanted to share it so it is never forgotten.

jeremiah 29:11-14:

For i know the plans that i have or you, declares the lord, 'plans for welfare ad not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and i will listen to you. and you will seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart. and i will be found by you, 'declares the lord, 'and i will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where i have driven you,'declares the lord, 'and i will bring you back to the place from where i sent you into exile.'

this clearly is a message to israel telling them that he will bring them back to the place where that were taken from. he promises good things to them, especially when they call on his name. the first two sentences spoke the most to me as they promise good things and definite relationship with the lord when i call on his name. i have experienced this first hand, not through the things i have done but through the selfless things our savior jesus christ has done. its only by god's grace that i am where i am and experiencing joy the way i am.

using bodpod and choice reaction time apparatus

2009-03-10T13:26:00.000-07:00

i love it. i love doing new and different things. on the field while practicing athletic training it is variable day by day of the activities you do. however, it is quite often that we do the same thing every day. although there are different challenges, sometimes things seem the same. today here at UD in the masters program, things are not so.

today i had the opportunity to participate in collecting data for another doctoral student's research. my part today was to collect data of subjects' body composition. to do this we use the bod pod. the bod pod is a egg like looking machine which measures air displacement, rather than water (as in water displacement techniques). also in the machine is the function for measuring lung volume capacity. as the subject breathes in the bod pod, the amount of air displacement is again recorded. the whole procedure occurs within about 3-5 minutes and requires a series of calibration activities.

im looking forward to continuing in helping with future studies in data collection as offering an extra hand in research is always beneficial for all people involved.

another activity was collecting choice reaction time of participants. this included the participant sitting on one side of the table in front of an electrical connected box consisting of 5 buttons with 4 lights corresponding to each button. I would sit on the other end of the table and proceed to choose between two colors of lights to ignite and record the participant's time in responding to each stimulus.

usa taekwondo video page

2009-03-08T22:01:00.000-07:00

the year of taekwondo in the states began with the us open. something great that the association did (finally) was put together a video archive. i havent had the chance to view all the videos but it looks like at least all the semifinals and finals from 2009 us open are viewable.

the videos are really put together quite well. there are short interview clips of each winner post fight.

new rims: alex ace 19 pista 700c

2009-03-08T19:58:00.000-07:00

found some rims online the other day. with a little help from my mom i was able to purchase them. they are alex ace 19 700c pista rims. from my understanding they come on the bianchi pista stock. these ones come with a flip flop hub which will make for a comfortable alternative when and if i get tired of riding fixed.

"Staying Grounded": Stephen Fife Article

2009-03-05T06:36:00.001-08:00

heres a bit about my cousin stephen fife. seems like he's getting more attention. people continue to have more and more good consistent things to say about his abilities on the mound.

STAYING GROUNDED - Red Sox have high hopes for righthander Stephen Fife

By Alex Speier - Baseball America
February 19, 2009

BOSTON—Opposing players are rarely grateful to face top college prospect Stephen Strasburg. But for Stephen Fife, a game against the likely top pick in the 2009 draft proved career-changing.

Fife, whom the Red Sox took out of Utah last June, engaged in a pitcher's duel with Strasburg late last season. Strasburg was dominating, striking out 23.

Still, Fife held his own, allowing only an unearned run in seven innings in a 1-0 loss. That contest helped to catapult the righthander from the middle rounds to a third-round selection by the Sox.

"I didn't realize the capacity of the game until after I got out of the game," Fife recalled. "That night, I got, like, six questionnaires. There were about 25 scouts I didn't even know about.

"That's what started it. That's kind of when I got noticed. The following week, there was another large crowd at New Mexico, and again and again. It happened pretty fast."

Once in pro ball last summer, Fife, 22, proved solid in his first pro experience. Pitching out of the bullpen in order to limit his innings for short-season Lowell, Fife went 1-1, 2.33. He struck out 41 in 38 innings, and produced a healthy 2.36 groundball-to-flyball rate.

Fife's high groundball rates are attributable to a hard low-90s two-seamer and a hammer curve that also serves as a swing-and-miss pitch. The 6-foot-3, 210 pound Fife also features a four-seamer and what he characterizes as a show-me slider that he uses early in counts.

As a reliever, it proved a challenge for him to use that complete arsenal. In 2009, that will prove less of a challenge as he begins the season in the rotation for either low Class A Greenville or high Class A Salem.

"After a positive performance at Lowell, we're pretty excited to see what he'll bring to the table this year," Sox farm director Mike Hazen said. "Being a groundball pitcher and a strikeout pitcher is the rarest form of a pitcher that there is. A guy that combines those two, it's a good thing to have."

Sox Yarns

• Outfielder Wilfredo Pichardo, who led Sox minor leaguers with 43 steals last year, is on pace in his recovery from season-ending reconstructive knee surgery. Still, the 18-year-old will remain in extended spring training to start the year.

• The Sox added 30-year-old Carlos Maldonado to their catching mix. Maldonado hit only .248/.312/.392 for Triple-A Indianapolis in the Pirates organization in 2008, but he enjoyed a strong winter campaign in the Venezuelan League, hitting .328/.422/.496 in 125 at-bats.

spring training: cousin with the red sox

2009-03-02T21:17:00.000-08:00

just got forwarded a video of my cousin stephen fife, a pitcher for the red sox organization. i believe he will be with a team in salem virgina this coming season.

looks pretty damn good in a red sox uni.

NATABOC EXAM: PASS!

2009-03-02T14:09:00.000-08:00

woke up this morning with a wonderful greeting from the NATABOC. included was a notice to check my results online for the board exam. after some maneuvering on the website i was able to find my results. i passed, first time attempt!!! it has been a long wait. after finishing classes in corvallis in the spring of 07 i went straight into OM studies, distracting me from taking the exam.

the first registration attempt was rejected since my cpr card was not "good". i took one of those online tests for a quick fix. didnt suffice and was asked to take a "real test". after doing that things sailed and took the exam on the 17th of february. however, on the 17th i was given a "bump" from the computer when after completing the first multiple choice section and clicking on "continue" i was re-routed to a log in page. from that point on the proctor was unable to log back in. i came back to the testing center at delaware state university two days later on thursday and was in and out in about an hour.

finally i am a real AT!

Abstract Submitted! Scientific Congress on Martial Arts and Combat Sports in Viseu Portugal

2009-03-01T15:58:00.001-08:00

after hours and hours of abstract revision I have finally submitted the abstract for the scientific congress on martial arts and sport combat which will be held in viseu, portugal. the abstract allowed for 2 pages on an A4 size paper which gave us some room to include some important information. however, we did end up chopping a lot of text from the original draft. after the revisions i really feel it is a very clean product. im hoping that the committee will see it as a vital addition to the conference.

my thought is that the conference is more geared towards advancing the martial arts on a performance level. however i think submissions within the medical field are also important in the advancement of sport martial arts around the world, especially olympic sports like taekwondo, judo and the demonstration sport of karate ( think this is still a demo sport, not sure).

i will hear back from the committee by the end of march as well as the results on my funding proposal to attend the conference. updates pending...

nata abstract accepted!

2009-02-18T19:51:00.001-08:00

i finally got word that my abstract for the free communications poster presentation was accepted. it was my first submission and looking like a good start. my abstract was on the data that i collected over two summer research trips to south korea. i collected data on concussion rates, medical personnel concussion protocols, and general injury information and concussion information from athletes.

also as a result of my research i will be sending in an abstract for the congress on martial art and sport combat in viseu portugal. i actually sent in a travel fund proposal for the trip to portugal and now just need to gain acceptance for attending the meeting. the meeting for portugal is in may and the meeting for the nata is in june (san antonio).

the new wheels: 1973 Raleigh Grand Prix

2009-02-15T20:49:00.001-08:00

it happened about 5 days ago. i did the craigslist search and came up across my new pedals. i bought it off a young 13 year old bike enthusiast in wilmington delaware. he was at school so his dad was kind enough to give me tons of information about bike shops on the east coast as well as really interesting information about the family bike collection that resides in their basement.

anyways, the bike is in really good condition and has all original components. it even has an interesting mechanical front and rear light apparatus that ignites when a wheel lever is set against the rear tire. these days finances will not allow for the purchase and up keep of a new car (mostly the up keep; car insurance, gas etc..) so the idea is to invest in the new bike to act as my machine for transport around newark and campus. my wife will also work on her bike as well.

excited to get fixing on the bike. although i am enjoying riding the vintage built bike.

Finally in Delaware!

2009-01-31T17:13:00.000-08:00

after a series of UNBELIEVABLE events... my wife and i are finally in newark delaware! my whole adventure this last week started on sunday morning. just about 10 minutes after arriving to our church i received a phone call from my professor at delaware. he started off by telling me he had some "bad news". without hesitation i asked him to let me know what it was. he then proceeded to regretfully inform me that my graduate assistantship was pulled. at the last minute he had received a call from the high school i was to work for and due to that, my full tuition waiver and monthly stipend would not be available. he continued to inform me of his great regret and assured me that he would de everything he could to find some alternative. at this point my wife and i had already packed 90% of our things into our "relo-cube" and were not looking forward to pulling everything out only to wait untill the next term when things might be better set in stone.

throughout the service i was worried about what we would do. i listened to the sermon half heartedly as my mind was now on autobon speed. however, the last word that our pastor spoke was of a personal prayer that he encouraged everyone to pray. the pray went something short like this "lord, i will commit to doing your will at whatever it takes". just as he said this i remembered all of the miraculous things god had done in the past month concerning me getting into the graduate program, to finding on campus housing and a temporary place to stay prior to our february 14 move in. i could not believe that after all these blessings that god was just having fun up there making me worry my hair out. i waited untill the service was finished untill i told me wife and reminded her of the blessings we had received and that we had to continue stepping forward with bold faith.

as tuesday rolled around my wife and i attended our interview with USCIS (immigration). after a bit of a scare at the meeting (my wife spilled the beans that my assistantship was cancelled which made the interviewee believe that she could become a public charge (someone in need of special assistance from the government through food stamps etc.) by god's grace the interviewee allowed us to go home and translate her korean bank statement showing her funds back home. after translating we made it to the immigration office just in the nick of time and received permanent resident status. yes! success, and almost all wories are gone!

we continued to make our way home as we still had some errands to run and a bit of packing to organize. i dropped the wife off at home and i made my way to get an oil change. two blocks from home.....WHAM!!!! car accident....car totalled...green light...not at fault!!!! yes...true story. after the accident i quickly began contacting the at fault person's insurance company to try and make arrangements for a rental car.

after many phone calls with the insurance company came the next day (wednesday, the day we were supposed to be on the road). i went to the sports medicine clinic i worked at and got xrays and pointers from the MD at the office. i will not speak of my injuries as the case has not yet been settled.

just as i began to walk into the Dr's office, my phone rang. it was my professor at delaware. he says "the stars have aligned for you my friend, it is truly a miracle" he continued to inform me that he found a teaching assistantship. i will be teaching a 200 level biology lab and will receive my full tuition waiver and the monthly stipend.

god works in un-imagineable ways. looking back it has all been tough. a roller coaster at times but i now can realize that the lord orchestrated this from the very beginning. the teaching assistantship (not traditional athletic training assistantship) is actually more adventageous. my goal is to be a professor (teaching) and to pursue research endeavors. starting the lab teaching and working on concussion research is EXACTLY what i needed. today i also received an email from my professor asking me to be a guest lecturer for his lower extremity evaluation class. it's only a one time gig for now since my prof is going out of town that day but its a great start to growing as a teacher.

thank you lord!

moving festivities

2009-01-23T23:38:00.000-08:00

today was the official first day of moving. around 11am ABF came by and dropped off our "moving cube". no...it doesn' actually move around like a jelly fish but is rather used to move things from one place to another (LA to newark). the wife and i moved a good number of things, especially the heavier things (couch, bed, tv stand, book case, and books). after closing up the "cube" we did a bit of re-organizing to be ready for day two of moving which will start shortly after coveing an la rugby club game.

if all continues to go well, we should be all prepared to hit the road in no time (hopefully around 4am on the 28th).

cycle fever

2009-01-21T23:44:00.000-08:00

its almost been 4 months since my 1979 raleigh supercourse was stolen. thats way too many months of bikeless activity. in my car as i pass cyclists, my heart drops as i remember the freedom i felt when riding the streets of LA. but not for long... the plan is to find a nice cycle in the newark area and make conversion to a fixie or single speed again. about 3 weeks ago i found two nice bikes up for sale in newark. one is an older schwinn and another is a 1979 Raleigh Competition GS Classic . the raliegh is pretty sweet but runs around $300. due to the hard times and my thought being that the raleigh guy is trying to get extra cash...i will offer half price and see what he says. god has really blessed me and i will just see what happens.

the schwinn is already made fixie and would be nice since i wouldnt have to do any fiddling. i will wait and post once the diamond is found!

continued grace

2009-01-20T23:46:00.001-08:00

since now going through a grueling rollercoaster of emotions when first considering returning to sports medicine studies, I have learned to trust in the lord all the more. It was clear as day when i had decided to study for the GRE and apply to graduate school and inspiring when i had received confirmation through scripture and a handful of people. from those experiences and finally being accepted in to UD, where i barely met admission standards, i have accepted god's grace and realized how important it is to trust in the lord, especially when there is clear direction in his name.

after the opening for our apartment at UD i was really feeling the blessing of the lord. however, knowing that we would not be able to move into our place until the 14th and that we would arrive almost 2 weeks before move in date, i again was a bit worried, but fully trusting in the lord to provide a temporary place to stay until move in.

about two weeks ago i emailed a local newark presbyterian church asking if they could help acomodate my wife and i . i didn't receive a reply until after calling the church and leaving a message for the international and graduate ministry director. today around 3pm, again it was confirmed that god's grace is truly upon my wife and i. the director ensured me that we would have a place and would most likely stay with him and his family just minutes from campus.

i really look forward to spending time with the international minister and providing a helping hand early on in our introduction to the church.

all is set!

2009-01-11T22:41:00.000-08:00

after sending an email to university housing and receiving a reply on a monday the 5th of jan and being told it would take 2-3 weeks before we could know if a unit would be available....it has now been confirmed that someone in a graduate housing 1bdrm has given a 30 day notice and we will be the recipients of the apartment! god is good and provides all things! thats all i have to say and i can only give praise to whom it is worthy to be given to.

we will be moving in on february 14th into the apartment and will need to find a place to crash until then. we will most likely arrive on campus on the 31st at the latest. this apartment is really great because the agreement is only until july 31st which gives us the opportunity to find a place that really suits us within the next several months.

experiencing this whole graduate school plan unfold is really showing me how god has favor in my life and also in those who love him and keep his commandments. i am far from a perfect person and will never be but i really love god and seek a loving relationship with him. i think this is something god also desires.

apartment getting figured out

2009-01-06T22:05:00.000-08:00

preparations to move out to the east coast are coming to a close. my wife and i have considered different options for housing in newark and decided taking a place on campus through the university graduate and family housing department would be the most convenient and hold the least restrictions on a lease agreement.

I sent an email to the housing department last week but only received the reply monday as university employees were on holiday until the 5th. the first reply informed me that we could complete a housing application but we wouldn't know whether or not a unit would be available until 2-3 weeks. knowing that there would be no confirmation about housing until just before the move was a bit nerve racking so my wife and i continued to think about other options. monday night i prayed and gave all my worries to god. tuesday morning i was greeted with an email informing me that the a tenant from the complex was to move out on feb 8th. that means that we will be moving in! by god's grace we have been blessed with the apartment and will not have to worry about searching for a place once we get there. we will however have to figure out a place to stay while we wait till the 14th when the apartment will be available.

we have been so blessed since hearing that i was accepted to the university and now finding this apartment. we can only give glory to our lord.

Going to The University of Delaware!

2008-12-26T11:50:00.000-08:00

after much anticipated wait...the decision is finally in... i was accepted into the graduate (MS) sports medicine program at the university of delaware! this was the only school that i applied to from a list of about 7 schools of which i was interested in. UD was the only school that would allow me to begin classes for the spring term which was a big plus. the professor that i have been in contact with also was quite interested in me doing research there and above all things that was really important. included in the good news is a full tuition remission and a great stipend for being a graduate assistant athletic trainer (most likely at a local private high school in wilmington DE). i am really looking forward to beginning studies there as the professor i am looking to work with has a considerate interest in concussions and has done his research from a more biomechanical approach.

my interest for research in concussions is from a biomechanics standpoint and i look forward to getting into that.

the program begins on february 9th 2009 and the wife and i will be making the cross country trip on the 28th of january.

grad school application complete!

2008-12-02T09:31:00.000-08:00

after a stressful day of waiting and meeting deadlines yesterday, i am proud to say that the last recommendation letter has been turned in to university of delaware. the other deadline met was the abstract submission for the 2009 NATA free communications peer reviewed track. with both deadlines met i can sit back a bit and....yes....continue to wait! with half the battle done i am still anxious, just waiting for results from both institutions (nata & university of delaware).

i was greeted with an email from the main professor of whom i am hoping to work with at UD, informing me that they had downloaded the last of my application documents and would be contacting me "shortly" of their decision. with as much contact as i have had with the program at UD and informative dialogue exchange with the professors i couldn't imagine a poor result. however, i don't see my application as completely competitive in comparison to other applicants. the advantage to applying for the spring term is my thought that there are no other applicants that i would be in competition with! however, as a program director i would thing they have to look at the long term spectrum of applicants (fall applicants) and make a good decision with consideration of that.

the other event of waiting involves the nata abstract submission. my concussion research began during the winter of 2006 and we have finally come to the opportunity to bring things to a bit of a close. if all things go well and my abstract is accepted then i will have the opportunity to present the abstract at the nata national convention in san antonio during the month of june. i will be waiting the result at the edge of my seat!

used oriental medical books for sale

2008-11-21T12:32:00.001-08:00

Every oriental medical book you will need for graduate studies in oriental medicine, herbology and acupuncture.

Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion (Revised Edition). Deng Liangyue et al. 2006. ($20.00)

The Foundations of Chinese Medicine Second Edition. Giovanni Maciocia. 2005 ($75.00)

A Manual of Acupuncture. Peter Deadman, Mazin Al-Khafaji, Kevin Baker. 2007 ($100.00)

Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica 3rd Edition. Dan Bensky, Steven Clavey, Erich Stoger. 2004 ($100)

Essentials of Chinese Medicine Materia Medica. Dafang Zeng. 2003. ($30.00)

Chinese Herbal Medicine Formulas & Strategies. Dan Bensky, Randall Barolet. 1990. ($80.00)

A Manual of Chinese Herbal Medicine. Warner JW Fan MD. 1996. ($20.00)

Chinese Herbal Medicine. Daniel P. Reid. 1993. ($20.00)

Oriental Materia Medica - A Concise Guide. Hong Yen Hsu et al. 1986 ($40.00)

The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine. Maoshing Ni. 1995. ($5.00)

The Web That Has No Weaver - Understanding Chinese Medicine. TEd J. Kaptchuck. 2000. ($10.00)

A Tooth From the Tiger's Mouth. Tom Bisio. ($5.00)

Call Gabriel 541-908-1051

Day 1: Data Input

2008-11-20T23:53:00.000-08:00

spent about 5 or so hours putting some demographic data into an excel spreadsheet and then copying and pasting the data to an SPSS data sheet. went through each athlete questionnaire (256 total ) just putting in numbers and actually felt a sense of pride doing so. after starting this project in the winter of 2006 and finally getting on the computer again to get the project close to finished started to feel good.

things will really feel good when the result of winning the undergraduate poster presentation at the nata convention is set.

data analysis begins!

2008-11-20T12:12:00.001-08:00

finally...data analysis for my concussion research is on the table! downloaded a trial period of SPSS 17.0 which should suffice for data entry until the december 1 deadline for nata abstract submission.

today i will just be entering in demographic data and once i have a better idea of how to input data for all of the questionnaire responses then i can get doing that.

wish me luck!

application out!

2008-11-18T19:08:00.000-08:00

after "making the switch" to going back to sports medicine studies I can really say I am quite excited to get things(studies) started. i finally got all my application materials electronically submitted to the university of delaware just over the weekend. i am actually waiting for two profs to turn in letters of recommendation and then the application will be 100% complete.

UD sounds like a good place to be as there is one professor who is actively participating in studies in relation to concussion in sports. i spoke with him a few weeks ago and he was quite enthusiastic about getting me on board to participate in graduate studies and to contribute to research. he also spoke of the possibility to continue doctoral studies at UD. at this point i wouldnt mind going through doctoral studies, especially if it is a place that will support my interest in concussion research.

my current interest with concussions is within the sport of taekwondo. as an olympic sport and one that is ever growing, i see it as a great avenue for continued research.

looking forward to the admission committee results. program starts in february 2009.

graduate athletic training studies: the switch

2008-09-03T23:38:00.000-07:00

after many nights of wrestling in my bed with thoughts opposed to the study of oriental medicine, i have decided to go back the other way...study athletic training in graduate school.

during my junior year at oregon state i had the idea to begin research in concussion assessment and management protocols in taekwondo. through writing funding proposals, analyzing previous research, designing questionnaires and other documents used to collect data...i realized where my interest in learning and passion is.

after one year of studying the basic theory and other intermediate courses in oriental medicine, i have realized that the studies in OM may be vigorous....only if one approaches their studies in that way. graduate programs in oriental medicine are not the equivalent of a master's level education in comparison to other disciplines of study, whether it be english studies, history, biology, economics, human physiology or the like. in most graduate level programs of any study, students are expected to continue the skills of learning (studying text books, memorizing information) but to also critically review and analyze research and concepts. graduate students in "normal" graduate programs also are most likely expected to participate in research with department faculty or even design and conduct research of their own personal interests.

graduate OM programs on the other hand do not have this atmosphere and opportunity to explore at a higher level than undergraduate education.

with all this said, i have decided to continue graduate studies in athletic training and will be applying to a handful of graduate programs in athletic training and/or sports medicine. my future goal is to continue doing research (hopefully in taekwondo) and participate in the academic world of education at the university level. my desire is to be a faculty member at a university in south korea.

with the growing athletic training education community in korea, the opportunity to be apart of an athletic training education program is sprouting.

within the next few months i will be taking gre and the boc exam for athletic training....hope to do well.

change of colors: with electrical tape

2008-07-29T00:34:00.001-07:00

a few weeks ago i was considering the possibility of painting my bike. i always tell myself that i dont have enough time for this or that...and same with painting my bike i convinced myself that painted was out of the question...for now.

while looking on the web i found a guy who covered his bike with orange electrical tape and was satisfied with the results. I got to thinking that it would be cheaper (about 8 bucks) to buy some tape at home depot and also a bit quicker.

yesterday i finally went to home depot and picked up two rolls of white electrical tape and went to work. after about 2 hours i had a white bike. i didnt take the bike apart and tape it but rather just maneuvered my way around the crank, brakes and wheels. i did however take off the front and back wheels to ease my taping a bit.

in the end i have now been faced with the new beginnings of a white bike. the photo looks better than the bike itself up close and in person, but from a distance it can easily be mistaken as a painted white bike.

I hope to change things up with white rims or even just convince myself to paint it actually white one of these days.

2008 taekwondo nationals: detroit

2008-07-22T23:22:00.000-07:00

this post is way late but i thought i'd atleast get a bit of a write up on how things went in detroit for the 2008 us national taekwondo championships.

I flew in from LA by way of philly to detroit at around 10:30 in the evening. had a couple other medical volunteers waiting at the airport for me and we made our way to the hotel. i think i went up to my room, put my bags in and met the rest of the team in the lobby cafe to have a beer (non alchy of course).

the next day started early, as did the rest of the week, around 7:30 in the am i think. the rest of the week had a fair share of metacarpal/tarsal fractures and a number of concussions. more concussions seemed to spring up out of the junior division (not any help for numbers in my research) but better safe than anything.

it was a fun time working with the bare sports medicine crew and i look forward to some more outings at tournaments and nights at the bars throwin down non alchy beers. next stop: TKD at Sea. yes at sea...we will be on a cruise ship for a good week and will bill docking in some area in baja norte california mexico.

killer bike event at bicycle kitchen

2008-07-20T23:28:00.000-07:00

the wife and i decided to make our way over to the bicycle kitchen in hopes of landing a nice bike for her. little did we know there was a bike event going on just in front of the kitchen which included an amazing show by a well known german cycle trickster. this lady was doing headstands on her seat and all sorts of unbelievable stunts on her bike...it was simply amazing.

there is a rising cycle culture in the LA area and i think im getting swept off my feet. the beauty of the custom bikes that a lot of these riders put together is pretty cool. my bike, made from scatch, will hopefully soon be another berry in the patch.

also, as i was caught up in the mix of checking out new parts for my bike, i surfed by this blog and this blog from korea...seems like this blogger is in bangkok...interesting to see cycle culture all over the world. also found this webpage (the bike )for biking in korea

taekwondo comercial: lopez fam

2008-06-26T17:23:00.000-07:00

i dont watch tv a whole lot but recently noticed a new at&t commercial featuring the lopez family (minus mark).

im not gonna say its an amazing commercial, but it sure is pretty tight to see the lopez family getting attention and most of all promoting the sport of taekwondo. we're a long ways from having the attention that golf and tennis have but its a start. the more gold medals in taekwondo for team usa means more publicity and more money....

check out the commercial posted on youtube;

athletic training volunteer at nationals

2008-06-21T17:45:00.000-07:00

i was contacted by bare essentials sports medicine about a month ago to help provide medical services at the 2008 US national taekwondo championship in detroit michigan. i am really excited to be a part of the medical team as i have now helped out at 4 national tkd events within the past few years and being apart of the tkd community is a great pleasure of mine.

along with helping the medical team out, i will be collecting concussion data at the event to include in my research. this time i will be collecting questionaires from the other medical personnel as well as epidemiological data on concussions at the games.

so far i have collected data at two other tournaments in korea and plan to make a comparison of the data collected between the states and korea.

in october i will also be accompanying the sports medical team on the "tkd at sea" tournament this october. i have plans to collect the same data at that time.

my cousin signed with the boston red sox

2008-06-07T20:12:00.000-07:00

my cousin, stephen fife, was picked 85th overall in the 3rd round of the MLB baseball draft by the boston red sox. he's a right handed pitcher from boise idaho and just finished his junior year at university of utah.

I remember the good ol' days in boise during the summers when stephen, chris (older bro) and i would play pickle in the front yard. now look at him, if he's really got things rollin his way, he could find himself on the mound at fenway park.

i wish him the best and hope to see him on tv one of these days

old blog on north korea

2008-06-06T00:43:00.000-07:00

while looking for the image for the visa post i found this blog on north korea. i didn't get a good look at it but there are some good pictures and interesting information.

when i get some more time i am sure i will waste some on the website.

wife's visa status change

2008-06-06T00:34:00.000-07:00

lately things have come to a big change. my wife and i have been working on her visa status change to a permanent resident since about january of this year. we recently got some news about her status that might delay things. at this time since we don't know the complete status i will be conservative about what i say.

after going through this process thus far, i am developing more reason and feelings of why i would rather live in korea. of course i have had several trips to korea and only lived there for a year, but i still have a compasionate interest in life in korea....and i have since i was 9 years young. after this whole ordeal passes i am positive we will both know truly what we want in life and where we would like to do so.

we have spoken to many people to give advice about the whole visa status change and it seems that no one really have a set answer for us. everyone's case is different and that is what makes it tough. we will see how things play out over the weekend and will pray for the best.

list of korean blogs

2008-06-01T20:36:00.000-07:00

went surfin today and found a nice wave. check it out...the korean blog list

새로운 자전거 바퀴 / new wheel

2008-05-31T16:29:00.000-07:00

오늘 아침 수업이 끝나고 자전거 부억에 가서 다른 바퀴를 바꿨다. 처음에 부억에 들어가서 30분이나 1시간 일이 있다고 생각했는데 3시간 일이 생겼다. 아마 10분도안 바퀴를 찾다가 프랑스에서 만든 마빅 mavic 바퀴를 찾았다. 그 바퀴가 조금 드러워서 깨끗하게 씻고 옛날 타이어를 바꾸가지고 더 좋은 걸로 조립했다.

마빅 타이어를 바꾼후에 집으로 가면서 바귀가 조금 제한한것같았다. 3시간동안 일하고있어서 그냥 바로 집에 가고싶었으니까 다시 가개로 가서 바퀴를 고치하는걸 힘들었다. 내일이나 월요일에 다시 고칠것이다.

after my morning class i went to the bicycle kitchen and changed my front wheel. when i first came into the kitchen i thought i would only be there for 30 minutes to and hour but ended up staying there four about 3 hours. for about 10 minutes i looked for a wheel and found a french mavic wheel. the wheel was a bit dirty so i just cleaned it up a bit and changed the old tire for a better one.

after i changed the wheel i made my way home and noticed the wheel felt a littled restricted. since i was working on the bike for about 3 hours i just felt like heading home and decided to work on it tomorrow or monday.

한국어 일기: 자전거

2008-05-30T23:48:00.000-07:00

오늘 부터 한국어 일기 연습 할것이다.

지금 미국에서 한국어 수업 못들어서 가끔 블로그에서 쓰면 좋은 방법이라고 생각한다. 한달전부터 자전거를 조립하고있었다. 어젯밤에 모든 고친걸 끝났다. 그리고 오늘은 집에서 학교까지 처음 탄 경헙이 있었다. 요즘에 기름 값이 너무 비싸서 기름을 넣는거 너무 실망했으니까 오늘 자전거를 탈수있어서 너무 좋았다. 아침에 일찍 일어나서 산타몬이카로 운전하고 자전거 가개에서 헬메트와 자전거 안전 등와 자물쇠도 샀다.

학교까지 타면서 조금 무서웠다. 엘레이는 자전거 거리 하나도 없고 자전거 타는 사람들이 별로 없어서 차를 운전하는 사람들이 생각없이 운전하니까 무서웠다. 오렛동안 운동을 안해서 쓰지않은 근육이 힘이 없었다. 위트레피지어스와 앞허벅지도 제일 힘들었다.

아직도 자전거 바꾸고싶은거 있다. 헨들바 하고 페인트도 조립할거있다. 헨들바가 테이프 페딩이 없어서 보기도 조금 이상하고 손에게 조금 안좋다. 오늘 자기전에 헨들바 테이프를 넣을것이다. 그리고 이번주나 학기가 끝아면 자전거 색갈이 바꿀것같아.

the bike is done!

2008-05-29T22:28:00.000-07:00

went in to the bicycle kitchen at 6:30 this evening and got out at 9:30 sharp with a bike in hand. today was my third time working on the bike and i think 10 hours was invested into putting the bike together...oh and i got a parking ticket just outside the bike shop. so in total the total monetary cost for the bike compilation was 130 bucks...but if you count the ticket then about 175$.

i just got back from a little ride around the neighborhood. the ride seems pretty smooth in my book but since i havent ridden too many real nice bikes my judgement may not be so great. feels good to get on a bike and feel my muscles get set in place. since moving to LA all i do is sit at home, study, and nothing much more active than a walk to the park a few times a week. i could feel my upper trapezius muscle group waking up and can tell that will be an area that will get stronger as time goes by. i got a feeling that the handle bars may need to be adjusted up higher since i bend forward a bit when riding. i will bring it by the shop tomorrow and ask some workers what they thing about the handle bar position. but one thing i know is that the feel of the ride and its comfort is up to me...so i most likely will be adjusting the bars.

also in concern to the bars, i think i might shave the under loop of the bars since i most likely will not be needing to brace down so low for riding...also its kinda a nice look that i have seen these days. a few things i think might be nice to do is to paint the bike...maybe white since it might be a more visible and to also change the front wheel size to a 27 instead of the 50 or so size (not sure of the size..maybe 57 or something).

also at this point a helmet, lights and a bike lock are musts. i think those will be the first few things i pick up tomorrow. putting money into the bike now feels a bit steep but i am sure it will pay off since i wont be filling up my tank as much.

to pursue a doctoral???

2008-05-29T01:56:00.000-07:00

I'm laying here in bed and can't seem to stop thinking about future things. I think that since my research is taking off again my interest to get tied in with studies in korea are arrising. For the past couple days I have had the idea/ambition to do a doctoral degree in sports medicine in Korea. For a few years now I have wanted to help spread the studies of athletic training in Korea, especially within the tae kwon do arena. It would really be a dream come true to do a PhD program in Korea, especially using Korean language. I think the ultimate thing would be to be a proffesor of sports med in korea. I also still think my studies in oriental medicine will be a real plus when it comes to understanding medicine in general from a Korean perspective.

one school in particular that i have interest in is hyung hee university. i first visited KHU in the summer of 2006 while doing my concussion research. while at a taekwondo tournament in taekbaek i met the student athletic trainer for the KHU taekwondo team. we had dinner together while in taebaek and he invited me to visit his school and meet his fellow classmates who were all sports med majors. meeting all of the korean students studying athletic training was quite impressive. the students were studying from the same arnheim's principles of athletic training book that i was and when we spoke about athletic training things we all had a common line of understanding. i really will be praying that god will provide a way for me to teach sports medicine in korea.

concussion research in korea

2008-05-28T12:37:00.000-07:00

now that my research is finally getting back onto the burner i thought now might be a good time to share some photos that i took while in korea during the past two research trips.

my first trip (summer 2006) was more of an observational research experience that allowed me to see what was needed in order to successfully conduct the research that was done during the summer of 2007. during the summer of 2006 i was able to go to just one tournament which was held in taebaek city.

in september of 2007 i finally made my second trip and attended two tournaments. one of the tournaments was actually broadcasted on tv and featured city and pro teams. the second tournament was held in sokcho city on the east coast of korea. i was in sokcho for about 5 days and experienced some interesting things. at this point i will keep details to a minimum since my research has not been concluded.

take a look a a few of the pictures that i uploaded on flickr

continuation of concussion research in taekwondo

2008-05-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

the above photo is from the 2004 olympics when moon dae sung knocked out an athlete from greece

in winter of 2006 i began a research project concerning the concussions management and assessment protocols of medical personnel at taekwondo tournaments in korea. i made my first trip to korea for data collection during the summer of 2006. my first trip was about 6 weeks.

during the six week trip i worked on translation (with friends) and revision of the questionnaires and injury report that i was to use. before leaving to korea, my research advisor and i applied for IRB approval for research.

when i went back to korea this last summer i went to two tournaments and had about 6 medical personnel complete questionnaires about how they handled concussion cases. about 100 questionnaires were also distributed to athletes. the athletes answered questions about their experience in taekwondo concerning injury, especially head injury.

since i came back from korea this last summer i have not done anything related to the research. not too long ago i received an email from IRB informing me to renew my research approval. so yesterday i finally contacted my research advisor and he was enthusiastic to continue helping me with my research.

ultimately i think when my research when published (if accepted) will have provided me with the opportunity to learn about research process and most of all about how to learn and interact with another person in a scholarly environment.

i hope to finish things soon

traditional korean music

2008-05-26T23:44:00.001-07:00

i just ran across a webpage that includes a good selection of traditional korean music.

my interest with traditional korean music pretty much began after i purchased some music from the itunes store. the album that i purchased is called " four thousand years of korean folk music" which includes a few tracks of pansori판소리 and gayageum가야금.

the music on "music from korea" is directly accessible from the website without any cost or signing up for services.

i have only listened to a few tracks listed under kim soo chul 김수철 who i am not too sure about. i didn't do much searching but did come across one artist who seems to be a well known guitarist.

when i get some more time i will look into who exactly kim soo chul is. in the meantime take a listen to some of the good old traditional tunes

just found korea blogs

2008-05-26T22:02:00.000-07:00

with a week of midterm exams and one final physics exam i still end up searching blogs and listening to podcasts. two blogs that i have found today have connections with "scribblings of the metropolitician" from where i have listened to several pod casts including seoulglow video casts (also available from scribblings of the metropolitician). two other blogs include "where the hell am i" and "seoul cast".

included in these blogs are posts concerning political and cultural information about korea. at this point one of the most interesting things for me is the podcasts. even without physically sitting down with the bloggers i feel i am right there with them in the restaurants and cafes that they meet at. listening to the podcasts is a great way to stay connected to current issues concerning korean.

im still finding a good time where i can make some videos of myself speaking korean. i hope that the videos will provide other people studying korean an opportunity to find mistakes that i make and things that they catch that might be a verbal skill that they can work on. once the videos i make are ready they will most likely be best accessible through youtube.

blogging

2008-05-22T19:07:00.000-07:00

lately i seem to find myself clicking through several websites and various blogs. in particular my eyes lead me to blogs on topics concerning korea.

one blog i visit everyday is Marmot's Hole. it is arguably the most popular blog on all things korea. after listening to an interview of the host from marmot's hole i have began to re-think my purpose in blogging. like many people exploring the vast land of the internet, i too have a specific interest (korean things) and would like to help inform others about that interest.

the internet is quite amazing in that it provides all people with internet access with almost any type of information.

i think my main interests are within korean language, the korean way of tea, taekwondo and many other things korean. although i have been studying things medical since college, my interests which seem to take over my thinking and time on the internet are clearly korean.

as i continue to attempt postings i am sure my focus will be more focused.

NATA Board Exam

2008-05-20T15:46:00.001-07:00

it has been about a year since i finished my undergrad studies at oregon state university. i actually had one more course to receive credit for (physics) and am now in the last weeks of physics at los angeles community college. once that credit is locked in then i will be on my way to taking the board exam for the national certification in athletic training to get my ATC.

i actually found out that i could have taken the board exam last summer even though my physics credit was not counted for. i took someone's word for it that i had to have that credit for physics prior to taking the board exam. anyways, there are some dates available in july and also in august of this year. i will take a good solid two weeks of just purely athletic training studies and possibly a test prep course if available before the exam.

my hope is to (after certified) apply for a position at a sports medicine clinic to continue my practice in therapy and physical examination. also, if i land a position at a clinic it will give me a better look at getting into the steadman hawkins athletic training fellowship. i plan on applying for the fellowship once my oriental medicine studies are complete (about a year and half from now).

Day 2 Bike Restoration

2008-05-18T18:21:00.000-07:00

Day two was back on the 5th of may but since then the bike restoration has been put on the back burner since some mid term exams have been the priority.

Day two was quite successful as i added two new wheels with tires, a "flip-flop" pedaling system, front breaks (rear to come), pedals and that seems to be it. after the first day of real working on the bike it really looked like a great bike. I came in a couple days later to try and put the breaks together but had some difficulty finding the right components. The other thing i found is that when the crank was first put on, i used the wrong bolt. i was told by another volunteer at the bicycle kitchen that that also should be taken care of.

i will hopefully get one day of work in this week. I have one final exam this week and should hopefully get in to work on it by at least saturday. with gas prices not giving, i am quite curious to see how my pocket might open up once the bike riding begins. another hope is to increase my cardiovascular health from riding. i know LA doesnt have the cleanest air but some activity is better than none

Day 1: Bike Restoration

2008-05-05T11:08:00.000-07:00

Today will be the first day of the bike restoration. The shop opens at 12 noon and I was told to arrive a bit early to get a good spot in the shop to work on the bike. I will most likely work on the bike for a couple hours as i have an afternoon class...still in the internal debate as to whether i will attend my afternoon class.

Photo updates to come...

1973 Red Raleigh Super Course

2008-05-04T20:08:00.000-07:00

Since no one reads this blog I will just treat today's posting as a journal entry concerning my new (first) bike entry. I will include a progressive text and image update as I begin and continue working on my new bike.

I recently went to the bicycle kitchen on vermont avenue in los angeles just south of LACC. After some casual chit chat with one of the volunteers i got pointed in the direction of a 70s model of a red raliegh super course. I will be going into the shop tomorrow to start working on it and hope to finish as quick as possible.

The handle bars that are already on the bike are Sakae Road Champion (Randonneur bend) bars. at this time im not sure if i will need to swap those bars for another. im also interested in the flat bar. not so sure how the flat bar feels while riding so i will weight my options.

the included picture was taken from my cell phone so the quality isnt great but it gives a first look.

The Korean Way of Tea

2008-03-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

About three years ago i was given a tea set from a church where i taught english in korea. the tea set resembled a traditional korean tea set but had modern print design. while in the states, i began developing a liking to drinking green tea and stumbled across a book "The Korean Way of Tea" by Brother Anthony of Taize and Hong Kyeong-Hee. Finally, this last august, i was able to meet with Brother Anthony in korea to enjoy a cup of green tea in his office. he kindly informed me of where to buy a good traditional tea set along with where to find some good green tea. since purchasing my tea set in korea, my interest and enjoyment of drinking korean green tea has blossomed. The book may be purchased at seoulselection.com or other useful information can be seen on Brother Anthony's personal webpage.

Audio Dictations of Acupuncture Point Locations

2008-03-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

Included are audio files with descriptions of acupuncture point locations. The text used for description was:

"Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion" by Cheng Xinnong Seventh Printing 2006.

I have also found it quite helpful to flip through Peter Deadman's, "A Manual of Acupuncture" Second Edition 2007. The illustrations from Deadman's book along with the audio provide a good visual-audio learning alternative.

My instructors tell me and other students to follow CAM's point descriptions since they are apparently what is used for the board exam (Lac.).

CLICK TO LISTEN