Welcome to Gaia! ::

I think it sounds good. The most important gauge for whether or not a work out is beneficial for you is whether you feel it was a good work out or not. If you don't feel a little weakened or haven't broken a sweat, it would be a good idea to beef up the routine a little bit.

I'd like to make one suggestion, and perhaps you have already done this; but when coming up on a promotion, especially one as vital as a black belt test, it's a very good idea to start at the very beginning of the list and work your way through the entire technique list, then work your way onto the forms/sets and even give a significant amount of time to practicing your individual strikes and blocks.

You don't have to do it all at once either, there is a lot of material in the system and you could easily spend an entire day on just techniques. What I do when I'm getting close to a test is this:

On the first day, I run through all of the yellow belt stuff and then my current list (going for green so I focus on that), then the next day, after my work out I focus on the Orange belt list and current stuff again, and the day after I go to purple...etc, etc.

This keeps everything fresh in your mind but, also might open up new insights into your current material (this is because the system builds upon itself, and a lot of the more advanced material is a more sophisticated version of previous teachings.)

I wish you the best of luck on you promotion!

I got this from a website, it gives a good explanation on how to do it without putting strain on your back.

Here is an explanation of how to do crunches for best results:

Lie down flat on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the floor.

Hold your hands wherever you feel comfortable (on your chest or beside your head - just be sure you don't pull on your head).

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The typical crunch is taught by instructing you to simply roll your upper torso forward, bringing your head towards your knees.
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This is fine to start with.
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To increase the effectiveness of the crunch movement, try push your chest and head up towards the ceiling pushing your lower back flat onto the floor. You can also think of it as trying to push your belly button into the floor.
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Your anatomy will automatically cause you to follow a crunching pattern yet trying to crunch up towards the ceiling will increase the tension on the abs greatly.
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Hold at the top of the movement for a second and squeeze hard.
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Do not lift up into a sit-up as this works the hip flexors and can strain your back.


I was always told to keep my hands on my belly when I do crunches because of the tendency to pull on the head and strain the neck. It seems to help me out a lot!