Class Party and End of Year Break

Today is December 22nd. More accurately, by the time that I finish this post, it will be December 23rd. Where did the rest of the month go? It can't possibly be time for a new year to be rolling around yet, but it is.

Back on the 8th, we had our annual Christmas party at TKD. There were tons of drinks and snacks which I was too busy to enjoy until after class, seeing as how a small forest's worth of boards were brought in for us to break. Everyone, (including parents) got a chance to break if they wanted to try. The reason why this is special for our class is because breaking is not something we focus on -- or test on. Add a bunch of white and yellow belt kids who have only been coming to class as of this year and you can see why this is always an exciting time for us. Most of the kids went home with an armload of the wood almost as tall as they were. I mostly supervised and watched, but I had my share of breaking time too, beginning when I was asked to explain how to set up the first break of the night and then demonstrate.

Our class was for the most part, a break from the norm. We did begin with a warm up and a few basics, but then we jumped right into the breaking and games. We played several rounds of dodgeball and one game of kickball. However, our games still required some essential things that we work on in class: Speed, coordination, focus, and good form on the kicks just to name a few.

Another important item of the night was the surprise 2nd part of a brown belt test for my friend and training partner Rachel. Even I didn't know it was coming. Needless to say, she earned her 3rd kyu brown belt! I am so excited for her!

All in all, it was a great night. But our Christmas parties also mean one thing. It's also an 'end of the year party,' which translates to: 'no more Tae Kwon Do class until January the 5th of 2010.'

Oh. No.

I hate having any kind of break from my normal routine of Tae Kwon Do class every Mon/Tue/Thur. So to help relieve some of my anxiety over not having an organized class tonight, I conducted my own 'class' in my driveway. I dragged out all the puzzle mats I have and set them up. After going through a fairly comprehensive warm up, and persuading the cat to stay out of the 'dojang,' I worked on several of my kicks and forms, followed by a 30 minute brisk walk around my street.

So even though I didn't go to class tonight, I still feel fairly satisfied with my at home practice.

As my ending thought, I have a question. What do you do when you are unable to attend class or have an extended break? Do you practice more at home? Get together with some training partners and work out? Sit back and enjoy the break?

Oh, and have a Merry Christmas!