A Martial Arts Passion

Burned Out About Mat Burn

2012-02-03T00:51:00.000-06:00

Rant time! Be forewarned.

I now have one gripe about BJJ and grappling in general. My feet are becoming spotted from three instances of....mat burn. We have these thin little puzzle mats and they just tear at my feet. The bruises and occasional cuts and scrapes are not a big deal, but the mat burns on the top of my feet are worse than carpet burns. I'm even thinking now that it's worse than the shin to shin clash during sparring matches at Tae Kwon Do, and that's saying something. I'm serious. At least when your shin is bruised, it doesn't get stepped on or squashed by a shoe or dragged along on the ground at Judo class when you're sitting on the floor trying to stretch and attempting to avoid agitating said burn.

Of the three I have, my left foot is the best. I have a tiny one on the knuckle of my big toe that's not hurting whatsover. The one closer to my ankle is better now and it looks like it's going to scar. The burn on my right foot on my toe knuckle is the worst. I wore an ankle support which covered the one on my other foot, but every time a Band-Aid is ripped off in Judo or Tae Kwon Do, it pulls off more skin on the newest burn.

I'm considering buying stock in Band-Aid's now. I'm going through them quite fast. I've also tried a liquid bandage - the kind that looks like fingernail polish and covers a cut to keep the germs out - but taking my shoes off at the end of the day messed that up and made it bleed. Not good.

I could probably avoid the mat burns more if I sat more on the balls of my feet rather than my heels when I'm in someone's guard, but this newbie is having trouble with focusing on her feet when the opponent she's rolling with is attempting to armbar her.

Anyway, that's my rant on mat burn. It's annoying, but I guess I can't complain. It could be worse. It could be something like Mr. Mc dislocating his little toe and having to pop it back into place during a short sparring match on Tuesday night. Um....yeah. I think I'll take the mat burn.

New Year and New Opportunities

2012-01-25T01:08:00.000-06:00

With this being my first post for 2012, I'll update what's been going on in my martial arts' world since the last time I wrote in this blog.

Tae Kwon Do is going well. We had our last class of the year and Christmas party on December 13th. The kids' class and adult class were combined, and we spent around two and a half hours breaking boards, eating snacks, and watching the black belts put on demonstrations. For the board breaking portion, J.M., (one of the blue belts in the adult class) and I assisted the kids with setting up axe kicks and hammerfists for their board breaks. We also did several breaks in between. Of the five breaks I attempted, I broke three. One with a left hand hammerfist, one with an axe kick, and one with a front snap kick. The two that I could not get to work were a two board hammerfist break and an inverted punch. Both, I were told, were because I did not commit fully to the technique and slowed down before I hit the boards.

The black belts also did several demonstrations. There was a self defense demo, a Tai Chi for self defense demo, an escrima stick demo, and then I was asked to do a demonstration of my 8 self defense techniques that I had to have for my red belt test, and will also have to do for my black belt test in March. I was slightly caught of guard with this as no one had forewarned me, but somehow I just knew that I was going to be called upon that night. I stepped on the mats and was told to choose a partner for my demo. I chose Mr. G because I've worked with him the most on my self defense techniques and I was more comfortable working with him on a last minute, not much preparation situation. Anyway, my demo went well and the kids in particular loved watching me toss my instructor around.

Our last class of the year was the 13th. We didn't start up classes again until January 10th. That was way too long for me. I start getting anxious when class is called off or we have an extended break, so I was more than ready to start back when we did on the 10th.

I'm getting ahead of myself though. On January 7th, several of our black belts, blue belt J.M., and I went up to another Tae Kwon Do school and did a five hour long seminar on a variety of topics. I know we covered sparring, groundfighting, hapkido, joint manipulation, and kicks. I was so excited to be able to go and be a part of the seminar. Ms. J.S. worked with me on some techniques on the ground, and it was great to work with new people in a different style of Tae Kwon Do. From my observations, I saw that they are more sport oriented than I am used to, they don't hit to the head (something that we allow), they wear more sparring gear (we wear only foot pads, hand pads, and sometimes a mouth piece), and they have quite a few kid black belts. I'm not exactly a fan of that, but whatever. . .

In other news, my black belt test is still scheduled for March 10th. I'm ridiculously nervous and a touch anxious about it. It seems to me that there is so much that I need to work on in so little time. So very little time. My countdown clock reminds me of that fact.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. At this point, I've only been to three classes, but I'm loving what I've learned so far. We took a few weeks off for Christmas, I had a test one day, our Tae Kwon Do seminar fell on another class day, and things like that have kept me from having more classes under my belt.

Speaking of belt, I just bought a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu uniform. I'll have to take a picture of it, but it's a blue Fuji Single Weave and it fits perfectly right out of the bag. Oh my word! That thing is heavy! I put it on when I got it and then when I put on my Tae Kwon Do gi tonight, it felt like nothing. I have an 8.5 oz gi, and it's like wearing a pillowcase compared to the BJJ gi. Another small thing that I've been giddy about is the color. After....what is it now? 9ish years of wearing all white to Tae Kwon Do, just being able to wear something colored makes me ridiculously happy.

Judo. So...here's the new opportunity I mentioned in the title of this post. I had the chance when I was working out my schedule for college to sign up for a Intro to Judo course. I thought it would be a good compliment to my existing base of Tae Kwon Do, since throws aren't our specialty. We do know some throws, but judo has so many more. I'm a week and a half into it, and I'm liking it so far. My muscles are not enjoying it though. We started out with breakfalls and rolls the first week. That wasn't a problem, other than the fact that I'm having trouble with rolling backward. There's just something about throwing your feet over your head that just doesn't click with me. Forward? Yes. Backward? No... I feel that something along the lines of this is going to happen and I'm going to crack my head or my neck on the mats.

On Monday we started throwing each other, and that's the culprit to my soreness. I went to an additional class offered at night and we spent almost an hour and a half throwing each other. There were mats involved and a thick springy floor, but landing awkwardly several times didn't help matters. Afterward, I counted up how many times I had been thrown that night, and it was right at about fifty. Needless to say, I. Am. Sore. Everything hurts. From my knee which I tweaked during one of my not-so-good landings, to my neck, and everywhere in between.

The majority of the others students in the class are guys. They outnumber us about 20 to 8. Martial arts don't attract many girls to begin with, so that wasn't a surprise in itself, but this brings up a couple of points. The first is that I discovered that the guys have a hard time throwing me because of my height. On several occasions I stepped onto the mats only to hear something along the lines of "Oh no. The first person I throw is the hardest person in class to throw...." Never before now (that I can think of) has Shortness + martial arts = beneficial. It's not helpful in sparring when your opponent has a foot of reach on you, and it's certainly not an advantage when working in pairs and you're having to stand on your tiptoes to get the arm around your tall partner's neck for a choke. With this "I'm hard to throw" thing, it's a refreshing and very amusing (to me) change.

Something else that I've noticed in class is that it just so happens that I'm partnered up with another girl. That doesn't bother me. I actually wish that we had more women come to Tae Kwon Do, but that's another tangent that I won't get off on right now. The issue that I had today was that I was all, "Okay! Let's throw each other!" and my mindset was "Getting slammed on the ground is fun! Throw me again! Harder!" This was not the mindset of the two people I was working with today. They were more apprehensive and standoffish, and many times, I had to say "Do you want to try it now?" before they would step up and throw me / I throw them. Behind me, the guys were just jumping right into it as soon as the instructor finished demonstrating the throw. I know, everyone's new at this and most don't have prior martial arts training, but it was a little frustrating. I found myself wishing that I could partner with one of the guys. That's who most of my training partners are in both Tae Kwon Do and BJJ, so I guess I'm more used to the "Okay, let's do this!" attitude.

I have to learn a good chunk of Japanese vocabulary words for the class and by the end of the semester, be able to demonstrate 8 throwing techniques and 5 ground techniques. I've checked out a book from the library on Judo and have been leafing through it, finding the throws that we'll be working on and studying them.

Beginning a New Class - Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

2011-12-11T00:21:00.001-06:00

Back in June, I wrote a post about my experience in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu when a blue belt visited our class. Since then, I have only had one other experience in groundfighting when a couple of my instructors and I visited our sister class. I enjoyed both classes and in the following months have wished "If only there was a BJJ school nearby with tuition that fell under the category of 'poor college student rate!'" ever since.

Little did I know that there was a class with exactly those specifics.

Oh how I adore Facebook. For all of the multitude of ads, annoying game requests and apps friends send, there is a plus side. While checking my newsfeed for the day, I happened upon an update that one of my friends from college was added to a martial arts group. Intrigued, I sent a message to my friend who also does Tae Kwon Do (at a different school) and found out the details of the class.

I attended my second class last week and am definitely hooked. As much as I still love my Tae Kwon Do and will of course continue my training (after all, Tae Kwon Do is my first love), it's refreshing to be a white belt again in something for a change after being the ranking student for so long. There's something inherently exciting about starting something new. I don't have to think about belt tests, teaching others....I'm just there to learn...for myself.

BJJ is so different to what I am used to, yet the concepts are similar and familiar. I think it's going to really complement my standing martial art well. We worked on an armbar at my first class and that was a familiar motion to me, as we do a lot of arm bars in self defense at TKD.

The soreness is something new. It's not like I'm never sore in Tae Kwon Do, but the amount of time spent on the ground and fighting for position takes a toll on muscles I don't use as frequently. The first class I went to, I was taught several techniques, but it was requested that I wait to spar or "roll" as it is called in BJJ. Last week, I was able to roll for the first time and slightly pulled a muscle in my back that has since healed thankfully.

The learning curve and mindset is something I'm getting used to. You don't punch or kick your opponent, instead going for submissions, chokes, and the like. My muscle memory and previous experience wants me to go for the punch or elbow, especially when the face is not guarded, but this is not the goal. There's also a whole lot of me thinking "Uh....what do I do now?" as I know only a handful of techniques and figuring out when I can use them depends on getting the other person into the right position. In theory, an arm bar is relatively simple when you're working with a partner who's in position for one. When they're not, it suddenly becomes that much harder.

I'm looking forward to adding more techniques to my repertoire and getting out of the "What do I do now?" stage.

Seeing Improvement

2011-11-30T01:54:00.000-06:00

In my training over the past few years especially, seeing marked improvement in my skills has been an area of...difficulty from my point of view. I know in my mind and with my being that I've improved and made progress. My instructors tell me as such also and can see techniques that are better than they were, but there are concepts that give me trouble still. I was waiting for the "Eureka!" moment where the lightbulb turned on and suddenly everything made sense. I was expecting a significant jump from "Huh?" to "Aha!"

Those moments did not happen in the way I imagined them. In fact, my instructors told me as much months ago and explained what would happen.

On Tuesday night, both the kids' class and the adult class were small. It was the week of Thanksgiving and had been stormy all day. I usually help out in the kids' class, but on this night, Mr. M worked with me instead. The topic was snap and power in my forms. I was not generating the power I needed, so he addressed that.

He had me work on getting more hip rotation as I moved in a front stance and then timing my lead foot and hands to stop at the same time. Then, it was a matter of doing both of those things while fully committing to the techniques. He gave me something to focus on, to get the point fixed into my head - every technique must be done as if I was in the middle of my test and my black belt was on the line.

After this, he had me do a couple of my forms with that same mindset. I was breathing hard by the end of each form and Mr. M told me that was probably the best he's seen me do the forms.

The kids' class ended about this time, and I ended up being the only student in the adult class. This turned out great. Mr. M had me do one of my forms so Mr. G could see and then they had me continue doing all of my forms with the same intensity.

Mr. G turned to Mr. M as I finished Pyung Ahn 2, about the halfway point of our color belt forms. He asked him to choose one area that needed the most work in the forms. Mr. M thought for a moment and said "timing." The significance of this (which Mr. G reminded me of immediately) is that for months, if not longer my instructors have been telling me - no, more like chanting at me - that my forms need more power. This issue with power has frustrated me for so long because to have power, you need speed and snap, not strength. Sure, you can muscle through a technique, but you're fighting against yourself and wearing yourself out with tension if you try to force power like that.

Something happened that I didn't really realize until it was told to me. Power was moved down from #1 on the list of things to work on. I continued doing my forms, all the while wondering when that had changed. The difference wasn't a huge lightbulb moment, but there was a noticeable difference in my techniques.

Subtle. Just as my instructors had told me it would be. One day it just. . .works. The recognition of change was as small as "This feels a little different. A little better." Simple as that. Can I tell you outright what I was doing differently? No. I really have no clue myself! It just worked.

Now why was I making this so difficult?

Sparring 201 - Controlling the Fight

2011-10-31T23:41:00.001-05:00

Mr. G asked me to write a paper on "Controlling the Fight" a couple months ago. Here is what I wrote.

Controlling the Fight

There is not a single key tactic that in and of itself will control, and therefor win a fight or spar. It is a combination of several things and also one’s personal ability to use them well. The physical component of the fight is important, but I believe that the mental aspect is equally important, if not more so.

I’m going to begin with the mental part of the spar.

    First is mindset, which begins before you even bow in to begin. What is your attitude – your sense of purpose for the fight? Are you going to play tag with your opponent, trade a few techniques back and forth, or are you coming in with the attitude of “I’m going to dominate my opponent.”? You need to have the mindset well before you bow in to spar. You need to “flip the switch,” especially if your opponent is better than you. Flipping the switch also has to do with mindset. For me, there's a huge difference in mentality when sparring someone who's just learning to spar than sparring one of my instructors. If I'm sparring one of my instructors, the goal is not to go “tap tap” with my opponent unless instructed to. It’s no longer a friendly game of tag. It’s a fight. My opponent is my opponent, not my friend at that point in time. Best bring your “A” game both mentally and physically.

    Next, is focusing on the fight. Your mind should not be racing a mile a minute, thinking about what could happen, what you should have done, and what your opponent’s every move means. These things should be muted, in the background of your mind at the very most. Thinking slows down your reaction time and interferes your ability to just let your training take over. It also makes you get locked up with your thoughts and distracts you from your opponent. You should be focused, but ultimately thoughtless. Basically, mushin. “Mind, no mind.” Thinking and figuring out your strategy should come before, not during.

    Third, is reading your opponent. Before the fight begins, you should already know how your opponent is going to move by their stance. You should know, if not immediately, within a few seconds the distance that their arms and legs cover and where you must be to barely avoid being hit.

The physical part of the spar,

    Fighting your fight is vitally important. You can’t wait around for the other person to initiate. You run the risk of falling into their rhythm if you’re constantly waiting for them to do something. Strike first, strike fast, and strike hard. Keep the opponent on their toes, guessing what you’re going to do next.

    Next, Be mobile. Don’t stand in one place planted on the heels. Get on the balls of the feet. MOVE, MOVE, MOVE! Vary your steps. Cut angles. Don’t be linear. Don’t make your transitions big. Keep them quick and few and far between.

    Quickness is next. Being able to spot that opening and capitalize on it immediately is key. The opening will only be there for a second, and if you don’t take it, it’s gone.

    Power is not as important as the previous things that I’ve mentioned, but it is still something you must have. Your opponent must respect the power behind your techniques.

    Varying technique is my final point. If you do the same things over and over again, your opponent can pick up on it and adapt to it. You may get by doing the same thing over and over again with a lower ranking or younger student, but when the time comes where you're sparring someone who knows what they're doing, they are going to read you like an open book. You must vary up your techniques. Throw lots of combinations. Even if you have a few go-to combinations, mix it up, because patterns are obvious.

Official Test Day is Set

2011-10-16T15:55:00.002-05:00

In my last post, I mentioned that I had a tentative day of March 31st, 2012 for my black belt test. I was under the impression that this would be a tentative date to give me a goal to work toward. Not a set in stone, definitely happening at this time. Obviously I was wrong.

I walked into class on Tuesday night. It was a normal class night, other than the fact that we've moved to a new location that has more floor space than the last church we were at. I began getting ready for class, putting on my uniform and belt. Mr. G then walks over and matter-of-factly states that he talked to Mr. R.S. over at our sister school, and since they are off for Spring Break the week of the 4th, they will come up for my test then.

So my official test date is March 10th, 2012

Okay then!

That means that not only is my test date written in stone, but it also means that my test has been moved where I originally had it on the 31st up to the 10th instead. Oh, good. Less time for me to prepare! With that said, I suddenly feel the need to go spar the heavy bag for the next several hours without stopping. . .

Black Belt Test Thoughts

2011-10-09T23:17:00.001-05:00

Over the past couple months, there's been some talk about a certain test.

A very big test. . .

My black belt test.

. . . .

That's scary.

Mr. G asked me not too long ago when I thought they could pencil in my black belt test. I froze on the spot, still as a statue, and I'm sure that had my jaw not been stuck firmly in a closed position from pure surprise, I would have gaped at Mr. G as I stared at him. I'm not in any hurry to test. I want to consolidate my knowledge and ability further before even thinking about testing.

He went on to say that I do well with having a goal and setting a tentative test date to work toward is something I need to be thinking about. I agreed, and then he asked me how six months sounded. While the thought of testing has been in the back of my head ever since my red belt test, I have had it set as a future goal, probably happening in around a year. I've said "about a year" in my head since my test, but that time line has not changed since March. Hearing "six months" as a possibility changed my thinking from happening in the future to happening soon.

I mention this now, because he brought it up again last week, except this time he was wanting to hear an answer. I considered it and what I have to do to be ready for that test. The major issue that came to my mind was not technique. It's conditioning.

Conditioning is the big one. I need to get in serious shape and drastically improve my stamina. I have good flexibility, but my endurance needs work. I've been to two black belt tests, so I have a good idea of what they're like. First of all, they are intimidating! Not only in the time involved - a minimum 3 hours long. Yes. I said THREE HOURS LONG. That is a seriously long time since I'll be the only one testing and the 9+ black belts who will test me will be staring at every single move I make. The test is just as big of a mental test (if not moreso) as it is a physical one. There are also at least. . . five spars plus a 2 on 1 spar. . . back to back. And I thought my red belt test was long (just over 2 hours). Ha! Endurance is KEY! Not only is endurance part of the conditioning, but I need to be better conditioned to take a punch or kick. I have been told that being able to deal with a good, solid punch or kick is part of the test.

Of course the second issue that came up is my technique. I am a perfectionist, so there are so many things that I want and need to improve on before that test. I know all my forms, one steps, kicks, etc. but it's a matter of getting them really, really good and up to black belt level.

My sparring is also an issue. I'm still too defensive when I spar. I need to adapt and not use the same sparring style against everyone, because this will get me beat. Going in straight on an opponent who has greater reach is not the smartest idea. I need to stop thinking so much about what's going on, what the opponent is doing, and just react. Sparring needs to become more second nature than it is currently.

The final area I thought about is my confidence. I am very comfortable when I'm put out there teaching the kids class. I know what I want to teach, how to get it across to my students, and I know what to look for. I'm confident there. I'm not so confident as a student. I second guess myself too often and I need to fix that.

With all these things in mind, I came up with a tentative date. Mr. G approved it and told me that I need to work toward that goal.

My goal for testing for black belt is March 31st, 2012.

That's just under six month, which will put me at a little over a year since my red belt test. I think this is a do-able goal. It gives me something to shoot for, and if it takes me longer, then so be it. But with having a set date, this makes the test real and not "Oh, well, it's sometime in the future." I have a goal and I'm going to work hard on the things I mentioned so I can meet that goal.

First Tournament Results

2011-10-09T22:25:00.000-05:00

So, the tournament is over and done with. The experience was great and I learned a lot. I was able to experience the other side of the coin, going from spectator to competitor. Sitting in the stands is so much easier than participating. You are comfortable and cozy, relaxing in your seat and watching the others warm up and get ready. You watch the matches, cheer on your classmates, and point out things that other people are doing to your classmate sitting next to you. You are relaxed. As a competitor, here is what I experienced.

6:30am came early. I got ready to go, then drove to meet Mr. G, who I was carpooling with. At this point, I was already a bundle of nerves. We met up with several members of our sister class at McDonald's and had a good breakfast. Well, most did. I attempted to eat, but my appetite was gone, so I only finished half of my meal.

We drove down the street to the event, found a parking spot, and registered. Over the course of breakfast, Mr. G had talked to Ms. S about competing, so she signed up for the same events I did - Point and Semi-Knockdown.

We changed, warmed up a little, then Ms. S and I walked over to one of the Point rings and warmed up with a little sparring. Mr. G and I then spent a couple minutes sparring and I worked on my techniques. As more and more people arrived, I tried to see how many women would be in my division. It was hard to tell, because the few I did see looked like they would be in the Under 17 division, so I didn't get an accurate count.

10 'o clock finally rolled around and the age groups were divided up. I walked over to the 18+ group with Ms. S and waited as a couple black belts separated us all into our divisions. There were only a handful of women, and like I thought, a couple went over to the Under 17 side. I believe there was one yellow belt, one green belt, one blue belt, myself, Ms. S, and another black belt. The yellow and green belts were put into a division, the blue belt and I were in another, and the two black belts had their division.

I think I scared this poor blue belt woman half to death. Our class was the only Tae Kwon Do group there. I think everyone else were from various Karate styles. As such, they don't have a red belt in their syllabus, only brown. She saw my red belt and asked what kyu that was. I told her 1st. Her eyes went wide and she said "You mean your next belt is black?!?" I said yes, and she asked me how long I had been training. I told her eight years. Her eyes widened even more, and she exclaimed "I've only been training a year!" She immediately called a ref over and told him the situation. When he heard that I have been training for eight years, he sent me over to the black belt division, and she was grouped with the yellow and green belts.

Mr. G had mentioned that I may be sparring black belts, so I was prepared for this, and also pretty happy that I would be sparring "up" instead of down. All the kyu ranks went first, then our red/black belt division had our turn. Ms. S would be sparring Ms. M, then I would spar the winner. I ended up sparring Ms. M. That point spar went by so fast! I lost 4-1, which put me in 2nd place. What hurt me the most in that spar was that I backed up instead of going forward and the judges called a couple of her techniques as connecting before mine.

We had a long break as the rest of the point sparring finished and the mats were set up for Semi. One event completed, one to go. I was feeling a bit more at ease now that I had gotten the point sparring out of the way and Semi was next. Point sparring is just a totally different mindset from the continuous sparring that we do in class so I was feeling good about this next event because it is more like the sparring that I'm used to. Mr. R.S. had brought two target pads and he called me out on the floor for some Semi-Knockown warmup. He had me work on shin kicks to the legs and also some knees. At this point, the kids had started their semi-knockdown, so Mr. G, Mr. R.S., Ms. S, and I went down one of the hallways that led to the locker rooms and we continued to work with the targets.

Like I said, there was a forever long break while the multitude of kids sparred, so Ms. S and I spent about ten minutes doing some light sparring once we had our gear on.

Our division was finally called. The two mats that were set up for the kids had been combined into one large mat. There were only five women sparring this time, and we were separated yellow/green and red/black. The green and yellow belt women were asked if they wanted to combine divisions since they were so small, but they said no. I would not have minded because that meant I would fight more people if I won. The way it worked out, I was up first against the Karate black belt, and Ms. S would fight the winner.

The round was set for two solid minutes. Over the past several weeks, I had been drilling what to do and what not to do in this spar. No hand techniques to the head. Kicks to the head and the legs were okay. If you're knocked down, that's half a point or a whole point awarded to the other person depending on how long it takes for you to get up. The most common stance for Yoshukai karate is a front stance. We spar from a side stance or a modified back stance. I needed to be aggressive and advance - because the aggressive person is usually the winner. It would not be good if I went backwards or was too defensive (which is a bad habit of mine). I am a defensive, counter fighter. If I went toe to toe with the Yoshukai front stance, it would most certainly turn into a slug fest with punches, and I would probably lose, because that is how they train. I repeated to myself that I would not go there. . . . but....within ten seconds, I did. It was not pretty. The other girl was not hitting me hard, but she did whip a pretty roundhouse kick up to my head a few times. Also, I backed up and tripped over my feet once, and she got me with a front snap kick that made me fall. The round was called in her favor. I was not happy with how the spar went at all. It's like everything I said I would do (or not do) just went out the window. I didn't get in any of my hard kicks, and I mainly just traded punches with her.

Anyway, rant aside, it was a good learning experience. I'm determined to train hard, fix the mistakes I made, and go back next year with better results. I have no more "Well, it was my first tournament. . . " excuses. I was beat mostly because I was too defensive. I backed up and wasn't driving forward like I knew to do.

For the moment though, I'm ready to forget tournament style sparring and get back to the normal sparring that we do in class. None of the "don't punch the head," "Stop sparring when someone gets a point," "A tap is a point" rules.

First Tournament - Tomorrow

2011-09-23T15:34:00.000-05:00

Well, tomorrow is d-day. Tournament time.

Tuesday night was my last real class before this tournament. My instructors told me that was to be my last workout before Saturday's tournament because they don't want me getting bruised, pulling a muscle, or getting hurt right before the event. Speaking of bruises, on Tuesday, I received one by striking Mr. Mc's elbow with the back of my hand. It swelled up immediately, but I iced it after class so it doesn't hurt so much now. The the bruise looks pretty impressive though. That is example 1 of why "No more workouts until after the tournament!" is in effect.

Last night I ran a few laps with the kids during the warmup and then just assisted Mr. Mc with teaching in class.

Since my last post, I have been getting mentally ready for the tournament and working out strategy. I have a good idea of what my game plan is going to be, but it's hard getting an exact plan when I don't know who is going to be competing in my division. Hopefully there will be more than five women, but who knows. Last year I think there were three in the point division and only two in the semi-knockout. . . .

Nerves are an issue. I haven't had a big event like this since my red belt test back in March. I'm a little nervous, which is to be expected with this being my first time competing, but I think I have it under control. At least, I think I do. I'm constantly going over strategy in my head and repeating the rules and legal striking areas for both divisions.

This past week, I've even caught myself sizing people up as I walk around campus and thinking about what techniques I would use on them, how I would move to get inside their range to be able to hit them, and how their height would cause me to adjust my guard so I can cover up when I'm hitting them. Not that I would actually attack them of course! My mindset is just on a constant repeat of "tournament, tournament, tournament. . ."

I'm meeting my instructor early tomorrow morning and driving up with him and the others from my class. I'll have a full report of how the tournament went soon.

Countdown to First Tournament - 9 days

2011-09-15T23:52:00.000-05:00

With just over a week to go until I compete in my first tournament, the nervousness has finally set in and I think it's here to stay.

In other news, my instructors advised me to buy cloth hand pads for the semi-knockdown portion of the tournament. Yesterday, I also found out that I'm required to have cloth shin/instep guards for semi-knockdown. I've been looking around for a good deal online, but shipping is expensive at most websites. I didn't want to pay 9+ dollars for it if I could avoid it. I found a pair of shin/instep pads at Academy Sports and Outdoors, but they're very limited in the martial arts gear department - other than MMA gear which they have plenty of - and they didn't stock the hands pads I need. Well, they did, but it was a hand pad/forearm pad combo that felt strange when I put it on. I'm just not used to having anything on my forearm and it just felt wrong. If I had it my way, I wouldn't require the shin guards, but it's not my tournament, so I don't have a say in the matter. Anyway, here are the shin/instep pads I bought.

Finally, I caved in and ordered a pair of hand pads from Century. Early birthday present!

In class, we've been doing some point sparring and going over the rules and etiquette in the tournament. Last Tuesday, Mr. G and I talked about the semi-knockdown sparring. I think it's 2 minute continuous rounds, no stopping for points. If the refs don't decide on a clear winner, they make you spar a one minute round, and if needed, another one minute round. Endurance is key! Mr. G put me doing rounds on the heavy bag for part of class, then we sparred.

There's not really any way around the constant clashing of forearms and knuckles hitting forearm and upper arm. Semi-knockdown is an up close and personal kind of spar, and I've heard that most of the competitors like to spar head on, just trading punch after punch, so bruises are quite common. The lesson I learned from this was: utilizing angles is important!

Over the weeks, I've had my head filled with tip after tip for both kinds of sparring, what to do to condition, and been given ideas of what techniques work well, which ones don't, thoughts on strategy, and I've been told I need to have game plans. I'm still working on these. In fact, I have an email sitting in front of me with advice of what I need to be doing this last week before the tournament. Some of these are:

1. Run every day. (Bleck)

2. Attack a heavy bag for 2 minutes solid. (3 rounds)

3. Condition thighs and shins.

4. Stop all workouts after Wednesday night. (Tournament is on Saturday)

5. Run Thursday morning, then rest all day and Friday.

6. Load up on carbs for Saturday morning. Whole grain is good.

7. Pack bag with snacks for the day.

Other advice from those who have been in and around the tournament scene would be very much appreciated!

Self Correction: Video Project

2011-09-04T23:14:00.000-05:00

Self correction is something I need to work on more at home. I've gotten into the habit where "practicing" consists of doing a form in its entirety without giving much thought to the details. I need to stop that. There's a time to practice at full speed, but right now there's details I need to fix that require pausing and checking every tiny, little thing - stance, positioning of the hands, body alignment, weight distribution, etc, etc.

Frustration sets in quickly when I slow down and self correct. I'll be working on a form, and something will just feel wrong, or I'll check my stance and notice something off. I start from the beginning and try again, paying special attention to correcting my mistake, repeating until the problem is fixed. Sometimes that correction takes only a few repetitions, sometimes it takes days/weeks/months, especially if it's breaking an ingrained habit. Some days it makes me want to pull my hair out.

Tonight, I started videoing myself during parts of my at home practice. I don't have access to a good mirror at the moment (I'm working on getting one for the house), so the next best tool I can use to help me self correct is video.

Video lets me see myself from the point of view that my instructors see me from when I'm in class. There's nothing like watching yourself from a third person perspective. It shows me how I move, if my transitions are smooth, and I can also concentrate on what I'm doing, rather than watching myself in a mirror as I'm attempting something. I can also pick up on things that I might gloss over by using the "Does it feel/look right?" method.

Unfortunately, it also lets me see that there's some areas where my performance of a form or execution of a technique isn't as awesome as I felt it was. Whether it's "Oh, that transition wasn't smooth," "That kick really sucked. My knee wasn't high enough and I swung that kick," or "I look like that when doing ___?!?" video is unforgiving.

Most importantly? Video lets me really see improvement. That is what I am really hoping to notice the more I practice and record myself.

Tuesday Class - Body Conditioning

2011-08-18T02:26:00.000-05:00

We had a great class on Tuesday with only advanced belts in attendance. Two green belts, two blue belts and myself.

Mr. G led a very thorough warmup that focused on joints. He told us we would be working on some hand techniques and some sparring tonight.

I love when we spend time working on sparring, so I was happy when he announced this. I've been nervous about the tournament coming up in September, so the more time I spend improving on the things I'm not so good at the better.

Some of these things that I'm focusing on are:

Being light on my feet, being more mobile, moving in and out of the close range and the kicking range effectively, using angles and not being so linear, using more combinations, and getting in good, solid shots.

Anyway, after the warmup, we moved on to some hand technique combinations. We began in a side stance and our sequence was jab to the face, reverse punch low, then slide forward and ridgehand to the back of the neck. We tried not so much for speed, but to flow from one technique to the next.

Once we starting getting comfortable with the combo, Mr. G added in a backfist to the head, then an elbow smash after that. I think several of us had a lightbulb moment when he brought up the elbow smash - because it's the exact technique that's in Pyung Ahn 4. I knew what the technique did in the form, but used in this format that I could see myself using in a spar put in in an entirely different perspective.

Finally, Mr. G had us pair up for conditioning drills. The green belts were paired together and so were the blue belts. That left me to be paired up with Mr. G. I did a mental fist pump at hearing this. Precise control and form are important to not hurting uke when kicking or punching them, and I knew that with Mr. G, improper form and lack of control would not be an issue.

We faced our partner and were told that we were to throw twenty-five instep kicks to the stomach. Side A would throw a kick, then Side B, and repeat. No one was to throw full power kicks since we're not at that point yet. We were still to make good contact though, and the person being kicked had to kiai so they wouldn't get the air knocked out of them.

I settled into my side stance and held my guard up. The kicks stung, but it was nothing I couldn't deal with. A good kiai, tightening up the stomach muscles, and having a solid stance helped. There were a few times that Mr. G had to tell me "Too high" when I kicked him, so the next time I made sure to point my knee and land the kick a little lower. We finished before everyone else, so we ended up doing about thirty or so kicks total.

Next, we did ball of the foot roundhouse kicks. These hurt more, because you're striking with a smaller surface and the kick penetrates more.

Mr. Mc then set up a drill for a straight punch. Side A would step forward with an overhand punch. Side B would step forward and block/strike, then do a straight punch to the stomach. I was paired up with Mr. Mc for this one. After several turns of this, he told me that I was really putting a lot into the strike to block the overhand punch.

Things were going well until. . . I stepped forward with my right foot at the same time as Mr. Mc stepped forward with his left. The angle that our feet collided was just so that we both said "Ow" (or something to that degree) and paused to assess the situation. I had bent back the toenail of his big toe. He asked me if I had any collateral damage. There was a slight stinging at the end of my toe, but I said I didn't think so. I picked my foot up anyway and saw a nice cut at the end of my second toe. A flap of skin was still attached and I saw some blood under the skin. We looked at the cut and it didn't look like it was going to bleed out, so we changed how we were stepping so that it wouldn't happen again. A minute later, I looked down to see that blood was about to drip on the floor. I grabbed a paper towel and dabbed it away, then went back to continue the drill. Before we started, I checked my toe again. More blood. Another paper towel, and then I went to bandage my toe up since it couldn't behave on its own. After that, we continued with the drill with no problems.

Mr. Mc and I finished before the rest, so I suggested that we do some leg kicks. I wanted to get used to those kinds of shots to the leg for the semi-knockdown tournament, so we ended up doing about eight or ten roundhouse kicks to the back of the thigh. Oh. My. Gosh. Those kicks hurt! It wasn't just "tap" kind of kick either. It was a "wham!" kind of kick. It went something like this:

*Kick*

*Thinking* That did not feel good....

*Kick*

*Wince*

*Kick*

Grunt....*pause*

*Kick*

"Okay, that's enough!"

After we finished, Mr. G decided that it would be a good idea to work on.... you guessed it - leg kicks! Thankfully, I was paired up with one of the 11-12 y/o green belts, so the contact was turned down.

Mr. G told us that we would be going home sore and bruised. He was right. I now have a nice purple bruise just above my belly button. Don't get me wrong. I like bruises. They are fun to look at and poke at (Yes, I am weird). The only thing was that when I went to bed, every time I turned, that bruise, and the smaller ones on my arms reminded me that they were there. Also, the cut on my foot is driving me insane. It's a little thing, but it's a pain! Even with the band-aid on to keep the flap of skin from catching on the floor, it still hurts every time I put weight on that foot. I'm walking around gingerly now, willing it to go ahead and close up right now. I need to be able to kick things (and people) with that foot and slide smoothly when I do my forms. Ugh.

Complaining aside, Tuesday night was fun! I still want to work more on conditioning and hope we do more partner drills like this in class.

Point and Semi-Knockdown Sparring. Well, THAT Was Different!

2011-08-13T02:14:00.000-05:00

Tuesday night, we had several visitors from our sister class work out with us. We worked on something in class that was new to me.

Point Sparring and Semi-Knockdown Sparring.

You see, our class does not focus on tournaments or tournament style sparring. In fact, other than a few of the black belts, no one in our class has ever competed in a tournament. Last year, I went to my first one and observed, as several of the students from our sister class were competing. I mentioned in this post that the next time the tournament rolled around, I would be there in uniform to compete.

We went over rules first. From what I remember, most of the details were about scoring and the ring itself. Stay in the ring. You get two warnings (I think) before the refs start docking points for jumping out. If one foot is out of the ring and you earn a point, your other foot has to land inside the ring for it to count. Things like that.

So now I have to not only guard and attack, but also be aware of the boundaries at all times or I'll eventually get points docked? That sucks.

After several minutes more of rules, we finally had a chance to spar. I watched a couple before it was my turn and man, were those points called quick! It was spar, spar, point! Reset. Spar, point! Reset, rinse, and repeat. Mr. G and Mr. R.S., who were acting as judges, stressed that only solid techniques would be counted as points. Air techniques, grazing the person with the tip of the gloves, and weak, sloppy techniques would not be counted. Everyone had to make their techniques count.

Finally, it was my turn. I went against blue belt C and was thrilled to be able to spar against another female student for once! It's been way too long since there's been an adult woman in class besides myself. My usual sparring partners are kids or male gup ranks / black belts. We touched gloves, and "Hajime!" was called. I found out immediately that point sparring is all about being quick! Being fast and explosive is something that I'm not exactly good at. Yet. I'm working on it. Right now I think too much and analyze everything which means that I'm spending more time thinking than moving.

Soooo, the end result was that I lost 3-0. I was disappointed about losing but I looked at it as a good learning experience. In continuous sparring, which is what we normally do in class, I don't think much of taking a glancing or decent shot in order to get in and give a better one. In point sparring though, that first shot that I might take before I give mine would be a point in the favor of my opponent in many cases. It was hard to get out of that mentality. Point sparring is a game. A game of tag. Whoever tags first usually wins.

When the black belts announced that a few of us would be working on semi-knockdown sparring, I nearly started bouncing on the balls of my feet. This was what I had been wanting to do ever since I announced to my instructors that I wanted to compete in kumite.

There weren't as many rules to this one, or at least it didn't seem like it. Stay in bounds and don't punch to the head were really about it. Instead of points being called, it was a continuous ~~slug fest.~~ ~~beating.~~ spar. Mr. G and Mr. R.S. demonstrated how a round would go.

Intense doesn't even begin to describe it. Gone was the familiar side stance that we normally use. In its place was a strong, forward facing stance. Since punches to the head are illegal, both people stay in a super close range to each other. I'm used to moving in and out of the punching range, not staying right in it. Punches to the body and shin kicks to the legs are the staple techniques. A few other kicks were thrown, but punches and shin kicks dominated. This video is a good portrayal of what semi-knockdown is like:

Once again, I sparred C. Before we began, I was told that she had experience in semi-knockdown sparring. Duly noted. We assumed our stances facing each other, and then "Hajime" was called. She immediately closed the distance and started hitting. From that point on, I was out of my comfort zone. It was completely foreign to me to stay put in that close range, even though I'm most comfortable with my hand techniques and that is what I use the most. Mr. G had to keep pushing me forward, as I was doing a lot of backpedaling.

I sparred Ms. S. next, and only then did I start feeling a little more comfortable, though my stamina was nearly on empty during the last part of that second round. I still need a LOT of time doing this kind of sparring to get a good handle on it. The tournament is a little over a month away, so I need to really need to spar as often as I can, and also work on improving my conditioning and stamina as much as I can.

All in all, it was a good night of sparring.

I Overdid It

2011-08-04T15:39:00.001-05:00

I overdid it.

Monday, I went to Zumba at church. This was only my second week back after a good month or so break. I'm only able to go to one class a week because the other two classes happen to be at the same time as Tae Kwon Do. I had already paid in soreness for my gusto in doing the songs I was familiar with last week, so it didn't occur to me at the time to not push myself more than normal for the entire hour.

That was mistake number one.

My second mistake was adding Tae Kwon Do practice to the mix after I got back home. I took a shower, changed, and pushed the furniture out of my practice space in the living room. My hips have been feeling really tight lately and I can tell that my stretch is not as good on my roundhouse kicks, so I researched and found a few stretches that would help loosen my hips. After doing several of those, I decided to warm up with my forms. The first five were okay, but the muscles in my legs were starting to complain about the deep stances. There's a position in Pyung Ahn 2 that makes that form my least favorite of all of the Pyung Ahn forms. You have to almost go to a lunge, your back knee hovering a few inches off the ground as you scoop a kick with your arm. I tried to go down, but my muscles decided they had had enough.

After that, I moved on to kicks. I practiced front snap, roundhouse, side, crescent, and reverse crescent in the air, then did some combinations. Finally, I moved on to some shadow sparring, emphasizing being mobile and throwing fluid combinations. After a good five minutes of this, I threw a low roundhouse kick and my hamstring seized up. "Okay, that's enough," I said, and stopped for the night.

When I got up the next day, my thighs were sore and feeling weak. They ached the. Entire. Day. I realized that the multitude of lunges at Zumba plus my extra practice did it.

Well, as luck would have it, Tae Kwon Do class was that night, AND we had several visitors from our sister class work out with us. Mr. R.S., Ms. J.S., a blue belt, a green belt, and a yellow belt. After a quick warmup, the green belts, blue belts, and I started on Pyung Ahn 2. Oh goody. The form I had trouble with the night before. ~~I will not mention that I was the one who chose the form for the class to do....~~ Nope, not mentioning that fact.

Anyway, we had to hold stance frequently for minutes at a time because Mr. G and Mr. R.S. decided to pick us apart on the details of the form. My legs were shaking the entire time. Not good. I tried my best to stay in the stance and keep my knees bent, and it took all of my willpower to not drop my hands or come out of those stances. I was relieved when we finished with the form and moved on to something else.

So, lesson learned. Don't push yourself too much when you're starting back in something you haven't done for a while, and don't further antagonize your muscles by trying a bunch of new stretches and practicing extra without giving your body a chance to adjust. Ease into it. Don't try to do too much in one day.

Thoughts On Training Partners

2011-07-25T01:37:00.000-05:00

In the time I’ve been involved in martial arts, I’ve observed students who stop coming to class without an obvious reason. Others move, get or change jobs, or have health issues that interfere with their ability to attend class. I’ve seen a lot, especially kids, gradually lose the excitement they first had about training and end up quitting. All these things have taken away fine students and great people.

Our adult class is made up of a small, core group of students. Most of us have worked together for at least three years and have spent countless hours drilling and sweating together, beating on each other in sparring, working out issues in forms together, talking about successes and frustrations, working through problems. . . etc, etc. I don’t know what it is about our class, but I literally think of my classmates and instructors as family. It’s difficult to lose a family member to those reasons I mentioned above.

It’s even harder when that person is a training partner who you work with frequently. . .

Rachel and I became friends through class. We started seeking each other to partner up with more often as green belts. Color belts tend to find common ground with others their rank as you’re working together on the same things, and we followed suit. When Rachel and I started looking at testing for our blue belts, we began training together outside of class. By nature, I am a more introverted, quiet person. I think and analyze to the nth degree, but I don’t ask many questions and express myself in class as I should. She was my opposite. Extroverted, talkative, and always asking questions. I admired the ease at which she did this. When I would share pent up frustrations, she would always encourage me to go talk to the black belts about them.

We ended up testing for our blue belts a few weeks apart. Training for brown was much more grueling, as brown belt is an Assistant Instructor in our class and standards are very, very high. In December of 2009, we tested for brown together.

Things came up in her life that kept her out of class right after our brown belt test. The first several months were hard. She was no longer there for me to talk to or work with, but I plodded on, hopeful that she would be back when she could.

She hasn’t been able to come back yet. I understand her situation, but I miss her very much.

I miss her directness. If she had a question, she would ask it at the first opportunity.

I miss being able to vent and talk about class with her.

I miss meeting up to work on a technique or form and helping each other make corrections.

I miss having someone to meet up with period.

I miss having someone my rank who was right there with me, experiencing the same things at the same time. Who was working toward the same goal I was. Learning the same thing I was at the same time. It didn’t matter if we learned at different speeds, we helped each other.

I miss sparring her.

I miss having someone to talk martial arts with on a regular basis.

I miss having another adult woman in class.

I miss having someone in class with similar frustrations in sparring.

I miss having someone who would speak first, dig deeper with questions, and encourage me to do the same.

I miss not being able to train together for our red belts and test together.

I miss not being able to train for our first tournament together.

I glance at the doors of the dojang every so often, hoping that I will see her walk in one class. I’m still waiting for that day.

If you have someone who you train with regularly, in and out of class, you are blessed. Treasure the time that you spend working and collaborating with each other and don't take it for granted.

Sunday Training With Our Sister Class

2011-07-07T01:31:00.000-05:00

Early on Sunday morning, Mr. G, Mr. M, and I set out visit our sister school. For me, this trip was long overdue, as we had started talking about it after my red belt test on March 8th. As I mentioned in my last post, I was excited about having the opportunity to train with people I haven't really had the chance to work with before - and not in a mixed class environment for once. Just adults.

The three hour car ride went by quickly. I wrote in my journal about Tuesday's class, but mostly listened to my instructors talk. I chimed in every once in a while, but I was happy enough just sitting there in that environment where martial arts was the central topic. I don't have any friends to talk to who are currently into martial arts, so conversations of this nature have to be had in class usually.

We arrived at Mr. R.S.'s house and got ready for class. I was nervously excited. It was a familiar setting, but at the same time, new. I am used to my Tae Kwon Do class and how it runs, but this was my first time in this class and I was out of my element, even though Mr. R.S.'s students made me feel very welcome.

The dojang was a hot 80 degrees, even with the air conditioning unit on. I don't do well in heat to begin with, but as soon as I tied my gi and belt, I knew that the heat was going to make for a challenging class.

We lined up and started class. We warmed up our joints a little, then were lined up into three rows and did a variety of techniques and exercises back and forth across the room. Pushups, full situps, jabs, reverse punches, shoulder rolls, jumps, walking pushups, quick switches, lunges. . .by the end of this, I was already soaked with sweat and we hadn't even started the actual class. I now have a good idea of how to get the kids in our kids' class warmed up and tired though.

After our warmup, everyone was divided up for circuit drills. There were five stations, and a black belt at each with a different task for us to do. I started out on the mats with Mr. R.S. We worked on breakfalls, and then he showed me how to do a hip toss, which I have never tried before. These went well until I landed on the side of my knee. That was definitely not fun, but I learned my lesson and made sure to land correctly the next time.

The next station was joint locks with Ms. J.S. We started out by her grabbing me and then I reacted and tried applying various joint locks.

Mr. M had a heavy bag set up at the next station, and he had me throw reverse punches, front snap kicks, and ridgehands.

Mr. J.S. also worked with me on the ridgehand, but with a hand target. after throwing several ridgehands, he showed me a reverse ridgehand and had me do combinations with both. I really liked how this drill flowed and will be incorporating ridgehands more in my sparring now.

The final station was forms with Mr. G. He had me do Pyung Ahn 5 a couple of times with corrections on my timing.

Once we finished with the circuit drill, everyone geared up for sparring. There was room for three pairs at a time and I ended up being in the first group. I sparred Mr. J.S. first for about two minutes, then had a break while the next group sparred. This was followed by me sparring Ms. J.S, and finally, Mr. R.S. My last spar was by far the toughest. I walked into a roundhouse kick that he aimed at my face, and that threw off my mental game for the rest of the spar. It was a learning experience though. I realized that the actual pain of being kicked wasn't nearly as bad as the anticipation of being hit. That is something that I am going to have to work on more.

The class lined up once more and we had final comments before the students were dismissed. I didn't have access to a clock all this time, but I believe we had been working for about three hours at this point. I was surprised that even after all that work, it seemed to have passed very quickly. I was completely soaked with sweat, but I was still feeling pretty good at this point.

The black belts and I stayed for about another hour. I had asked Ms. J.S. prior to class if she could show me some things about groundfighting, so that is what we focused on for about thirty minutes. After this, we all talked for a while longer before it was time for us to leave.

I really enjoyed getting to work out with Mr. R.S.'s class and I've already asked my instructor, Mr. G when we can go back. Hopefully it will be soon, I just need to get Mr. Mc and some of the other students to go with us. I didn't get much time working directly with the other students, so next time I hope that I can get a chance to work with them and spar them.

All in all, it was a great class. I think Mr. G or Mr. M made the comment on the way home that it felt so good to just be soaked through with sweat like we all were after class. Even though we were tired, sweaty, bruised, and some of us were starting to get sore (ie: my neck, most likely from grappling), I wouldn't have traded that workout for anything.

My Introduction to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

2011-06-29T00:41:00.000-05:00

Tonight in class we had a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu work out with us by invitation from one of our black belts. It's a rare thing when we have a guest in class, but when we do have one, I am always excited to be able to see other arts up close and personal, rather than just reading or watching a Youtube video about them. Our town is small and there are only a couple martial arts schools within a twenty minute drive that I am aware of. BJJ is not one that I was aware of.

Mr. M ran us through a quick warm up, then we pulled the mats out and got started. Our BJJ guest grabbed blue belt J.G. and began talking to us and demonstrating some options from the guard position. I don't remember half of the terms that he used, but I was fascinated by the guy's quickness and the fluidity in which he transitioned from position to position. I've watched a fair bit of MMA on tv, so I've seen grappling before, but there's just something about watching it in person when you're only two feet away.

The blue belts and above were told that they could participate. I hung back for a while and just watched the guys who were working on a triangle choke, but then Mr. G turned around and asked me when I was going to try. I decided "why not" and jumped in. Here's a video of a triangle choke.

All I've ever trained in is stand-up, so being on the ground was completely new territory for me. It was actually exciting, starting as a beginner in something completely new to me. I don't remember what the other technique we worked on was called, but I really liked the triangle choke.

The rest of the night, I watched the other students and the black belts work on some takedowns, and then Mr. G showed BJJ guy some Silat techniques and other techniques that we do. I wish our two hour class could have been stretched out for another hour at least. Our time went by way too fast. I wanted to work more on BJJ.

After class dismissed and we thanked our guest for coming, Mr. G talked to me about our upcoming visit to our sister school. Apparently, we're leaving either Saturday night or Sunday morning to go work out in Mr. R.S.'s four hour class. They work on grappling in their class, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to continue learning more groundfighting.

I'm so excited about working out for four hours in an adult class that only accepts students ages 16 and up that I almost can't sit still as I type this. I like all of the people in our class, but the adults are outnumbered by the kids. We have four or five who are ages 10-12, then a 13 year old, a 14 year old, an 18 year old, myself, and one guy in his 30's. Our class is pretty small, so having people my age or older to work with and partner with is something I'm looking forward to.

When Motivation Runs Low, Set Goals!

2011-06-26T23:22:00.000-05:00

Over the past couple months, I’ve been having difficulty finding it within myself to practice. I always go to class and enjoy training there, but lately when it’s just me at home, practicing by myself, I tend to put it off until “later” (usually later never happens) or I just run through a couple of forms or kicks for a few minutes and that’s it for the day’s practice.

Practicing something means lots of repetition and slowing things down to work on problem areas. Running through a few forms just to say I’ve “worked on them” is not practice. I know this, and it makes me feel guilty, but the past couple months I’ve had no drive to practice.

I’m not sure if it’s burnout, me crashing down from the high that I was on before and just after my red belt test, or just plain laziness.

All this is to say that I recently got tired of being so apathetic about my practice, so I talked to Mr. Mc on Thursday about what I needed to work on outside of class. He told me to continue working on basics because there’s a timing issue I’ve been having there. We also talked about my stamina. Stamina and conditioning is a crucial part of sparring, kicking, forms – really, it’s a crucial part of everything we do in Tae Kwon Do, but especially for the the black belt test. I need to really get serious about improving my stamina now so I can hold up during my test.

When he was talking to me about this, he told me that he would like to see me compete in kumite in an open tournament that’s coming up in September. Back in July of last year, I went to the tournament he was referring to and just observed. As a side note, our sister school competes in tournaments, but our class hasn't. Yet. Anyway, as I sat in the stands watching the sparring, I could barely sit still because I wanted to be out there on the floor sparring so much.

Ever since then, I’ve been planning on competing, but it’s been in the back of my mind until Mr. Mc brought it up on Thursday. I told him that I was planning on competing and he asked me in which divisions. I told him Point and Semi-Knockdown. He said that I only had three months to prepare, so I had better start doing a lot of shadow sparring, rounds with the heavy bags, and running/walking at home. Since I mentioned a desire to compete, they’re really going to focus on sparring me more and have me do other drills to help my sparring in class.

My point in talking about this tournament is that now that I have something to focus on and work toward, I feel motivated and excited about training and practicing. The months before my red belt test were spent training for that test, but I haven’t had a major goal since (other than my black belt test which is an undecided date somewhere down the road). All along, I think I needed a short term goal to work toward.

I've been practicing a lot more at home and I'm actually enthusiastic about it. I don't want to lose that enthusiasm, so I'll be setting more short term goals to keep my motivation up. Of course there's still a big goal that I'm working toward - that being my black belt - but I'm happy about focusing on this tournament that is coming up in September for the moment.

Jammed Fingers - Lesson Learned

2011-05-31T23:51:00.000-05:00

Jammed fingers are the worst. I know that for a fact now.

Last Tuesday I sparred with some fingerless bag gloves so I could have more dexterity with my hands. I feel the most comfortable with using my hands in sparring and have relaxed my guard somewhat so that my hands are generally open and not in a fist when I'm guarding. When I strike and defend, I close my hands. I found the downside of this open hand guard very quickly. I reflexively reached down with my left hand to block a roundhouse kick, but did not close my hand all the way in time. A jolt of intense pain shot through my little finger and ring finger. Mr. M called break while I walked around shaking my hand out and trying to will the pain away. I had to have help taking my glove off because these gloves are very tight fitting and I could feel my fingers starting to swell. Mr. M and I looked at my fingers. My ring finger wasn't hurting much, but my pinky finger was more than making up for it. I was able to bend my fingers them and make a proper fist, so I decided to keep sparring -- but only after switching to my nice foam gloves.

I followed Mr. M's advice and iced my fingers when I got home. The next morning, both fingers were swollen and solid purple on the palm side. I continued to ice them for as long as I could stand it, then buddy taped the fingers together.

Today marks one week since I jammed them. The swelling and the bruising finally went away, but I'm still having to tape them at night and some during the day. I'm just now able to type well with my little finger. I hoped that there wouldn't be any issues with my ability to do Tae Kwon D tonight. I taped them up and they were fine -- even while doing break falls, shoulder rolls, and sparring. I was worried during sparring because I couldn't pull my fingers in all the way for a tight fist. I didn't want to go through that pain again right as they were starting to get better, so I protected that hand as much as I could.

I didn't realize until after I jammed them that I rely on my fingers for a lot of things. From playing guitar and making a proper fist to doing everyday activities like getting dressed, typing, and gripping things. I'm going to appreciate being able to do the minute things so much more once they heal.

What was the lesson learned through all of this? If you spar with open hands and/or fingerless gloves, be aware of the consequences. Duly noted.

"Punch with your right hand. . . no, the OTHER right hand!"

2011-05-11T20:17:00.000-05:00

I've been assisting Mr. Mc with the kids' class for the past several weeks. Now I'm helping out on a regular basis because attendance has gone from something like 5-9 regulars to 15 this past week. We have a lot of new white belts who have only been to a handful of classes, so it has been a trying time keeping them in line and focused. The more instructors and advanced belts on the floor, the better.

We've been focusing on stances and it's been a trying time to get them all to move the correct arm or leg consistently. Whether it's "Punch with your right hand" or "Slide your left leg forward," there's almost always several who do the opposite.

I know that part of this problem is due the use of the mirror image. If I'm facing a student and I take a step to the left, they take a step to the right. It's frustrating when you're trying to teach them the correct way of doing things, but I know from personal experience that adults need time to get used to this concept and we still mess up sometimes. On Monday, I went to a Zumba class at my church. The instructor was facing us, and at least 80% of the class mixed up the directions. I thought this was funny as the majority of the women in class were adults. If adults have problems with this, then you can bet that the kids are having way more trouble. Some of this can't be helped. When we line up and bow in to start class, the instructors always face the students. Once class has started, I usually try to line up with the students and face the same way they are so they can watch me as I demonstrate the stances.

Mr. Mc did find a method that helped the kids remember which leg moves to go into a front stance. When he told them to move their right leg but they moved their left instead, he had them all grab a chair and hold their left leg up for several minutes until it became uncomfortable. Once they were allowed to put both feet on the ground, he called out the stance again. Surprise, surprise! Every student remembered which leg to move this time around. The next week he threatened to use the same torture-- I mean drill -- if they confused their left from right. Everyone reassured him that they would remember, and they did. Discomfort can be a good teacher, or at least, good motivation.

Tornadoes in the South

2011-04-28T16:06:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, the South was hit by a barrage of tornadoes that swept through the area from early morning and stayed with us all day and much of the night. I was glued to the tv all day, watching these massive tornadoes develop right before my eyes and tear up city after city. I'm thankful that we were safe from the majority of the storms, but there was still wind damage nearby that brought down trees and branches.

Today, the sun is shining and the skies are a bright blue, but one only has to turn on the television to see the sheer destruction that the tornadoes left behind. The last time I checked, there are 269 people confirmed dead in several states, and rescue efforts are still going on. I have relatives and friends whose houses were in the path of the tornado.

Keep these families who were impacted in your thoughts and prayers.

Sparring

2011-04-14T00:06:00.001-05:00

Lately, sparring and I have been at odds with each other. I think the term "love-hate relationship" fits very well with my feelings on the subject at the moment. One week I'll have a very frustrating spar or spars where nothing seems to work, I turn into a human punching bag, and I can't turn off the dozens of analytical thoughts running through my brain that gets me into trouble. They go something like this,

"Okay, what's he doing? He's setting me up for something, but what? He's light on that front foot--"

*pop*

"That hurt...I need to stop trying to figure out everything he's doing and just react. Okay. But now he's changed sparring styles and he's in a really narrow stance. I think he's baiting me... I need to stop facing him head on and try to cut an angle to get out of his kicking range where I'll only be beat half to death if I stay--"

*bam* *smack*

"...Just like that."

*more sounds of student being pummeled by instructor*

Last Tuesday's class and also Thursday's class went like this. I know what I need to do, but I spend too much time thinking about it that my reaction time ends up being slow and nothing seems to work.

On the other hand, the next week's spar will be the complete opposite. Tuesday's class was a prime example of this. I sparred blue belt J.M. during his stripe test (which he did very well on and passed) and before the spar, I was told that I needed to control it or else I would be the one pummeled. The last time we sparred was during my red belt test and he definitely got the better of me. This time though, we bowed in, touched gloves, and everything went beautifully. I didn't think and didn't analyze. I went out there are reacted. I just sparred.

Afterward, my instructors asked me what changed from the last few times I sparred to this time. I wasn't exactly sure what to tell them. There wasn't a conscious thought that went through my mind of "Okay, I'm going to do _____." Maybe it was my attitude. I didn't feel intimidated or pressured. I really don't know what the difference was other than everything felt right.

The goal now is to replicate that rightness in my next spar. Hopefully tomorrow night I will get the chance to spar Mr. G and Mr. Mc. I'm going to request it specifically.

Watching the Video

2011-03-26T23:17:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday when I arrived at class, Mr. Mc handed me two DVD copies of my red belt test that I’ve been looking forward to getting my hands on ever since my test ended. I was excited and at the same time a bit nervous to watch it. I was excited to see the test from a different angle than first person but I was nervous because I am my worst critic and inevitably no matter how good it actually was, I knew that I would find all the mistakes and limited positive aspects. Mr. Mc had already warned me that I probably wouldn’t like it for that very reason.

Before I left on Thursday night, Mr. Mc mentioned to me that he had mostly just skimmed over the video as he was copying it to make sure that it played smoothly, but he had watched and rewatched “The Sidekick” that bowled me over when sparring Mr. R.S.. He commented that it was a beautiful kick. From being on the receiving end of that kick, I personally knew that it was.

That same night, I sat down with my family and a bag of popcorn to watch my movie. I’ve never been videoed during my previous tests and only for a few minutes at a time on a few occasions during class, so this was new. The audio was so-so because it had rained the majority of the time I tested, but the video was great. I was actually pleasantly surprised with the test in general. While I did wince at some of my flubs and the uncomfortable moments, I actually thought that I didn’t do half bad.

Since watching the video initially, I’ve rewatched and reviewed portions as a study tool. I saw many areas that need improvement, but that’s a given. There’s always room for improvement. Mr. Mc told me a few things to look for as I watched the video that he’s told me about in the past. Okay, scratch that. He told me to watch out for things that he's attempted to drill into my thick skull many, many times without much success. When I rewatched the video, I realized that it’s one thing to feel that something isn’t quite right or to be told that “You’re a little off in this,” but it’s a different thing entirely to actually see it from a third person perspective. I had several “Aha!” moments like this and I think that having the video as a reference is going to be a big help as I practice at home. I can definitely say now that videoing yourself doing techniques is an invaluable tool. It’s also very humbling when you realize that the picture in your head of how you move or execute a technique doesn’t match up with reality. “Wow. I move like that?!?” On the flip side, there are some good moments that exceed your expectations. I know I had a few where I wasn’t very comfortable with throwing a certain technique, but it looked fine on the video.

I wish that I could have had my other tests recorded like this one. Now though, I’m looking forward to being able to compare my red belt test video to another test in the future so I can see how far I’ve come.

My Red Belt Test part 2

2011-03-13T22:53:00.001-05:00

Continued from my previous post....

My break was short lived. Mr. Mc called me back, looked at me, and asked why I didn't have my sparring gear on. Several of the black belts had their gear on, and all of the colored belts had been wearing their gear since the start of the test. I told him that he didn't tell me to put it on. The conversation went something like this: He said, "Do I need to tell you? Shouldn't you know what's next?" to which I replied, "Yes sir" to the first question. With a smile, I added "Well, you're the one who wrote up the test." (Ie: I had no idea of the order of the test). Everyone had a good laugh and Mr. G demanded to know where that attitude was during the rest of the test.

First up for sparring was yellow belt Mo.G. from the kids' class. Before we started, Mr. G asked me to identify the level of experience and what kind of spar it would be. I told him that she was a new yellow belt (no sparring experience) and that it would be a teaching spar. This spar lasted about a minute. I got into a low stance to compensate for the height difference and worked on getting her to move and throw techniques first, then combinations. I gave her some targets and showed her what she could throw at me.

The first spar went quickly, and before I knew it, I had a new opponent standing in front of me. Green belt w/ stripe A.G. Once again, Mr. G asked me the level of my opponent and what kind of spar this was. Green belt is still a teaching spar, but they have a greater range of techniques, use combinations, and just move more in general. After a minute or so spar with A.G, I sparred his green belt brother, M.G. Both of these spars were about the same. I told both boys that they should use their angles more and not stand directly in front of me, because I have greater reach, whereas they need to use their size and speed to get around me.

Blue belt J.M. was up next. Blue belts are notorious for being the most difficult belt rank to spar because of a combination of sheer power and a lack of good control, so I knew that I had to be on my toes (literally) for this spar. Plus, he being fourteen and as tall as I am, I did not have the benefit of having reach on him. From the get go he was very aggressive. More aggressive than he's ever been when sparring me. He's looking toward testing to brown in the future, so I'm sure that wanting to do well in front of the black belts was a contributing factor. I was already pretty tired, and having to deal with an aggressive, fresh blue belt was difficult.

Things got really interesting when Mr. R.S. stepped in to spar me. Mr. G warned me that he is super fast, kicks like a mule, and not to stand still because I would get hit. I've only sparred Mr. R.S. once, and that was in class shortly after I earned my brown belt. This spar was much more intense then the first one. I admit that I was mostly standoffish for the first couple minutes especially and I was too flatfooted. I tried to analyze and figure things out mid-spar, which is a definite no-no. I thought too much when I should have been concentrating on attacking and defending. About thirty seconds to a minute into our spar, he threw a roundhouse kick followed immediately by a side kick. I wasn't hit by the roundhouse, but I was not expecting the side kick to come that fast. It caught me while I was standing straight on and connected solidly with my midsection, lifting me off my feet and throwing me to the ground. Oh, that hurt! Plus, it knocked at least half the air out of my lungs and I had to kneel on the ground for about a minute or so. I wish I had a picture of it, but it's only on video. One of the dad's of the students took a video with his phone and showed it to me on Thursday. I've gotta say that it was a beautiful shot. Pain and having the breath knocked out of me aside, I got back up and continued that spar that lasted about two more minutes.

Immediately following the spar with Mr. R.S., Mr. M had Mr. J.S. come spar me. I don't think this one was planned beforehand, because Mr. G asked Mr. M what he was doing. Mr. M said that this was a puzzle I had to figure out. At this point, Mr. J.S. got into a very straight on, deep, power stance that we just don't practice in class. I was told later that it was a Shotokan fighting stance. Curious as to what he was doing and what I was supposed to be figuring out, I began trying some things. I threw a hard roundhouse kick to the back of his knee, and while it turned him a little, he just took it. As I moved, trying to get an angle, he just moved with me so that he was always facing me. He did not initiate much, but he did get in a good backfist(?) to my head...or maybe it was a kick...or both. I'm not really sure. I did take one technique that immediately left me with a headache. Great, more pain! Anyway, I finally did get inside and he covered up, so I just started wailing on him with hand techniques.

Then, the dreaded 2 on 1 spar was upon me. I've been told that the 2 on 1 spars are usually two brown belts, but as I am the only brown belt in class and the next highest ranked are blue belts, my instructors decided to go the other route and have two black belts spar me, Mrs. C and Ms S. The goal of the 2 on 1? Survive. Plain and simple. Takedowns, knockouts, and grabbing one person and throwing them into the second person are perfectly legal. I've had very limited experience with 2 on 1, so this was an interesting spar. My main strategy was to concentrate on getting one person out of the way and so I only have to spar one of them. That did not happen, but I did employ strategy #2, which was, in simple terms, choosing one person to be "Monkey in the Middle" (like the game) so that the middle person is in between you and person #2. The spar was mainly me running around the room while the rest of the black belts took places around said room to keep us from getting too close to the walls and tripping over the students sitting over the back. That's why in the picture below, it appears as though I could be up against four people. Thankfully for me I wasn't. I have to say that during the 2on1, I really wanted to have a chance to spar Ms. S 1 on 1. She was in my face most of the spar, and I wanted to see how I would fare against her. Later, I found out that my instructors were planning on this spar, but time was running short so it did not happen.

After this spar ended, Mr. G pulled my red belt out of his gear bag. I immediately remembered what he had told me previously about this. He said that he would have my red belt somewhere behind him, and I would literally have to go through him to get it. I knew that this was coming. I believe at this point, I asked for water, because I knew that sparring Mr. G was going to be...interesting to say the least. I wasn't thirsty as much as every time I took a breath, a sharp pain in my side accompanied it. Mr. O said no to my request, but Mr. G said yes.

I drank some water and tried to breath normally once more, then I headed to the center of the room where Mr. G was waiting for me with my red belt folded up on the floor behind him. He reminded me of what he had told me earlier, and said that if I could touch the belt, whether it be with my hand or my toe, then I could have it. I took a deep breath to steel myself, and we started. Mr. G kept a very narrow stance, almost standing straight up. Getting in close and striking fast with our hands is one of our favorite things to do, so after a minute or so of me staying out in kicking range, he let me close the gap. I got close to my belt, but he wouldn't let me get past him. Mr. G almost bent over, and I'm still trying to get past him. Finally, I hear calls of "Knees! Knees!" from the black belts and I realize what he's in position for. I grabbed his gi at the shoulders and drove two knees up into his abdomen. Now I'm hearing more calls from everyone to touch my belt, so I reach out and step on it, then pick it up.

I returned to the center of the room, my red belt held tightly in my hand. Mr. G approached me and reached out for the belt. I reluctantly handed it to him, and he told me to take off my brown belt. I started to fold it neatly, but Mr. G said that I wouldn't be needing it any longer, so I tossed it to one side. He presented me with my red belt and I turned around to tie it.

If tying a belt after two hours of a tortoruous test while still wearing sparring gear and trying to keep my hands from shaking doesn't sound hard, I'll be the first to tell you that it is!

After I turned around, Mr. G let me go get some water, and when I returned, the black belts were all in a "black belt huddle" at the front. Even though I was wearing the belt, that huddle still made me nervous. When they came out of the huddle, Mr. G told me to fall off to the side, and as I did so, he told me that they had changed their minds and were going to take the belt back. I knew it was a joke, but at the same time, I was imagining what was going to happen to the person who tried to take back my belt. He told me he was just kidding. Just as a side note, humor like that when the test is not over and decided with, is not at all appreciated by the testee.

The black belts all lined up and they called white belt M.C. up. They awarded her a 9th kyu yellow belt, and she went back to sit down. I was called back up, and Mr. G proceeded to tell me that there was no reason to tell me the results as I was wearing my rank. All of the black belts then made their comments about the test overall and about me in order of rank, starting with Mr. G.

All of the class was then told to line up, and we dismissed. The students were told to congratulate me in the traditional way. That is, shake hands with the person who tested and wipe your dirty, nasty feet on their gi. As if I wasn't already dirty and sweaty enough.

That is a brief (haha) summary of my test. It was by far one of the hardest things that I've ever done. It's also one of the top things I've done that pushed me so far out of my comfort zone that I don't believe that I can find where my comfort zone used to be.

I came out of that test soaked with sweat. I think it was Mrs. C who hugged me and then said, "You're wet!" My t-shirt and gi were soaked all the way through. Both found their way into the washing machine as soon as I got home.

But in the end, I earned my 1st kyu red belt. That is an awesome feeling. It was a test that I'll remember the rest of my life. It also helps that the entire thing was filmed, so that will help. I can't wait to watch it. At this point I'm waiting on Mr. Mc to put it onto a dvd for me.

My injuries from said test were minimal, which is good. I have around half a dozen bruised on my forearms. One is the size of a baseball and is still black and purple. That one swelled up until I took an Advil for the inflamation. My cheeks are bruised to the touch and the corner of my forehead is also bruised from Mr. R.S. punching me when I wasn't fast enough on my self defense. I have a few small cuts on my arms and an abrasion on my foot from who knows what. Half of my index purple turned black and red around the joint and swelled up a little. I have no idea what happened there. I can only guess that it happened during my improvisation during my combat speed self defense. As far as soreness goes, I ached all over for a good three days. The worst were my arms from my wrists up to my shoulders.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the test. I have several areas that need work and in the coming weeks, I'm sure that we'll tackle them both inside and outside of class. I'm also looking forward to taking a trip down to our sister school for a workout in the coming months. Also, I've been told that a requirement for black belt is to compete in two tournaments or visit two different styles of martial arts. I'm hoping to be able to do both. Starting now, I have lots of practice to do, tournaments to prepare for (later), and a lot of hard work to put into each and every class.

Now that the test is over, I can't help but think of what's next. I don't think that the black belts gave me even five minutes to focus on my red belt before they began mentioning the next rank. Black belt. There are no set time limits between red and black which is scary to think of. I just earned my red, so I don't really want to be thinking of black next, but it is in the back of my mind. I'm not eager to test for that anytime soon though. I'm going to enjoy being a red belt for a while.

My Red Belt Test part 1

2011-03-11T16:31:00.000-06:00

The week leading up to my red belt test was one of the longest weeks I’ve experienced in a long time. Last minute practicing and spending nearly a week working out at the gym helped speed things along and little and helped me deal with pre-test jitters, but the final couple days were excruciatingly slow.

I arrived at class on a rainy and gloomy Tuesday night. I asked white belt M.C., the ten y/o girl from my church who I’ve been taking to class why it had to be so stormy on the night of our tests (she had been told that she might test for yellow). We were both fighting against nervousness as we walked in and started getting ready for our classes.

Mr. Mc arrived a few minutes later, bringing in a video camera, tripod, and extension cord which made the reality that “I am testing tonight” all the more official.

As I began stretching, I noticed Mr. G and Mr. R.S. walk in and head down the hall to change. I told M.C that Mr. R.S. was the head instructor at our sister school the next state over, and she asked me who the other two were. I paused, not having seen them, but realized the next second that it must be Mr. R.S.’s black belts, Mr. J.S. and Ms S. That put the black belts present up to five. I mentioned in my last post that there were going to be a minimum of five. As my heart sped up, all I could think about was, “That’s five and counting.”

Mr. G and Mr. Mc took me out of the main room to talk to me about the test. The main points they discussed with me was my confidence. Mr. G asked me who showed up tonight – Ariel or Ms ___? I told him Ms ___. They left me by myself after telling me that each black belt was going to come and talk to me.

Mr. R.S. came to talk to me next, then Mr. O, and finally Mrs. C. Mr. J.S. and Ms. S were busy teaching the kids’ class.

I was brought back into the dojang and told to take over teaching the seven kids. Before I stepped in to teach, I had been feeling the effects of nervousness. My face was burning, my insides churning, and my heart pounding like I had been out running. But as soon as I took over the kids class, I felt calm. My confidence shot way up from where it had been moments before. I was in my comfort zone. I think that last thirty minutes where I worked with those kids was the best thirty minutes I could have spent before my test started.

The kids’ class lined up and dismissed as I headed back to drink some Gatorade before the adult class lined up. Mr. Mc told the kids about my test and invited them to stay if they wanted.

Finally, “Line up!” was called for the adult class. There were nine of us. . . and eight black belts present (Mr. S, the ninth black belt arrived shortly after my test began). That’s one long, intimidating line facing the one student who they would be watching. The black belts introduced themselves, who their immediate instructor was, and how long they’ve been involved in the martial arts. After we bowed in, all of the students except for myself were asked to take a seat in the back. I was called to the center, and the test began.

Mr. Mc was the officiator of the test, and he had the itinerary. Different black belts were asked to lead various portions of the test. First up was the first form we learn, Basic Blocks and Punches, led by Ms S. I was asked to repeat it since the power and intensity that they were wanting wasn’t there. This time around, I was asked to kiai on each technique instead of after every third technique. Having to repeat the very first thing I was asked to do wasn’t at all how I wanted to start off the test, but I didn’t let that get to me. I dug deep to bring out that intensity and power, and then moved on to the next item.

I was then asked to do my three basic forms and the first advanced form in a different order than we normally do. After completing 1st advanced, Mr. J.S. asked me how well I did that form. I told him that it could have been better. When he asked why, I answered that I wasn’t putting enough into it. He asked if I could do it better if I did it once more. Confidently, I said “Yes sir!” The black belts noted a marked improvement from the first time, though they stressed that they this was the second time they’ve had to ask for more, and they did not want to ask again. I needed to fix that.

Ms. S then asked me a question about the differences I saw, being a female in a male dominated class in Tae Kwon Do. This was followed up with two more questions having to do with “what would you do?” when teaching a male student who tells you that the technique you are teaching will not work on him. The key word? Try it out on him and see what he has to say then, and also, adapt. Find something that will work.

I believe at this point, Mr. R.S. took over. He had me get into a fighting stance. From there, he gave me different hand techniques to do. Back fist was the first, then ridgehand with the lead hand. I did a few of those, then a question popped up. “Where would the ridgehand stop?” Oh no. I really did not have a definite answer in my mind, but after further prodding and Mr. O stepping in to give me a target, I finally found the answer they were looking for.

Mr. R.S. had me switch to a ridgehand with the back hand. I was more comfortable with this one because I could rotate on the ball of my back foot and get my hips into it. I did a few of these, then Mr. R.S. had Mr. J.S. stand in front of me to be my target. Mr. G told me that if I could knock him down with my ridgehand, then they would go ahead and give me my red belt. I tried so hard to knock him down, but alas! It did not happen. . . this time.

Next, the mats were pulled up, and blue belt J.G. was called up to be my partner for 1-step sparring. I have not practiced these with a partner in some time. On #4, the takedown, I could tell that J.G. was helping me with the throw – going down fairly easily instead of me being the one who threw him. Mr. G asked him about this, and he hesitantly agreed that this was the case. Mr. G told him not to help me out at all. I tried to do the takedown again and pop his knee, but it was a no go. I tried several times with the same results. Finally though, I did make him go down.

Following the 1-steps was my 8 self defense techniques with Mr. R.S. This was, in my opinion, the hardest single section of my test. The majority of my techniques were not effective in this situation or I was ripped apart because of a too high level of response to the situation, etc. I was told to improvise and adapt when things didn’t work, but my ability to do so was not that good. Improvisation is something I really need to work on. Lots of questions were also asked, and I was about at the end of my rope with frustration and feeling overwhelmed.

Thankfully, we moved on to advanced forms 2-5 which I felt went much more smoothly.

Mr. J.S. came up to my right said and said that he was going to do some kicking combinations. He was not going to tell me what they were or repeat them, so I had to watch and copy him as best as I could. This had to be the most stressful “Follow the Leader” game that I’ve ever played. In no way did he do the kicks slowly, plus, at the end, he told me that he had purposely turned in a way that made the kicks hard for me to see. I believe he wanted to see if I would say, “Mr. J.S., I’m having a hard time seeing your kicks. Will you move to my other side?” Darn it. I might have possibly said something if this was in class rather than a testing situation. As it was, I just tried to copy him as best as I could.

At this point, I was given a brief break to get some water, and during that time, white belt M.C. tested for her yellow belt. As she did her Basic Blocks and Punches, Mrs. C and Ms. S came over to encourage me and give me some advice.

To be continued...

Success!

2011-03-10T15:34:00.000-06:00

Just a quick update to say that I passed my two hour long red belt test from hell on Tuesday night! It was everything I expected and more, but I'll talk about that in my next post.

I've written several pages in a notebook about the test just to get my thoughts down first before I condense it down to a decent length for the official post. There is so much that I want to talk about, but since that is the case, I'm waiting another day or so to write it up on my blog so I can get the rambling under control.

Build A Sign Product Review

2011-03-06T21:27:00.000-06:00

At the beginning of February, I received an email from Megan at Build a Sign who found my blog while searching through Mixed Martial Arts blogs. She went on to say that her company wanted to send me some swag to help me promote my blog. I was intrigued by this, and immediately headed over to buildasign.com to check out the company and what they had to offer. I was blown away by the diversity of banners, signs, bumper stickers, clings, and decals that they had. It took me a long while to scroll through the pages until I finally selected a couple of designs that I liked.

That's where the fun really began. When you choose a base design, the website takes you to a page where you can customize your item as much as you want. You can upload clipart, add your own message, and choose from a wide array of colors. I had a blast designing my bumper stickers and window decal. Here's what I ended up with:

After I created the designs, Megan took care of the rest. She was wonderful and easy to work with. My shipment arrived quickly too. I'm very pleased with the quality of the stickers. I have one of the bumper stickers on my car and have already had several comments about it. I've given a few out to my instructors, and of course they chose the black over the navy blue. As far as the decal, I could not decide where I wanted to put it, so I stuck it to the front page of my journal. I think it fits quite well there.

Anyway, if anyone would like one of the bumper stickers, leave me a comment telling me what color you would like and I'd be glad to send you one. I'll only ship to the U.S. only. Sorry to all my overseas friends.

The Countdown Begins...

2011-03-05T01:33:00.000-06:00

It's official. I finally have a set date for my test.

March 8th, 2011.

That's right. My test is in three days.

There's a mixture of emotions that come along with that news. Giddiness, excitement, terror, and nervousness just to name a few. Of course a slight sick feeling too. This test has been built up so much that it's like a towering mountain that's looming over me, daring me to try to scale it.

My instructors announced the date to me after class on Tuesday night. They told me that they were planning on testing me that night, but upon asking if my parents wanted to be present for it, they decided to wait until next week.

I'm actually relieved by that. I don't like surprise "Oh, guess what? You're testing tonight!" tests. Even though I've known that I had this test coming up, I still like having a set date so I can mentally prepare. The only negative thing is that I have this whole week to fight against panicking, nervousness, and imagining myself messing up to the point of failing. I've already had several of these. I know that I should not worry about this, but at the same time, it's human nature to be nervous and imagine the worst.

My instructors told me that at this point it's too late for me to try to fix things in my forms and techniques. It's not going to change anything for the test. I need to do my regular practice at home and not go above and beyond my normal routine. I am working on my cardio though because I've heard all of my instructors say at one point or another that "this is an endurance test." I have a 3 month gym membership and I've been going for about a week now. That should give me an extra boost.

Another thing that's on my mind is that this will be the first time that I will test alone. All other times I've had at least one other person next to me to share in the testing tortur-- I mean experience. According to Mr. G, the class will probably go through a quick warmup, but then it's just me out there on the floor for two hours.

Seeing as red belt tests are an uncommon occurance, more black belts than usual may be present. Mr. G told me the other day that his stepson, the head instructor at our sister class, Mr. RS has requested to be at my test. If he comes, that makes a minimum of five instructors watching and dissecting my every move. Talk about pressure.

The only thing that I am truly concerned about on my test is freezing up when I'm asked a tough question. I'm known for doing that. I'll be asked a question about something technical, and sometimes I'll freeze up, withdraw, get the deer in the headlights look, and end up saying "I don't know." This is an important area on the test, as being able to do the physical is only part of the battle. Thinking under stress, problem solving, and knowing your techniques inside and out are vitally important. There will be anything from philosophical type questions like "Why did you start Tae Kwon Do," technical questions like "How/When would you use this technique?" and situational questions like "If someone were to do ___, how would you respond?" The other material is easier to prep for. I KNOW how to practice my forms, kicks, self defense, etc. Prepping for unknown questions is next to impossible. I have to rely on my training.

After saying all of this, I have to wrap things up on a more positive note. Mrs. C told me this the same night the date was announced and it really stuck with me, "This test wouldn't be coming up if you weren't ready. You are ready."

I guess I need to make that my mantra for the rest of the week. I'll update with a recap of the test on Wednesday. See you then!

The Black Hole Phenomenon

2011-02-13T00:22:00.000-06:00

In my speech class last year, my professor told us on the first day that there was a phenomenon that seemed to happen about a month or so after classes begin. For the first few weeks, most of the seats would be filled. Over time, students would stop coming to class, never to be seen again. Her explanation for this? There was a black hole in the middle of the campus that swallowed them up.

I believe that there’s a similar phenomenon that happens in our Tae Kwon Do class. There will be students who seem to really enjoy class. Usually these students will be well on their way to their first (or next) belt test. One day, they will not show up to class. There will be a continued absence to where I wonder where they are. As time goes on and they still haven’t come back, I wonder what happened to them. I’m just a student so I don’t know everything my instructors might know about the situation, but sometimes we will both wonder together what happened to so and so. They seemed to be really involved in class, so why did they stop coming?

When the disappearance of a student happens in the middle of the year, it’s anyone’s guess as to what happened. But when it happens after Christmas break to several people, I have a little bit more of an idea. I usually only miss class one or two times a year at most, so I haven’t really experienced what I’m about to say relating to martial arts, but Mr. Mc and I talked about this a few weeks ago. When there is a delayed break in training, it takes effort to decide to start up again. The “Well, we’ll just start back next week,” turns into “Well, maybe after school (or football/baseball season) is over.” On and on this goes until the student or parent in question just doesn’t bother anymore. The longer you wait, the harder it is to start back.

There’s been a few people that seem to have fallen into this trap recently. I really miss their being in class and I hope that they will come back if they truly enjoyed their Tae Kwon Do training. It really makes me wonder what their reasons are for not coming any longer. I wish I knew. Maybe that black hole appeared outside the dojang and sucked them into it.

Preparing for the Test

2011-02-01T14:41:00.000-06:00

Two weeks ago, Mr. G pulled me out of line and started looking at my forms. He had me do six out of the nine forms for color belts. Now six forms doesn't sound like a lot, but when Mr. G is the one who is watching you do them, it is. His method is that he will watch you do the form until he sees something wrong or that's not being done to his standard. In my case it was more nitpicky things than flat out mistakes. Anyway, once he spots something, he stops you, corrects you, then makes you start at the beginning again. If you make the same mistake or one further in the form, it's time to begin again. And again and again and again -- until it is right. After a few repetitions of a form, I would be just in reach of finishing. Mr. G would stop me and say, “Guess what?” to which I would reply “I have to start over.”

After getting back home, I worked on incorporating the changes he made into what I was practicing.

This past week at the Thursday night class, before class even started, Mr. G asked me,

"How is your stamina?"

Upon hearing this, I knew that I was in for a good, long workout. To answer his question, I thought back to what I've done since the last class we had in December up until now. Since August, I have been following a 4-5 day a week walking plan, a 3-4 day a week cardio workout, and I've been working on my pushups. The almost three weeks I had been sick over Christmas and other health issues in my family starting at the end of October really took a toll on my keeping up with a routine. I've kept up with my Tae Kwon Do classes twice a week, practicing at home, and a little running and pushups, but I haven't gotten back into the swing of things. This week I am going to start back and stick with it.

Taking these things into consideration, and the fact that I've also been told that I'll be testing soon, I told Mr. G that my stamina was so-so. He reminded me of the fact that my red belt test will be happening any day now and that I need to be prepared to go for an hour and a half for that test.

Just like last week, after we finished the warmup, Mr. G pulled me to one side to work with me. He told me that he was going to put me through most of the physical portion of my test. Since he had already worked with me on corrections last week, he said that he wasn’t going to stop me in the middle of a form. In fact, he was going to give me a minimal amount of rest in between each form.

After that, he started me on the 1st basic form and had me go through 5th advanced, only allowing me stop a few times in between so that I could turn around to adjust my uniform and catch my breath. During the last few advanced forms, I really had to dig deep to keep the same intensity and put the same snap into my techniques. I was breathing hard and sweating by the end, but I made it, and I was fairly pleased that I managed to keep up a good bit of the intensity/snap toward the end.

Thankfully Mr. G gave me a water break so I could catch my breath properly. When I came back, we moved straight into my basic and advanced kicks. Front snap, side, roundhouse instep, roundhouse ball of the foot, crescent, reverse crescent, hook, axe, reverse axe, spinning back, spinning reverse crescent, and spinning hook kicks done at knee, belt, and face level. On the hook kick and a few of the spinning kicks, I had trouble with keeping my kicks at knee level, so we spent extra time on those.

I was allowed another water break and then he had me do various progressive techniques from a fighting stance.

Not only must I be able to perform the techniques for my test, but I must also be mentally prepared to answer questions about the techniques and forms that they will throw at me. I also have a couple sections of the test where I will have to teach and demonstrate my self defense techniques and my advanced kicks. To prepare me for this, during the course of the night Mr. G asked me several questions. Several were about what certain forms teach you. Balance, power, timing, etc. Others were technical questions like what the striking surface of a given kick is.

By this time, an hour had passed, so everyone lined up and the other students were dismissed. I was told to stay because Mr. G and Mr. Mc wanted to work on something else with me. He told me that we were going to do some 2 on 1 sparring. I think I mentally groaned at hearing that. Two on one sparring is something that we really don’t get introduced to until around brown belt. I got a taste of it when they had me spar both Mr. Mc and Mrs. C for my brown belt test, and I was one of the 2 who sparred Miss S during her black belt test last January.

Two on one sparring presents many unique challenges. For one, you have to keep an eye on both opponents and if you get tied up with one, you still have the other person to worry about. The strategy they gave me was to pick one of them and get them in the middle between myself and the other person. Sort of a “monkey in the middle” situation.

I found that the most frustrating issue in 2 on 1 sparring is not getting overwhelmed by having two very experienced martial artists coming at you and trying to back you up into a corner and hit you. I fought against the instinct to go all wide-eyed “deer in the headlights” and stop. It was very much like cat and mouse, and I was the very inexperienced mouse.

Mr. G told me that we would work more on 2 on 1 sparring at Tuesday night’s class. In the meantime, I’m using any opportunity I can get to practice everything I have to do for my test. I’ve been walking down the hall throwing kicks, stretching as I watch tv, and showing up early to church to do forms in the gym. There’s a good chance that tonight’s class could be the night I test, so I am doing all I can to prepare for it.

Snowed In

2011-01-10T00:35:00.000-06:00

Well, this is a rare event for the south. Not only is it snowing, but we are up to about six inches of accumulation so far, and the powder is still falling. It's not expected to stop until early morning. The yard, the driveway, the roads....everything in sight is covered. For my friends who live in other places than the south, this might seem like nothing compared to what you may get, but for us, this is about as close to a "blizzard" as we'll ever get. We're officially snowed in, and I'm loving it! The schools are closed tomorrow, the grocery stores are sold out of bread and milk... and I've heard that the Wal-marts are officially closed.

I'm excited to get out in the snow tomorrow morning to build a few snowmen and a fort and try to sled. I don't even own a sled, but I'll improvise somehow. I've already been out in the snow tonight and I went to the top of our hill to check the road conditions. On my way back down, I took extra care not to slip. Luckily I didn't, but it made me quickly run over the different breakfalls I know in my head just in case I did slip. I may in fact have to put them to use tomorrow.

I was looking forward to being snowed in when it was first announced until I came to the realization that we may be getting even more snow or freezing rain on Tuesday. With this being the south where snow is not common (in fact, the one or two times that it does snow every year it either does not stick, or we only get a dusting or an inch or two), the roads are probably not going to be clear, or at the very least, they may be iced over. My main Tae Kwon Do class is on Tuesday. With a sinking feeling, I realized that I may not be able to even get out of my driveway to get to class. Even if I do, I'm hesitant about there being ice on the roads.

I can think of one consolation if I don't make it to class. I've always wanted to try training in the snow. It looks like I may get the chance to. I'll update with another post soon with how that goes.

Parties and Belts

2010-12-30T18:54:00.000-06:00

It's five days after Christmas, and I am sitting on my couch with a blanket, a box of kleenex, and enough cough drops to last me quite a while. I've been sick since December 23rd with the flu...or bronchitis...or strep throat.

Not only did my symptoms begin on that day, but my next door neighbors' house caught on fire from a space heater that was knocked over or malfunctioned (I found this out later that day). No one was hurt, but they lost their house. It's horrible that they lost their home, especially so close to Christmas, but I'm just glad that they are all okay.

Moving right along to Tae Kwon Do. . . December 16th was our last class and our Christmas party. Everyone brought snacks, and we spent two hours breaking boards and watching demos that the four black belts and I put on. We had a weapons demo with escrima sticks, canes, and a bokken; a couple of self defense techniques that a little green belt girl demonstrated with her black black grandmother as her uke; and a Tai Chi demo that in my opinion was a great eye opener for the class. Mr. M showed us the techniques first, using the slow, deliberate movements associated with Tai Chi, then applied those same techniques very effectively at regular speed against my head instructor, Mr. G.

There was also a pressure points demo that Mr. G did, and then mine, a self defense demo. Mr. G told me to choose a black belt to be my uke, and I chose him. Before class, I had asked blue belt J if he would help me run over them, as I have not worked on all of my self defense techniques against a live person since my brown stripe test. I had 8 total to demonstrate, and they went over better than I expected. I could tell that my reaction time has improved. Everything was much smoother. I messed up slightly on my striking target on a hook punch, but I was able to improvise and make it work, which was a great relief since improvising is not one of my strong points.

The most important part of this post is a piece of news that I've saved for last. About two weeks before the party, my instructors called me up to the front of the room after class. Of course I'm wondering "Oh no, what did I do?" but it was nothing like that. Instead, Mr. G told me that I would be testing for my 1st kyu red belt next week. I must have stared at him for a whole minute, unable to come up with anything to say. He further stated that if I wanted, I could wait until January to test. I chose that, because I am and have been battling doubts about my own abilities and not being good enough. That started a long discussion, in which I was basically told that they know their students' abilities and I have ridiculously high expectations of myself. I am ready if I will just stop having such high expectations and just listen to what they are saying.

I've really been thinking this over since that class and I have realized that all I can do is practice and when it comes time to test, just do what I know to do and see what happens from there. I think it's a matter of mental preparation for myself than anything.Once I get over being sick, I'm going to get back into the swing of things.

Another Temporary Break

2010-11-06T22:17:00.000-05:00

It's been an interesting month. Not a whole lot to report on the Tae Kwon Do front at the moment, but there's been a whole lot of crazy life going on lately with family health issues and things and I haven't been able to sit down and write an entry. Things should hopefully be getting back to some sort of normality soon and then I'll get this blog up and running again.

"Stop Thinking and Just Let Your Training Take Over"

2010-09-22T13:04:00.001-05:00

This post is a result of many conversations I've had with my instructors, with last night's conversation being at the very top.

"Stop thinking and just let your training take over," is a phrase that's quickly becoming a sort of mantra for me. It's something that my instructors try to pound into my brain several times a class. The reason for this being is that I'm in a tough spot with my training right now. I tend to be very analytical and I have perfectionist tendencies which end up hampering my progress. I think about things too hard and for too long, even when I'm told to "Just do this and don't think about it!" I also despise making mistakes and being wrong - to a fault - and sometimes I'd rather do nothing at all rather than mess up. A martial arts class is all about repetition and that is how one learns, so I'm working on that aspect. "Doing something is better than doing nothing. Something we can work on and fix. Doing nothing cannot be fixed."

I'm so analytical that in sparring, I tend to lock down and plant my feet because my mind is a so busy trying to analyze every detail of what's going on that I'm hit before I can react.

React. There's another word that goes right along with "Let your training take over." I've been working on a sparring hand concept with Mr. G, and he at first told me that I was too stiff, too set in my stance, and too robotic. I was frustrated to no end because he kept hitting me before I could do much. I was too slow and my combinations were few and far between.We spent some time working and something happened. At one point, I ended up turning my analyzing mind off, and that is when my hands sped up. I started to move better with smaller and quicker transitions. I loosened up. I started reacting instead of thinking. My training took over.

Now I just have to figure out how to use that concept and translate it to my kicks and forms. Then I'll really start getting somewhere. Right now I need to simplify. Work on my A, B, C's before I try to write the novel. Simplify, react, loosen up, and stop analyzing are key. Most importantly, have fun. Of course there are going to be times of frustration (and lots and lots of hard work), but have fun with martial arts too.

You Know You're a Martial Artist When. . .

2010-09-02T15:36:00.000-05:00

It's been one of those months -- those busy ones where nothing seems to want to slow down so you can do your own thing at your own pace. My college classes started back just a little over a week ago, and while I don't have much homework that's bogging me down right now, there's a ton of other things going on that are keeping me busy. Within the next week, I hope to be able to sit down and write a good, long post, but for the present, I leave you with a "You Know You're a Martial Artist When:" list!

This list has been a work-in-progress for a while. I add to it as the inspiration strikes. Most of these things are things that I've done or at the very least thought about. Some are exaggerations. . . but it's a just for fun thing. How many will you own up to? I'd love to hear them! Ie: I want to know that I'm the only one who has geeky inclinations here. Feel free to add to the list too!

You judge how good a particular workout was by how soaked with sweat your gi is afterward.
You are proud of all your bruises and you think of them as badges of honor.
You almost bow before entering a room, remembering at the last second that you are not in class.
You start packing your water and Gatorade in a cooler because 1) everything tastes better cold and 2) you are going to need the ice for your shins after sparring.
When outside of class, you turn around to face the back of a room to adjust your jacket/shirt/coat out of habit.
There is at least one room in your house dedicated to everything martial arts.
Your sparring gear bag now weighs over 20 pounds, because not only are you carrying around sparring gear, but a martial arts book, a list of verses to memorize, two escrima sticks, a notebook, pens, Tiger Balm, a first aid kit, electrical tape, medical tape, two belts (one current and one future), a folder with student information in it, a rubber knife, a wooden gun, a half drunk bottle of Gatorade, and various other items that can be added at a moment’s notice.
You watch movies such as “The Karate Kid” for educational purposes.
You point out the unrealistic aspects of some of the "moves" in certain martial arts movie.
Past injuries and the stories behind them are popular topics that can be talked about for quite a long time.
You refer to new students as “Fresh Meat.”
You have a CD or ipod playlist specific for at home training.
You have considered building or have built your own at home training gear.
Your friends know that if they even mention certain words such as “martial arts,” “Tae Kwon Do,” “injuries,” “bruises,” “Japan,”or “Korea,” then they better be prepared for a long, mostly one-sided conversation of you talking about martial arts.
You catch yourself in various stances while doing everyday things. Back stance when pulling someone to their feet, etc.
When shaking someone’s hand, you have to consciously remember not to bow.
You’ve used your knowledge of breakfalls to prevent a serious injury.
The instructor side of you comes out when you see kids doing martial arts type moves that they’ve seen in movies.
Normal belts with buckles just don’t look right any more.
When you walk, your steps are light and you glide more than walk.
You use your lightness of foot to sneak up on people just because you can.
You are more comfortable barefoot than with shoes on.
When shopping, you only buy pants that you can kick in.
If you're a woman and wear dresses, skirts, or high heels, all you can think about is how they hinder movement and put you at a disadvantage if you end up in a confrontation. OR You consider the advantages and disadvantages and spend time considering how you would adapt.
Your friends (from experience) back away and scream “No!” when you ask if you can try some joint locks or self defense on them.
Your requirements for the house you want to buy/build are that it must have a large, flat yard and driveway so you can practice outside and there has to be a basement or large room so that you can set up an in-home dojang for yourself.
You have personalized your instructors’ ringtone so that it plays “Kung Fu Fighting” or something similar when they call.
You have considered (or have done so) altering your uniform so that it fits better, regardless of your actual sewing ability.
You come home from a particularly intense class drenched with sweat, bruised, and about to pass out from exhaustion, but with a huge smile on your face because “that was an incredible class!”

Favorite Funny Martial Arts Videos

2010-08-15T18:49:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to share a couple of my favorite funny martial arts related videos.

This first one is a video that I found out about from blue belt J several months ago. Since then, nearly the whole adult class plus instructors have watched it, and most of us can quote the whole thing. It's become a huge inside joke.

This second video. . .well, I don't remember how I found it. I'm pretty sure that I discovered it while surfing through the martial arts videos on youtube or saw it on one of the martial arts forums I'm on. There are quite a few versions on youtube, but this is by far my favorite.

Smile, You're on Candid Camera

2010-08-10T00:33:00.000-05:00

The video camera has been my nemesis for years. I'd much rather see pictures than a video of myself. Pictures do not highlight my voice the way a video does. I just don't like how my voice sounds on tape! My dad has always been the video guy, so for most of my life I've just had to deal with it -- which usually involves me complaining "Do you have to video this?" I appreciate the videos more now as I get older because I like looking back at special events in my life and saying "Oh yeah! I remember doing that!"

Well, it looks like I'm going to be seeing a lot more videos of myself very soon. I've come to a mental block in one part of my training and one of my instructors said that a good tool that might help is to video myself so I can actually see what I'm doing wrong and be able to fix it on my own. I've been told that I'm good at pointing out things that the other students are doing wrong when I'm in teacher mode, but I have trouble identifying things that are wrong with my techniques. I'm a very visual person, so I think being able look at a video and pinpoint trouble areas will really help me.

The biggest area that I'm having to overcome is. . . myself. I've been down on my confidence lately as far as my Tae Kwon Do goes (a lot of it due to the very high expectations of a brown belt) and and it has started to show in class. I'm working on that now, but I really do think that as my techniques improve, my confidence will also. That's where the whole idea of videoing myself comes into play.

As a brown belt, my instructors are still going to lead me in the right direction and help me as much as they can. It's just that at my level and especially at my next rank of red belt, being able to self-correct is a big deal.

The other night, Mr. G said something that really hit home. I forget the wording, but here's the gist of it. He asked me if I knew who was going to get me over me -- who was going to be able to fix these things I'm having trouble with. I said myself. Ie: Ariel. He said no. Miss (my last name) the assistant instructor was going to fix Ariel the student.

Now where is that video camera? I have some work to do.

I'm Back!

2010-07-29T23:36:00.001-05:00

I didn't expect to put my blog on hold for this long, and in the summer no less! I'm back now and I won't be taking a month long blogging break in the foreseeable future. Before I get back to the topic I've been planning to write about, I want to share some of my experiences over the past month.

Last week I was able to attend my first tournament. Our school does not compete in tournaments, but our sister school does. I found out that they were going to be competing when my instructor mentioned it after class on Tuesday. No one ended up going with me, but I met up with our sister school at the tournament and was able to sit and watch. I stayed only for the daytime events of point and semi-knockout sparring. As a(n) ~~unfortunate~~ result of sitting there, I inevitably caught the tournament bug. I am a fairly competitive person to begin with, and after a while, I was itching to jump up and join in the fun. After all, who could just sit there and observe the whole time and be happy with that? Especially when there were only a few women in the division I would be in. Not I. I decided right then and there that I will be there in full uniform competing next year. There aren't many tournaments in my area unless I go out of state, but I think I can wait to compete in one until next year's tourney rolls around again. Maybe. We'll see.

Let's see....what else? Oh! On Tuesday night, I was asked by Mr. Mc to teach his Thursday night class because he wasn't going to be able to be there. My other instructor who also teaches on Thursday was also going to be absent that night, leaving myself as the lead teacher.

Fast forward to tonight. . . I showed up at the church early and began putting up the chairs since they were all set out from Sunday. No one but the instructors shows up a half hour early like I do, so I had extra time to consider what I was going to teach my students for the night. It's hard to plan for this class because attendance has been. . . interesting. On some days there are only two students and other days there are fifteen. Since I had no other help and since I knew the class was mostly comprised of kids 6 and up, I was hoping for a number that fell somewhere in the middle.

I ended up having nine students. One yellow belt with stripe, two white belts with stripes, four white belts, one new kid, and one brand new adult. I ran them through a quick warmup and some punching, then asked my yellow belt to take the new kid to one side and go over basics with him. The white belts are looking at testing for stripes next week, so I worked with my group on what they have to know for their test -- Basic Blocks and Punches. The hour long class flew by before I knew it. I was racing back and forth along the line, correcting positioning and giving some how-to on the techniques to the new woman while still trying to keep the kids engaged. I'm telling you, that was hard work! She picked up on the basics pretty quickly, having watched her son (the new kid) last week in class. This was a huge relief to me. I would have preferred to separate the kids and adults, but we just don't have that option right now. If I and my instructors could just figure out how to get the sideline parents to join in with their kids, then maybe we could do that.

Anyway, back to class. It was getting close to time to dismiss, so I had everyone come circle up for a speed drill. I'll try to be as concise as I can in explaining how this works. Okay, so Student A starts off by standing in a horse stance in front of Student B. A then punches at B. B has their hands up by their ears and attempts to touch Student A's punch -- not by slapping out at it, but by keeping the arms in close to the body and (as I explained it to the new kid tonight) moving your hands/arms like a windshield wiper. The kids always seem to enjoy speed drills, and after I walked around making sure that the students were doing the drill correctly, some of them literally bounced up to me, eager to take a turn at punching me.

Lastly, I had them get in a circle once more and then explained the rules for the next game/drill. I've never been told the name of this 'game' other than its a sparring type game, but it's pretty fun. The kids hold their knee up to their chest and then bounce around, trying to knock each other over or mess up the other person's balance so they let go of their knee. If they fall or let go of their knee, they're out. Note to self, wear the kids out before letting them play this, or they'll end up twice as hyper than they were to begin with. Oh, and also make sure to tell said children not to run into each other head on because catching a knee to the stomach or chin is not ideal.

After we finished up with the games, I had them line back up. We ended class with punches, then I dismissed them for the night, however, I asked the yellow belt to stay because I wanted to work with him on some things for his green belt test. I have to say that even though I like working with kids, the younger they are, the more drained I am by the end of class. Some of them want to talk the whole time I'm teaching and so I have to raise my voice. A couple seem to not hear what I'm saying and I have to physically move them to where they need to be. Finally, most of them have problems with recognizing their right hand from their left at some point or another. So after class, it was refreshing to work with an 11 year old yellow belt who was attentive, made corrections when I told him what he needed to do differently and asked questions when he didn't understand something.

Overall though, it was a really good night. There's only been a few times when I've had to lead a class by myself. Most of the time it's been when my instructors have been late because of work, so I only have to lead the class for part of the night. The couple times I have had to lead the whole class have been days when there were only a couple of students who were much older than the kids I taught tonight. Tonight's class was a good learning experience for me. When I've helped teach students on Tuesday night, I've only had a small group. I had to concentrate on keeping them focused and interested while my instructors where working with the other students. Teaching and keeping up with a whole class who are looking to you as THE instructor is completely different.

Hold That Thought

2010-06-20T20:07:00.001-05:00

The post I've been planning to finally get out of my head and onto virtual paper is going to have to wait. Right now I'm in the middle of packing and preparing for a trip and I don't think I'll be able to write anything of substance since I'm leaving bright and early (6am) tomorrow morning. Would that be dark and early instead?

All I know is that I am not an early bird in any way, shape, or form, so I'm going to make sure to go to bed early--- earlier than 2am that is -- so I won't have the inclination to snap at or armbar/wristlock any of my fellow passengers. Of course I wouldn't do the latter, but when one does not get adequate sleep and a bus full of teens between the ages of 13-17 are chattering on endlessly, I must say that the temptation does arise.
Anyway, I'm headed to a camp with my church and won't be back until Saturday. It's a six hour bus ride to get to the university, so I'll have plenty of time get my next post written.

My practice schedule will still be going strong at camp, even though I'm probably going to have to get up at five am to do it. Getting up at five in the morning.....then again, there may very well be armbars involved.

I'll be back on Saturday evening.

Oh, and as a preview, my next post will be "Smile, you're on candid camera!"

Scheduling and Stances

2010-06-14T15:42:00.000-05:00

I have decided that it would help tremendously to come up with a schedule as to how and when I will practice every day. This came up partly because one of my instructors talked to me about regular practice on Tuesday night and I told him that I wasn't spending enough time practicing at home.

With it being summer, I have a lot of free time that I could be devoting to practice outside of class, but I am not utilizing much of it. I go to Tae Kwon Do twice a week, but I have only been practicing at home maybe 2-3 days per week for 1-2 hours at a time.

See, I tend to procrastinate quite often. On a given night I will 'plan' to get up early so I can run/jog before it gets hot outside and then I can spend an hour or so working on my Tae Kwon Do. As I fall asleep, I assure myself that I will get up as soon as my alarm clock goes off. But when my alarm clock does goes off, I start making deals with my half asleep mind. "Okay, I'll sleep for 30 more minutes, then get up!" Thirty minutes later, and I'm still sleepy and my mind is not rational. I repeat the same process a few more times and when I eventually drag myself out of bed, the sun is beating down and I don't dare set foot out of my house. The early morning run I had planned is ruined for the day, and half of the time I don't end up going outside to practice until it's too dark and the mosquitoes start swarming -- thus forcing me to head back to the safety of my house where there is not enough room to do my forms, which discourages me and then I don't end up doing anything else. I made that into a worst case scenario, but sometimes it has that domino effect.

Anyway, to ward off the procrastination and keep it at bay, I have decided to write down a kind of to-do list and schedule so I can get the practice I need, and work on specific areas that need more work then others. I know that for me, trying to practice too much on a given day is a problem. I start out on a form, and then end up not spending enough time on the form because I decide to work on kicks, 1-step fighting, shadow sparring, and whatever else pops into my head in addition to the form I began with. While variety is good, repetition is better. The things that I need to work and perfect right now require more repetition. I need to devote my time to one or two concepts for the entire practice time on that day.

Speaking of the things that I need to work on....

Last Tuesday night, Mr H who I have not seen in class in months, finally came to class. We spent the entire night working on advanced forms and he picked out the little things that need tweaking for the most part. Most of the little things were about timing, hand positioning that was a bit off, or something small that I can fix easily. On one form though, he noticed that several of my stances were not quite right. I was either too narrow, my back foot was turned out, or I needed to be deeper.

I realized later when I was practicing at home that part the reason why my stances were off was because of my at home practice. Most of the time I was in a room with very limited space for stances, so I would shorten my stances or move back when I ran out of space. If I was outside working on concrete or grass, I would not sink deep enough into my stance because it was slippery or my shoes made it difficult to slide into that good stance. Inadvertantly, I got used to the way I modified my stances at home, and that translated into bad habits in class.

When I realized this, I made the adjustments at home by making myself get into those deep stances. They're getting better now since I'm practicing correctly. Hopefully my instructors will see an improvement tomorrow.

From now on I will be organized, I will practice like I should, and I will practice correctly.

Tested

2010-05-26T22:04:00.001-05:00

Last night was the night I've been anticipating for weeks. I was tested for and was awarded my 2nd kyu brown belt. At the moment, I'm having conflicting emotions about the whole thing. Don't get me wrong -- I am absolutely thrilled to have tested last night, but at the same time, my inner critic is dredging up the negative portions of my test. I am definitely my worst critic.

I had conveniently forgotten just how tough it is to have an intense warm up (that not only includes exercises, but also basic forms), and then have to step out on the floor and begin your test. The warm up really did a number on my stamina. I've been getting out easy on the previous couple months' warm up. Either we would do a light stretch, or I would be pulled out from the group of students and worked with on something else just as the rest got started. Last night, we had a pretty intense cardio-type session. Note to self -- work on conditioning!

After the warm up, basics, and punching, J, a green belt (going for blue belt) and I were called onto the floor for our tests. We started off with advanced forms, and then moved on to sparring. That's the area that really hurt us. We started out sparring each other. My instructions were to spar down to just above his level – the black belts were mainly focusing on J’s sparring for this round. The problem area was that we weren’t doing a whole lot as far as initiating and committing to our techniques, but did end up being the aggressor for the whole spar and J was mostly on the defense. After a lot of pushing and prodding from the black belts for him to fight back more, the black belts finally went for the ultimate: “For this spar, your blue belt is on the line, so you better start sparring like you want it.” That helped a little, but not enough. My instructors had me step out and one of the black belts stepped in.

For my spar, I was given the option of choosing which black belt I wanted to spar. My spar went along the lines of what I mentioned earlier about ‘not initiating and not committing to the techniques enough.’ I’m not sure what’s holding me back, but I recognized during the spar that I was holding back, and it frustrated me to no end. I did a lot of circling, but I mainly stayed just outside his kicking range. It took a lot of prodding from the black belts for me to actually get in close and start sparring like I should. I finally did toward the end of the spar, but it was not soon enough and intense enough for my instructors’ liking.

Next, was 1-steps, and then I had to demonstrate my eight self defense scenarios. If sparring was my weak area for my test, then my self defense was my strongest. They went over well – everything went smoothly and I applied the techniques effectively, to the point that when Mr. G attacked me with a roundhouse punch, I hit his arm with enough force and just so on the nerves that his arm went numb and by the end of the night, he was still feeling some of the numbness.

By the end of the night, I was exhausted and desperately wanting to get home and take a hot shower, but I left class as a 2nd kyu brown belt.

Today, I have quite a few reminders from my test. I have three bruises on my legs from sparring, my shoulders and arms are complaining about all the punching, and my lower back and thighs are sore from the warm up we did.

I can see now that there's quite a lot I need to work on and some of these things I'm putting at the top of my priority list from now on. I need to work on getting in shape and improving my sparring ability and endurance.

I have class again tomorrow and I have this gut feeling that we’re going to work on sparring. Whatever we do, I need a good stretch to try to relieve some of this soreness before class.

Anxiously Waiting for Class Tonight

2010-05-18T12:43:00.000-05:00

I'm really not sure what tonight's class will consist of, but I am itching for 6:30 to get here so I can find out. I've been walking into class at 5 'o clock almost ever since the kids class was moved to 5:30pm-6:30pm. Being there early gives me additional time to warm up, practice, and ask the black belts questions before class if I have them.

We've been working on a variety of things the past few weeks. I'm actually not certain what most of the other students have been working on, because I have been pulled aside and worked with on my self defense while the other black belts worked with the group.

Last week, we had a really good class on joint manipulations. There were only three green belts, a yellow belt with stripe (getting ready for his green belt), an adult white belt, and myself. I was asked to help with the demonstration, which meant that I got to be uke. Also, I was expected to actively assist with the teaching once the initial lesson of elbow manipulation was finished. I really wasn't satisfied with how I did on assisting. I feel that I've only scraped the surface on joint manipulations, so I mainly watched and was able to assist a little. Anyway, when were lined up and about to dismiss class for the night, Mr. G told us that he would like to continue working on this for the next few weeks.

However, after class, I found out that my instructors are planning on testing me for my stripe soon. In Mr. G's words, "You should come to class expecting to be tested any day now." I had absolutely no idea that I was this close, so I have been doing all I can to prepare for it this week. They did not tell me for certain what I would be tested on. The bare minimum is my 8 self defense techniques and free sparring. Somehow I don't think they will stop there. I may have to demonstrate what I mentioned and everything thing else required for the previous ranks. I am trying, but I have found that it's hard to concentrate on ironing out details on one technique when you have to prepare for whatever they decide to have you do.

My instructors do not announce testing dates. They might hint that you have one coming up, or "If you keep working hard like this, then you can expect to test soon," but rarely do they tell a student the day that they will test outright.

If I don't test tonight, then maybe a few others will. The black belts have been hinting at testing the yellow belt I mentioned earlier, and also a green belt or two. Even if tonight is not my night, I would love to see the others test. They've been working hard, and even I am getting anxious waiting for them to get their testing opportunity.

Tonight is going to be a good night regardless.

Overcoming the Mountain

2010-05-13T21:28:00.000-05:00

Wow. It has been a long while since I've sat down to write a post. Time flies when you're having fun -- or are way to busy to take the time to do the things you want.

I just finished my second year of college, so now I actually have an idea what 'free time' means again.

In my martial arts world:

Tae Kwon Do classes has given me a boatload of things to think on lately. My instructors and I have identified a major weakness that I have, and I'm working hard to overcome it. I'm still struggling with being able to explain it, so bear with me.

My instructors have been working with me on self defense the past several classes. One of the requirements for my next rank is that I have to come up with eight self defense scenarios. I not only have to be able to demonstrate them, but I must also be able to teach them and defend my reasoning behind the techniques and if they work. A couple weeks ago, Mr. G asked me how many of the eight scenarios I had at my disposal. I told him 5 and so for the rest of the class, we worked on coming up with the final three. Well, I had no idea what kind of scenarios I wanted to use to begin with, and I certainly did not have any techniques in mind. I ended up choosing a straight punch, so he did the punch at my face. I did a pass block...and completely froze, not knowing what to do next.

We've had a couple discussions on this since that day, and I think I understand the nature of the beast that is this mental block. It all stems from me not having enough confidence in my self defense. I'm very methodical and self defense does not have a "step by step" method. It's more about reaction and using what you know.

At my rank, more and more is expected of me, and a lot of what is expected of me is that I really start developing as an individual. I have a fair understanding of the physical aspect of Tae Kwon Do. I know the forms, the kicks, the techniques, and I feel that I can teach the physical side pretty well.

What I need to really develop is the mental side of Tae Kwon Do -- the understanding of concepts and ideas, being able to react instead of following a method, experimenting with how things work, and "what happens if I do this?"

Instead of the little nudges I've felt before, this time I'm being pushed out of my comfort zone that was how I learned when I was a beginner. My instructors would show me something, say a form, and I copy what they do. It's not monkey see, monkey do anymore. I have to take a step back and grow in my understanding of Tae Kwon Do. I need to ask more questions, do more self correcting, and experiment more. Right now, I'm pretty uncomfortable, but I am determined to become a more rounded martial artist. I think it must first start with overcoming this mountain that is self doubt.

Pet Peeves

2010-04-16T23:41:00.000-05:00

Pet peeves. Things that push our buttons. We all have them. When I started helping to teach in class, that's when I developed a few teaching pet peeves.

But before I get to those, I'll start off with one of my instructor's pet peeves. His is people not looking him in the eye when he is speaking.

The whole class was reminded of this on Thursday night. I was working on one of my forms in the back of the room while the rest of the class was seated on the floor and working on partner stretches. Mr. G had them stop for a moment so that he could explain some details about the stretch they were going to work on next, so that no one would get hurt. One of the yellow belt students was turned around and talking to another boy. Mr. G stopped class for a moment to reprimand him for not paying attention.

The reason I mention this is because the day before, I discovered one of my own pet peeves. A pet peeve that relates to teaching and martial arts, but it was in a different setting.

There is a 15 year old boy at church who is planning on joining our band. He practiced and played with us that night, but when we were getting ready to leave, I walked over to him to thank him for coming and playing with us that night. I addressed him by name to make sure that I had his attention. He was standing by a table and looking down at something. He said, "Yeah." I said what I had to say, and he responded with, "Yeah. No problem." I don't think he ever glanced my way.

And right then and there I almost went into teacher mode and did what Mr. G did. It bothered me that he didn't even glance at me in acknowledgment that I was talking to him. But I reminded myself that I was not in class, and he was not my student, so I let it go.

Have you ever had an experience as a student or teacher where you had to remind yourself that you weren't in class? What are some of your pet peeves?

Escrima Sticks and Journals

2010-04-01T22:26:00.000-05:00

I was up late the other night and decided to take some pictures with my new escrima sticks.Tonight, I had my first little bit of instruction with them. We didn't have much time left in class, but Mr. Mc showed me the first five strikes for me to work on this week. I'm really hoping that on Tuesday night one of the black belts will pick up where we left off tonight.

Speaking of escrima sticks, I was told to buy some gloves for when I start working with them in class to save my knuckles. I’m just not sure what kind of gloves to get at the moment. Obviously the foam sparring gloves won’t work. There’s an Academy Sports and a Wal-mart in town, but other than that, I would have to go online to actually have a good selection to choose from. Any recommendations about brand and kind?

~~~~~~~~

Do you ever have moments in your training when you wish you could remember a certain bit of information that your instructor told you about a technique, but for the life of you, you cannot remember what it was? What about trying to remember certain important events in your journey as a martial artist? I know that I usually say to myself: “I’ll remember exactly what went on in class." But a lot of times, I end up forgetting details or specific dates.

Back in early 2008, I picked up a journal that I was asked to keep for a class when I was about ten or eleven years old. That was also the time that I started in my first martial arts class. As I read, I found it fascinating what I had written about Tae Kwon Do. There were only about five entries about martial arts, but I loved reading those in particular. After I stopped writing in that one journal, I never really picked up the habit again.

As I closed the notebook and thought back to my earliest days of Tae Kwon Do, I realized that I had very few memories of those years. I couldn’t really remember much about what it was like just starting out as a new student, and I had no memory of how I felt about earning my first few belts.

That day I decided that I would start keeping a journal again. This time though, the only thing I decided to write in it would be my martial arts classes -- who was there, what we did, and what I learned. Things that I could look back on years later and really remember what class was like.

February 19th, 2008 was my first entry. I started out with a small journal that was about 150 pages long. It took me about a year and seven months to fill it up.

On September 10th, 2009, I began a second journal of about the same page length. It took me only around six months to fill it up. Going to class between two and three times a week really made a difference in how much I wrote and how fast I finished it.

Well, after seeing that the second journal only lasted me half a year, I decided to upgrade. My new journal (began March 9th, 2010) is a 400 page, college ruled, leather bound book.

I’ve found that I love journaling now. Writing about something that I am so passionate about is not only fun, but also has many benefits. When I look back at the troubles I was having with a particular form or idea, I can flip a few pages forward and see how I improved. It’s also great for keeping track of special events and accomplishments, and it allows me to see how far I’ve come.

Staying Busy

2010-03-29T18:12:00.000-05:00

I haven't done a post on what things are going on in class in quite a while. There's a lot that has happened, and I'm definitely staying busy! Here's just a few of what's happening in my world.

I’ve been asked to get together with some of my fellow students, pick a form, and choreograph it (for lack of a better word). I’ll be the one doing the form, and the other students will be ‘attacking.’ If we get it down well enough, then we’ll demo it for the entire class. I think it’s a fantastic idea, because a lot of the younger students and even some adults just go through the motions of a form without really thinking about what their techniques are actually doing.

No more Monday afternoon Tae Kwon Do class. I’m down to two a week now. The class over at the elementary school stopped due to a lack of students.

My Thursday night class has moved from Mr. Mc’s workshop to a church a few miles away. Mr. Mc’s neighbors, who were being taught for an hour before me, asked if we could start a class at the church they go to. We did, and are averaging about fifteen brand new students, and several from Tuesday night class. Other than one yellow belt, I’m the only colored belt, so I’m assisting Mr. Mc and Mr. G with teaching.

The students in both classes are now being told to call me Miss (my last name), and in front of the students, that’s what my instructors have started calling me. After almost several years of going by my first name only, this is a huge change and it generally takes me longer to respond if I’m being called across the room.

Hearing “Yes ma’am,” directed at me in class by my adult students who are older than me is also very weird.

I received my first pair of escrima sticks on Thursday. Mr. G was going to order me a set, but Mr. Mc decided to give me two from his own set. Needless to say, I’m absolutely thrilled about that, and also thrilled about getting started with weapons training!

Tomorrow is testing day for at least one student. Thursday night, I was asked to run him through his ‘test’ and evaluate whether or not he is ready. He’s a yellow belt wanting to test for his stripe. The major problem area with him is consistancy. He can do the forms/kicks pretty well at first, but then he starts getting sloppy. I’m going to work with him before class and see if I can give him any more suggestions to help him.

It’s staying at about 60-70 degrees here, so I’ve been taking my puzzle mats outside and practicing. The sun and added breeze, plus the longer daylight hours have been awesome. I sometimes even take my CD player with me and have it playing in the background. The only downside to it all? My cat Oreo thinks that it’s perfectly all right to flop down right in my way.

I’m hoping that since it’s getting closer to summer that we can start having some classes outside on the grass. We’ve only held class outside at most twice, so I’m looking forward to having more outdoor workouts.

Summer cannot get here soon enough. No school means more time to devote to practice. More practice means improving. Improving makes me feel better about my Tae Kwon Do. Feeling better about Tae Kwon Do means everything to me.

What Keeps You Coming Back?

2010-03-22T18:26:00.000-05:00

This past Tuesday, a few of my fellow students and I were asked a question by our instructors.

"What is your favorite part about Tae Kwon Do?"

At first, I didn't have an answer. How could I choose one thing about my art that is my favorite when it's really a combination of many different aspects? But what was one thing that I specifically enjoyed? Finally, an answer popped into my mind.

"Teaching and learning how to be a teacher," I said.

"And that's your favorite?"

I considered that for a moment. There were a lot of things I loved about Tae Kwon Do, but...

"Right now it is."

I know I've been talking a lot about teaching lately, but I've been doing it a good bit. Now, teaching isn't all fun and games. It's also a lot of hard work, but I'm learning a lot from doing it. Sometimes the kids can be frustrating to deal with because of their short attention span, and I'm still fairly introverted, so getting tongue-tied and not knowing what to say isn't fun, but I really love getting to work with the green belts. They're at that intermediate stage where they're getting to do a lot of fun things. Sparring, a little self defense, more advanced kicks, and that kind of thing. The same night we ended class with the question I just discussed, I worked with two of the green belts on their sparring. Seeing them applying some of the things that I suggested they do in sparring was really cool -- and rewarding to me as their teacher.

But back to the original question.

Before the three green belts could answer the same question that I did, the question changed and became,

"What is one thing that keeps you coming back every week?"

Even though this question wasn't directed at me, I still tried to answer it in my own mind. Even as the other students explained their reason, I could not figure out what mine was. I went home that night, still trying to come up with something.

What is so enjoyable about class that it makes me keep coming back week after week? What species of bug is it that bit me and gave me this martial arts virus that makes me obsess as I do? For some, the martial arts are just another hobby that can be given up with little thought. But it isn't that way for me. It's in my blood and I don't see how it could ever be separated from my being.

But what is it about martial arts and Tae Kwon Do that makes me love it so? I ran through several ideas in my head, and I found that it's not the techniques or the sparring. Not the kicks and the punches. Not the self defense or even learning how to be a teacher. It's something that I've never consciously realized.

Tae Kwon Do is the only place where I feel that I truly fit in and feel like I belong there 100%. I feel the most comfortable there. There are no cliques. No pressure to live up to other people's standards of how you should act/dress (other than basic dojang etiquette) and risk being looked down upon. There is only Student and Teacher.

Other places I go and other things I do just don't feel the same. A lot of this is due to my quiet nature, and other factors. I may fit in, but it's just not the same 100% as at Tae Kwon Do.

And that is the factor at the top of the list of things that keeps me coming back.

What keeps you going back to class week after week?

The Pressure Is On.....

2010-03-17T01:59:00.000-05:00

I've been brooding on this blog topic for quite a while. Only now have I organized my thoughts enough to express what I've been thinking -- and still I don't think I have everything down that I want to say.

Today's topic is pressure. Specifically, pressure on the martial arts student.

For some reason, when I went to flesh out this post on paper, it came out in second person rather than third person, so don't get thrown off by my transitions.

The lower ranks have it easy when it comes to pressure. Their kind of pressure usually comes in the form of being new / wanting to do well (and not make a fool of themselves). At the beginning levels, you're expected to watch, listen, absorb, and do. There's absolutely no teaching responsibility. You're concentrating on learning and practicing only.

As you leave the white belt stage, teaching those of a lower rank is slowly added to your plate.

But when you reach brown belt, you become an Assistant Instructor. With the rank comes a boatload of responsibility. Teaching is a major component of your training, and you do it a lot. Your instructors may ask you to lead all or part of a class. When the black belts demonstrate something for the group, you are expected to be able to pick up on the mechanical side of what is going on (how things work and why), and be ready to answer questions about these things at the drop of a hat.

You have to not only teach brand new concepts to others, but be able to engage intermediate and advanced belts and help them refine old concepts, helping them to grow as a student.

You are expected to have a fairly developed working knowledge of Self Defense -- able to improvise and adapt to the situation as needed.

Your sparring skills need to be advanced enough so that you're a step above the intermediate ranks. You must have control, being able to adjust your sparring level so that you challenge the lower ranks, but not beat them into a bloody pulp. When you spar higher ranks (red and black belts), you need to at least be able to hold your own, even if you are outclassed.

You must constantly look at your basics and refine them.

You must in many ways be your own teacher.

Questions will be directed to you in the form of "Why?" "How" and "This works/does not work because...?"

More and more is expected of you. There's not even an inch of room to slack.

All in all, it's extremely overwhelming. I know that I wear a brown belt. I know that I earned my brown belt, or else my instructors would not have awarded me the rank. By all means, I am a brown belt. But the thing is, I don't feel like one.

Let me rephrase that. I don't feel like a proper brown belt yet. I'm a good deal uncomfortable with where I'm at, taking into consideration all the standards I just listed.

It's been three, almost four months since I've tested. Within the first couple classes as a brown belt, I could tell that things just got a lot harder. It was that big of a transition. I'm still adjusting, I think.

In class, we're always told to give 110%, just like we would if we're being tested. Attitude and effort are key in this. The reason I say this is because we're always supposed to give that 110% because we as students are constantly being evaluated.

When my instructors call on me to demonstrate a form, a kick, a Self Defense technique, or whatever else they want to see, I better be at the top of my game. I know I am always being evaluated. That's a given. But speaking from experience, now it feels like I'm being watched and evaluated even more closely than before. I stand out from the pack. This is nerve-wracking, and it also puts a lot of pressure on me to do well. Pressure is a good thing for me. It keeps me working hard, but it can be overwhelming at times.

Expectations are at an all time high and will get higher from now on. The pressure is officially on.

Life Applications of Martial Arts # 1

2010-03-03T21:25:00.002-06:00

I’m in my second year of college and my last year at the community college I’m at now. What that means is that this semester I had no choice but to quit putting off taking a Speech class.

Just the thought of giving a speech in front of a group has always made my heart start pounding and my pulse start racing. At times it has even made me sick to my stomach. It’s no wonder that the #1 fear that people report of having is that of Public Speaking.

I guess that’s one of my top fears also.

Or was.

Now I’ve taken a Speech class before, but it was not at the college level and I basically read my speeches out loud from a fully written paper.

The challenge that I faced this semester was to not only give two speeches (1 informative and 1 persuasive), but to give them as “extemporaneous” speeches. No reading off a piece of paper anymore. I could have sparse notes – say on notecards, but that would be merely to jog my memory.

When my teacher first announced this, all I could think of was “Oh no.”

We were told to choose a topic that we knew a lot about, or were passionate about. That decision was an easy one. I decided to give my speech on “The Benefits of Martial Arts.”

I had several weeks to prepare, but as I did, my anxiety continued to stay with me.

The day of the speech finally got here, and as I went up to the front to give it, my heart was still pounding so loudly in my ears. But as I gave the speech, and especially after I sat back down at my desk, I realized something.

I actually enjoyed giving my speech.

Just a few years ago, I could have never said that. The conclusion that I came to as to why I can say this now is first and foremost my training in Tae Kwon Do. Being put in the position of teacher and the guidance I have received has helped me improve my speaking qualities.

I can tell what has improved by the dozens of times my instructors have told me:

“Speak up!”
“Speak from the diaphram, not the throat.”
“Project.”
“Speak with confidence.”

I rarely hear these things now. And it shows.

On my critique, “Projection,” “Rate,” and “Volume” were marked as the best aspects of my speech.
Whoever says that the only benefits of martial arts is learning how to fight and defend yourself clearly hasn’t experienced the best their art has to offer.

By the way, I made a 100 on my speech.

Be a Sponge

2010-02-16T16:03:00.001-06:00

As I continue to train in Tae Kwon Do, I am constantly amazed by the sheer volume of stuff there is to learn. It never ceases to confuse me how a person can spend a few years learning their art and think "Well, that's it. I've learned all that's possible to know. Now onto the next thing on my to-do list." Maybe I'm missing something here, but I think of martial arts as a long journey down a road that has no end in sight. How can you stop after only a couple of years?

Back to my main point.

Not only am I learning the physical side of my art -- the techniques, forms, and sparring -- but I'm also delving into the mental aspects -- the mindset, way of thinking and mentality of a teacher. Deep, deep stuff. And I've only gotten a little taste of it so far.

But I'm liking the taste. I'm thirsty and I want more. I feel like a person who hasn't had water in days and then a drop of water is splashed onto their tongue.

I want to soak up all the information that I can, but it's not enough to hear something and immediately store it deep into your memory banks for later use. It's important to hear... and then act. Think critically about it, see if you can incorporate it into your training now...and go from there.

Today I challenge you to....

Be a sponge.

Soak up all the knowledge that you can, use that information to help in your own training, but also to help someone else in theirs.

Rhythm and Flow

2010-01-31T14:19:00.000-06:00

"Bodies have rhythm, techniques have flow."

This concept is something that the we as upper ranking belts have been concentrating on for the past few weeks. Based on what we've discussed in class, here's what I understand the above statement to mean.

"Bodies have rhythm." We each have an inherent rhythm to how our body moves. In a sparring situation, this is a very important idea. When we find our rhythm, we cease the "stop and start" nature of sparring that is characteristic of the student who is learning how to spar. This brings us to flow.

"Techniques have flow." Basically, your techniques are an extension of your rhythm. Combined with timing, the setup of your techniques and transitions (note the plural at the end) become less forced and noticeable to your opponent. None of the "Pause, set up, then throw the technique." No. Rhythm and flow combine to blend all three into such a subtle movement that by the time you see it coming, you're already hit.

More on this topic as I learn more about it.

New Workout Area and Form!

2010-01-25T22:17:00.003-06:00

Take a look at my new outdoor workout area!

I bought these puzzle mats (minus the multicolor ones) after becoming frustrated with practicing my forms outside. The concrete is too rough to go barefoot on unless you are very light on your feet -- something that I have not mastered quite yet. On the other hand, practicing in shoes is just not the same. Like I said, I'm not the lightest on my feet, so my shoes are constantly catching on the concrete and messing up my deep stances. It doesn't help that my driveway is at a slight incline either.

My solution to these problems? Puzzle mats! I found a pretty good deal on Amazon: $29.99 for a set of 12 that cover 48 square feet. The only downside? A whopping 18 bucks for shipping! I couldn't find a better deal for the same amount of coverage, so I went ahead and bought them.

It's been raining here for the past several days, so I haven't been able to take them outside until now. Today was warm for a change, with temperatures in the low 40's! Note: Temperatures in the teens and 20's are getting old fast. Summer needs to be here! Anyway, after school, I headed out to the driveway to set everything up.

My practice went very well. Other than the wind gusts that kept lifting half of the mats into an almost vertical position, the mats cushioned my workout area rather well. It was just enough padding to take the shock out from landing on hard concrete, but firm enough that my feet glided easily on the surface.

I ran through a quick warmup, then started with forms back to back. I've come to realize that doing forms back to back like this without stopping for a recovery, is also a good warmup. Add proper snap, power, and the fact that we have 3 basic forms and 5 advanced forms in our system, and forms can really get you out of breath and worn out.

Speaking of forms....for the past week or so, I've been learning and practicing a new form (5th advance) for red belt. I love what I've learned so far. It's so rhythmic compared to the other forms! I need a metronome or something with a beat to practice to.

Now, on to the frustrating and most challenging portion of the form. The jump. I don't like jumps. Why pick both feet off the floor when you can be balanced in a nice stance? But for this form, that's not to be. Let me explain what the form calls for up to the point I know. I hope I have this down correctly.

1. Turn left foot out so that you're in a back stance. Inside out block followed by a reverse punch.

2. Bring right foot in to meet the left. Stack your hands.

3. Repeat, turning right foot instead of left this time.

4. Slide left foot forward and x-block down, immediately coming up with an open hand x-block at about face level.

5. Slide right foot forward, grab with left hand and punch with right hand.

6. Lift right arm straight up, pick right leg up, pivot, and change directions.

7. Low backfist, then snap it up to starting position.

8. Left arm goes straight out, palm open, at around face level. Back leg crescent kick to your hand.

9. Set foot down.

10. Left foot slides forward past the right foot (so that your feet are almost in a pretzel shape), double punch.

11. Slide left foot back. Double punch again.

12. Bend knees, jump into the air (switching the way you are facing in the process), land on the blades of your feet, right foot over left.

13. With your feet still like this, double punch down.

I was fine up until # 12. When I got to the jump, my right foot complied with my wishes and went up into the air, however, my left foot decided it did not like this idea mid-jump, so it did an awkward half jump and did not lift more than six inches off the ground.

So....the jump isn't going too well at the moment. I kept practicing it, but my mind and my body don't want to cooperate with each other. One is accepting of the jump, the other is questioning landing on the blades of my feet with my full weight.

I had to take a picture of what my feet are supposed to look like if the jump is done properly. It should look something like this:

On Thursday night I told Mr. Mc that this had to be the strangest and most awkward move in any of my forms. He agreed.

Hopefully tomorrow I can get a better idea of what I can do to make it less awkward -- and maybe convince myself that I'm not going to break my ankles in the process.

Teaching and Being a Teacher

2010-01-22T14:16:00.001-06:00

This post has been on my mind for a few weeks, but when I’ve sat down to write it, I’ve never gotten but a couple of paragraphs on the subject.

Last Thursday, Mr. Mc talked to me about the subject of teaching and being a teacher. Before I get ahead of myself, let me set this up.

Tuesday night is our formal gi and belt night– our main class. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, our adult class is relatively small, but we have a good core group. We now have two distinct classes One for the kids, and one for the adults. Before, we were all combined into one group.

In the past when there were fewer instructors coming on a regular basis, we would have as many as 15-20 students (most being kids), and most being yellow and white belts. To be able to give more individualized attention to the students, the class was broken up into several groups. The ranking students would take one of these groups while the instructor(s) worked with other groups – then we would switch.

I know that all of the green belts and up have been given the task of taking some new/beginner students and showing them the ropes. Even a few of the yellow belts have had their turn passing on what knowledge that they have. They start out simply. “Show them how to bow in and out of class and the basic commands.” The more experienced we get, the more teaching responsiblity is asked of us.

During this time, I learned a lot about teaching and being a teacher. Teaching forces you to examine your own techniques more closely, but it also tests your knowledge. Not only do you have to be able to explain how to do technique “X,” but you have to be able to tell your students what the technique can be used for, why we do it like this, and a hundred or so other questions that might come up in the process – all in terms they can understand. While beginners do not need an in depth explanation, the higher up in rank they get, they need to deepen their understanding, a responsibility that falls on the shoulders of the teacher.

In the meantime, you have to work on your own development as a student, but you also have to develop as a teacher.

The progression from purely student to both student and teacher can be viewed as a set up stairs, with the height of the steps increasing a little with each rank. The progression from 4th kyu blue belt with stripe to 3rd kyu brown belt no longer remains a step, but a jump up to reach that next level. This is because a brown belt is an “Assistant Instructor.”

Being a brand new brown belt (try saying that five times fast), you can see why the issue of teaching has been on my mind lately.

Last Thursday, Mr. Mc brought up the topic. “Other systems,” he told me, “teach you the basics and when you earn your black belt, you are given a choice. Do you want to focus on becoming a teacher, or do you want to focus on being a fighter?”

Our style is different. You come up through the ranks learning how to balance both.

I think this is a great way of easing a student into a teaching role. I started out my Tae Kwon Do journey as a very shy, quiet twelve-year-old. You literally had to drag the words out of me if you wanted to carry on a conversation with me. It was a painful process. If I had been told on day 1 that I would be leading exercises, showing new students the ropes, demonstrating what I had learned to more advanced students, and eventually leading portions (and on occassions the whole) class on my own, I probably would have run as fast as I could in the opposite direction, screaming from sheer terror. “I can’t do that!” I would have said to myself.

But here I am. Doing most of the above on a fairly regular basis, and I’m not running away screaming. I know that I did not start jumping with joy when I was first asked to lead exercises and then teach, but I warmed up to it. Practice makes perfect as they say.

Today, I feel differently about being a teacher. Now, I know that I still have a lot to learn on the subject – and I’m still not the most talkative, bold person that I want to be, but I have realized something recently. Something that I never thought I would ever say.

When the day comes that I finally earn my black belt, I want to pass on what knowledge that I have as an instructor and teacher. I want to help others grow not only in the system that I am so passionate about, but also grow as a person. What I’m getting at is that I want to become the instructor – the teacher to my students that my instructors are to me, not for profit or my own gain (or because I feel pressured to do so), but because I am blessed to be involved in an art that is not a hobby, but an entire lifestyle.

I still have a long way to go. First, I need to become the proper “Assistant Instructor” that the patch on my gi says I am. Then, on to the next step. Instead of the jump I mentioned earlier, this next step looks like I’ll be needing some rock climbing gear. Guess I better go and pack and get ready for it.

Let's Pause for a Quick Commercial Break

2010-01-20T21:13:00.002-06:00

It's 8:42 on a Wednesday night. I am sitting in the living room on the most comfortable computer chair in the house and attempting to write an insightful and comprehendible blog post. It's not working too well. So instead, I put my official post on hold and write this instead.

The past three or so nights, I have been getting between four and six hours of sleep. One night was purely my own fault -- I drank coffee less than an hour before going to bed. Needless to say, I am extremely tired.

Add a 2+ hour Tae Kwon Do class involving partner drills and working on a combination of armbars, joint locks, misdirection of punches -- all leading up to an end result of a takedown, and you have a recipe for soreness.

Also factor in a Monday-Thursday college schedule with classes beginning at 8 am...and the fact that I am the only person in my family who hasn't caught the virus that's being passed around at my house....

Mix it all together and your end result is a mentally/physically worn out and quite sore brown belt.

It's 9:11 now. This night owl is going to bed. A long day full of school and Tae Kwon Do awaits.

My next blog topic is "Teaching and Being a Teacher" and should be finished and posted sometime tomorrow.

Have You Ever?

2010-01-07T06:57:00.001-06:00

Have you ever heard the following:

"You need to know you form backwards and forwards."

It literally means that you need to know your form inside out....be able to do it in your sleep, blindfolded, etc., right?

Our sister school came up to our class last Saturday for one of their student's black belt test. During the candidate's test, their instructor invited one of his blue belts onto the floor to demonstrate something different than what any of us has ever seen.

She did one of her forms backwards.

Now can you say that you know your form backwards and forwards?

Merry Christmas and After Christmas Shopping

2009-12-26T15:59:00.002-06:00

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! My family and I stayed home all day yesterday and just relaxed after opening presents. It was nice to just sit back and enjoy the day and not have to worry about any obligations.

My post mentions after Christmas shopping, but I did not dare go out in all the rush like my mom did today. Instead, I did some 'surfing' and 'clicking' and found something I really needed on KarateDepot.com. (Link to their website is on the top corner of the page) A new sparring gear bag.

My current one has one compartment to hold all my sparring gear and my belt. One compartment is NOT a good idea for me. After some of our workouts in class, I really don't want to store my belt with all of the sweaty sparring gear, so here is what I'm getting:

Have a great rest of December!

Class Party and End of Year Break

2009-12-23T00:30:00.001-06:00

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!

Great News -- The Actual Post

2009-12-03T16:12:00.002-06:00

My plans to write this post yesterday didn't quite work out, so now that I have a good two hours before I leave to go to my Thursday night class, I'm beginning this... erm.... novella-length post.

So....for my great news! How do you like the new blog colors? I thought it was appropriate since on Tuesday, December 1st 2009, I was able to test for my 3rd kyu brown belt! Woohoo! Cue the celebratory music and confetti!

I think I'm still in a state of shock. I think it's because I have been a blue belt for quite a while and I just cannot believe that the day of the test finally came. Even though my instructors gave me a vague timeline for my test date, Tuesday night was still a great surprise, and one the best early Christmas gifts I could get.

I wasn't sure if Tuesday was going to be the night. When we started, the kids class lined up with us since there was going to be a surprise test for two of them. That test lasted a good 20ish minutes, and the two brothers received their new green and yellow belt ranks respectively. Their class then dismissed for the night.

Our class of five students and five black belts divided everyone up. Mr. G singled me out to work on all of my advanced kicks. By this time I was definitely suspecting. The black belts then called up the other blue belt, and then me (separately). I was asked if I felt confident of my four self defense techniques. By this time, I knew what was about to happen.

A few minutes later, the most exhausting and difficult test that I've ever taken began for both of us. I was and am still glad that I did not have to test alone. The testing itself was comprehensive of just about everything we knew, which translates into a very. Long. Time. Not that I kept up with the time, but I do know that we went past class time.

Some memorable events of the night included:

Starting with Basic Blocks and Punches -- the first set of techniques (that could be called a form) that white belts learn other than basic stances and commands -- and having to start over because we were not putting in quite the snap that the black belts wanted. "We could just go back to 1 steps for the rest of the class night instead of this test if you want...."
Being told that when we were going home at the end of the night, that we should not have nothing left in us to give. Absolutely nothing. It should all be out on the floor. Basically, we would be dead on our feet, having given everything we had and then some.
Answering our female black belt's statement to me by saying "Yes sir" and then realizing immediately what I had done and correcting it.
Demonstrating and teaching my 4 Self Defense techniques that I had been worrying about for months (and months and months) and them going off smoothly.
After finishing a teaching spar, a spar against a black belt, and a spar against a green belt guy, being told that I had to do a 2 on 1 spar with two of my instructors -- my first time to do so. Ever.
Focusing on what I was asked to demonstrate so much that at times I forgot about the other students and parents who were watching us.
Realizing that I really am doing this.

And finally,

After everything I've worked towards -- all the years I've put in -- all the hard work, blood, sweat, and tears, and most importantly, all the support I've been given, being awarded my 3rd kyu brown belt.

If you can't tell, I'm ridiculously happy right now. It's just a huge relief. All the anxiousness from waiting and not knowing when it was going to happen after being told months ago that I was going to test is gone. I feel like I have room to breath again if that makes sense.

But that's not to say that I'm going to slack off now. No. Even though I did take a day off, I'm getting right back to work. Since Christmas is coming up soon and my TKD classes will end for the year, I have to stay sharp. Especially since there's going to be a black belt test on January 2nd and I have to be prepared to be involved in that test.

Before I end this post, I'm going to leave one last thought that just came to my mind. It goes well with the last paragraph actually. After the test, one of my instructors talked to me for a bit. He basically said, and I'm paraphrasing: "You think that it was hard at blue belt and that we were critiquing you a lot then? Well at brown belt.... It just got a lot harder. Put that in your blog."

Great News!

2009-12-01T23:22:00.000-06:00

So I have some excellent, fantastic, absolutely wonderful news!

But at the moment, I'm dead on my feet -- even though I'm currently seated at a desk. I'm somewhere between asleep (maybe the correct term is passed out?) and a zombified state, so my long, detailed post rant is going to have to wait until tomorrow afternoon. Sorry, but I couldn't do it the justice it deserves right now. It's almost 11:30 and I have an eight 'o clock class tomorrow plus a research paper to turn in.

Until tomorrow then!

Have an awesomefultastic night!

Spinning Reverse Crescent Kicks

2009-11-28T21:07:00.000-06:00

Try saying that five times fast. If spinning reverse crescent kicks isn't a mouthful, I don't know what is.

I'm keeping this post short since I have an American Lit research essay due in a few days and I need to get back to working on that. Ah, research essays. Don't you love them?

Back to the kicks. As of this past Wednesday (Thursday night class was moved back to Wednesday for the occassion of Thanksgiving), I began learning the spinning reverse crescent kick. I first started practicing a reverse crescent, and then a regular crescent kick on a hanging heavy bag. Since I don't think I can do it justice trying to explain how the kick is thrown, I'm including a link that explains --> Crescent Kick

Later, we began working on the spin. I have to say that this is the most challenging kick that I've ever attempted and yet I am told that once I "get it," it's so very simple. If that's the case -- and I'm confident that it is -- I don't see how it could be true at this point in time. And this is all without having made it to the actual kick -- I'm still stuck on the spin. It's a full 360 degrees, but I don't find that the hardest part. I'm used to: a) starting the spin with the hips when kicking, and b) controlling my kicking leg throughout. This kick seems like the exact opposite. Not only does it begin by getting the shoulders all the way around, then the hips, but the kicking leg is almost limp, and as far as I understand, you don't control the kick the same way as you would say a front snap kick. The trick is all in the setup. The spin winds you up, and the release is when you unwind with the kick.

I'm still trying to figure this thing out. I'm sure it's going to take quite a bit of time, but I will update on my progress as I learn more.

Oh, and since I know that this blog is now known to at least two of my instructors, one of whom taught me this kick -- I have one last thing to say. Next time we work on the spinning reverse crescent kick, we have to use the homemade spin kick table again. =)

You Just Kata Do It!

2009-11-08T21:51:00.002-06:00

I can hear the groans already from my bad pun. Moving on....

So I've had a lot that I've been working on since my last post. From the title, you may be able to tell what form my thought patterns have been consumed with. Call them what you like. Kata, forms, patterns, hyung, tul, or poomsae -- that's been my main area of concentration.

In my style of Tae Kwon Do, we have three basic forms and five advance forms before you get to the black belt form Hwa-Rang. I hope I spelled that right... 4th advance is what I call "my" form, as it is the one I am required to demonstrate for my test. I will most likely be asked to demonstrate everything I know, including all of the forms, but 4th advance is the most important for me to nail at the moment.

I know my forms well enough, it's just a matter of polishing them until they shine. What I mean by polishing is that the forms need not to be just technically correct, but they must also have proper snap, good timing, smooth transitions from one stance to another, and a dozen other technical things that I'm trying to keep straight in my head. All that, but also the addition of the constructive criticism and suggestions that I receive from my instructors. Believe me when I say that this is hard work. I have to think about this, but also try not to think about them at the same time. Make sense? Well, in a straightforward way, what I mean is that I need to know the forms inside out -- so well that I could do them in my sleep. Or blindfolded.

Blindfolded. Now that's an idea. I have tried practicing forms with my eyes closed before, which presents a challenge in itself. But never blindfolded when I wouldn't have the temptation to peek. I might have to try that this week.

Anyway, I have been getting a lot of experience with practicing on a variety of surfaces which I will give the pros and cons of.

Away from class, the most common surface is carpet. Rough, awful carpet. I can't stand it. I must be a little too heavy on my feet, because I keep getting carpet burn on the side of my big toe and the ball of my foot when practicing. I think I'm dragging my feet too much. That and my feet keep catching when I slide forward. I can't think of any pros to training on carpet. Maybe if you're only doing hand technique drills and kicks, but not forms. Ugh.

Smooth, waxed gym floor concrete. This is the floor that we have in our dojang. I've been training on this type of floor for years, and I cannot find many cons to it. The only horrors of this type of surface would be in the following situation. Imagine that your martial art class is meeting in the gym/lunchroom area for a church that also houses a school. Picture what training on a lunchroom floor means. Even with sweeping, there's still going to be who knows what on that floor. Now look at your feet and groan with horror and disgust at the layer of black gunk stuck to the underside of your foot. Got all of that firmly in your head? Good. I'll leave it at that.

Regular Concrete. Ie: the concrete of your driveway. Not one of my favorite surfaces. Either you have to put on shoes, or try desperately not to scrape a layer of skin off the bottom of your feet. I'd rather deal with the former, so that's what I've been doing. Most of my at home practice takes place at the bottom of my driveway, which a portion of is at a slight incline. Not ideal, but I make do.

Grass. Again, not my favorite, but better than carpet and regular concrete in my mind. The pros? A somewhat more forgiving surface than concrete. The cons? Grass + dirt + rain = muddy mess. Grass can also be slippery and have hidden rocks and other nasties. Don't forget the bugs and for me, the multitude of mosquitoes that seek me out when I take to the grass at my home.

Lineoleum and Wood. I haven't had much experience with these. I would like to find a place where I could train on the latter, especially if it's a smooth hardwood floor.

I didn't realize I was going to spend so much time talking about training surfaces. It's getting late and I have three classes tomorrow, so I'm going to call it a night.

Belts and Birthdays

2009-10-31T10:18:00.003-05:00

This post is going to be fairly short because.....

It's my birthday today and I don't know if I'm going to have much more of an opportunity to sit here in the peace and quiet and write this blog post. This afternoon I'm going to be helping bake and frost cupcakes for tonight's Trunk or Treat at church. I'm really looking forward to that, but once I leave for the first thing I mentioned, I probably won't be back until really late.

Anyway, there is something that I want to mention before I go. Wait, I don't want to mention it. I'd rather shout it out, but for the safety of everyone's eardrums, I'll refrain.

You may have noticed something new about a certain belt rank that's pictured on the right side of this post. Last Tuesday night, my instructors surprised me with...well, I really don't know what to call it. It really wasn't a test...at least, I don't think it was. Ahem. Anyway, They had me do one full form, a side kick with both legs, and then the very beginning of 2nd advance form. After that...they awarded me a stripe on my blue belt. To say that I was surprised is an understatement. I was completely and utterly shocked. In a good way though. Definitely a good way.

They also told me that this doesn't mean that now my brown belt test day will be extended to some time in the future. I could be tested next week, two weeks from now, etc. It depends on me as to when they test me.

And with that, I will end with one final line.

I hate these surprise test dates. They drive me insane with all the waiting.

P.S. Have a Happy and safe Halloween!

Can't Get Enough of Tae Kwon Do

2009-10-24T15:57:00.008-05:00

I have so many things on my mind that I want to talk about that I'm not sure where to begin. The past couple of weeks have been absolutely wonderful for two reasons. The first is because my hip has healed and I can resume my regular practice without suffering any pain when I come home. The second reason why these past couple of weeks have been incredible is because I have now added a third class of Tae Kwon Do to my schedule. Yes, I said a third class. I'm learning so much from every one of them that now I question how I was even surviving on 1 class a week.

Here's a basic schedule of my week:

Mondays: 3:00pm-4:15pm. I go to an after school class at an elementary school. While Mrs. C teaches her white belt students, she gives me most of the class time itself to work on forms. The rest of the time I help her teach.

Tuesdays: 6:00pm-8:30pm. This is formal class night.

Thursdays: 6:30pm-8:30pm. Another blue belt and I have been meeting in the workshop at Mr. M's house to work on sparring, and more recently, forms, kicks, 1 step sparring, and the like.

I think I'm obsessed with Tae Kwon Do. Not that it's a bad thing, but now it's an obsession more than ever. I come home from classes pumped up and ready for more. I tallied up the amount of time I spend in class every week, and it comes out to 5 hours and 45 minutes a week, not counting practice time at home.

Now I will admit that my practice time at home is not what it should be. I'm working on that, because practicing at home is key to getting better, and that is what I'm aiming for.

I blog about martial arts. I'm a member of a martial arts forum. I write about each class in journal fashion. I talk about martial arts so much to my family that they're probably getting a little tired of hearing it so often. Oh, and I also can't stop thinking about it. I'm constantly going over forms and Self Defense techniques in my head.

Something that's probably contributing to all of this is the fact that I'm getting ready to be tested for my brown belt. In the next month. Ie: November 2009. And this has me on edge. I want to do my very best on that day and I have to be ready. I need to be at the top of my game.

Anyway, this has gotten to be fairly long, so I'm going to wrap it up for the day. I'm planning on a post for tomorrow, so be on the lookout for that.

On Injuries/Sickness and the Mental Aspect of Martial Arts

2009-10-11T13:40:00.006-05:00

Well, it seems that within the past month or so, nearly everyone around me has been getting sick with something or other. From allergies and colds, to flu or worse. For the longest I avoided it, but my immune system finally succumbed at long last. I don't exactly know what bug I had, but it plagued me for almost two weeks -- that is why I'm just now getting to update my blog. Anyway, I'm feeling mostly better now. Thank goodness. I'm just trying to get rid of the tail end of some cold or allergy symptoms.

Now to the main point of this post.

I've recently added a second Tae Kwon Do class night to my schedule. There's the formal class on Tuesday nights, and now the new more informal class that a few of us have been attending on Thursday night's. The reason I say informal is because we meet in the workshop at my instructors house and wear street clothes/sweats instead of the full uniform.

I have really been enjoying the Thursday night class especially because we are focusing on sparring and we're getting a workout that way. But this also brings up the next point that I want to talk about.

About two weeks ago on a Sunday morning, I woke up with a pretty intense pain in my right hip. It wasn't constant, but every once in a while when walking or doing a movement that used the hip, I would get a stabbing pain from my hip to right above the outside of my knee. With rest, the pain went away entirely.

Well, being the kind of person that I am, I went to class on Tuesday night and since I wasn't feeling any pain, went through class as normal.

I was fine until I came home. It flared up again when I was going to bed. Once again, it stopped hurting entirely with rest.

After after talking to some people and doing some research online on my own, I'm pretty sure the problem is a strained tendon. I figured out that my side kicks in particular are what's causing the pain. Well, soon after that, I decided (with a lot of urging from my dad who has suffered quite a few tendon/ligament injuries due to football) to take it easy for a while. On Thursday night, I let my instructor know about the problem, and so now we're working on some things that will not bother my hip. Now that I've held off on the kicks and some of the exercises, the pain has decreased and whenever it does hurt, it's down to a dull ache.

I'm itching to get back into the swing of things soon. I've had to back off on my kicks and forms big time and focus on not-as-strenuous techniques and more of the mental aspect of Tae Kwon Do. As for mental, I mean the process of understanding why we do the techniques the way that we do, being able to know the material inside out so that I can feel comfortable explaining it, and being able to teach it to others.

I would say that the mental part of martial arts is as important, if not more so, than the physical. You can learn a set of movements in a form, but until you see why it is done that way and what it is used for, then you are doing nothing more than going through a dance.

That's a interesting thought to end with. I may have to continue with that in my next post.

The Right Fit

2009-09-27T20:20:00.006-05:00

In case the title does not give you a clue as to what this post is about, I'll explain in a few dozen/hundred/thousand words. Or something like that. I expect that it will take the latter for me to say what I'm going to say since the subject matter tends to be something that I could definitely rant about. So here we go.

Uniforms.

Gi's.

White pj's that make you look like a giant, puffed up marshmallow.

Whatever you want to call them, I think that martial art uniforms are some of the most unflattering, worst-fitting pieces of clothing that I have ever owned. Now, before I dive headfirst into the true nature of this post, let me start off with a proper introduction.

I started a TKD class when I was 11 years old. Eventually, the youth uniform grew too small, but I was able to wear my mom's old uniform. That was fine for quite a while, but then several years after I started a new TKD class, I finally had to cave in and go buy a new uniform.

The only place in town that carried MA uniforms was Academy Sports. For a store that specializes in carrying sports uniforms and equipment, their martial arts section was lacking. I finally found the gear tucked away in one little corner. And of course the only brand they carried was Century.

One thing that I don't understand about uniforms is the sizes. No longer can I take comfort in the self-explanatory options of Small, Medium, Large, and X-Large that I have grown up with, but now I have to choose between sizes 3-9.

Eh?

Anyway, I chose a size and carried it home to try it on. The jacket part fit reasonably well, I have to say. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it's better to be a little on the roomy side than form fitting. The problem that I had was with the pants.

Ugh.

The fit around the waist was fine. Perfectly fine. But it all went downhill from there. Of course, being a unisex uniform (that is what they call it, but in reality it is made for guys) the fitting is so weird. My legs were lost in the abundance of fabric. But I really couldn't do a thing about it. The next lowest size was just a little too tight -- so this is the uniform that I am stuck with for who knows how long.

I get the Century Martial Arts catalogue in the mail every once in a while, and recently I've seen them advertising a new uniform specially made for women.

I want one. I don't care how well it fits. Anything has to be better than swimming in a yard of fabric. The only thing is the price. It comes in separates, and the gi top alone is $49.99. The pants are an additional $49.99. That's a hundred bucks without counting the price of shipping. So that would be $100+ for a uniform that is going to get sweaty, dirty, and quite possibly torn with the amount of Self Defense we do in class. And with me being a poor college student, I can't possibly afford it right now. My dad has said that when I earn my black belt, he will buy me an all black women's uniform. That's a nice incentive if I do say so. Heck, if I could just wear a pair of black pants with a white gi top I would be happy. Something just to break up the white pajama set.

But I digress.

For now I guess I'll have to be happy with what I have, for I am not the only one walking around in white pj's. You must all suffer with me! Ha ha!

This and That

2009-09-19T14:14:00.006-05:00

So. Posting has been nonexistent for quite some time. The only way for me to quit procrastinating is to set a requirement of per month posting. Updating every Saturday sounds good to me.

I'm now in my second year of college -- a sophomore now. That thought scares me. It means that in three more years, I'll be transferring to a college about 2 and a half hours away from where I live now. Not only will I be moving out of my parents house and into the brand new territory of on my own, but I will also be a whole 2 and 1/2 hours away from my beloved Tae Kwon Do class. I don't know how I'm going to deal with that. I've been with the same school and same instructors for a little over six years. While there is our sister school about a half hour away from this other college, a sudden change like this is not something that I will adapt to very well at all. Me and change get along about as well as a cat and water.

But enough of that.

I'm still working hard toward earning my brown belt. There have been some changes for the better that I'm not going to discuss on an online blog. I'm leaving it at that. For quite a while I have felt lost as to where I am and have not felt motivated to practice. My focus has returned and I feel that I have a goal now. A goal that I'm within reach of. Just a few more inches and I'll be there.

I have some great news too! One of my instructors has begun offering a second night to workout at his workshop at home. It has been so nice and refreshing to have this second class. For years I've been wanting this. So, for the past two Thursdays, my instructor has been working with the other blue belt and I on sparring. On Tuesday nights, we haven't had as many opportunities to work on sparring, so this class is helping us gain experience and greater abilities in this area that has been a weak point for quite some time.

Now if I could just convince others that we need to add a third class per week. . .

I'm still here! And an update

2009-03-06T16:33:00.006-06:00

Hi, everyone!

I know I've been gone from the blogging scene for a while. School's been busy, and I'm trying to make the best of what free time I have.

Just as a heads up, I'm planning on having a blog post up within the next week, so be on the lookout for that.

If all goes well, I'm going to start posting more often than every 3 months -- which is about how long it's been since my December post. Eeep! I can't believe I've been away that long!

Anyway, quick little update on my martial arts progress here. I'm getting ready to test for my 3rd kyu brown belt -- hopefully within the next month. I was told by one of my instructors that the only reason they haven't tested me yet was because I didn't have the 4 self defense techniques I have to come up with to where I feel confident with demonstrating and explaining them.

Last Tuesday, I went over the three techniques I feel good about with one of the instructors who hasn't been to class in a couple months. Well, I was feeling overconfident in myself (mistake # 1) and wasn't expecting two of the tecniques to completely fail on him. So that threw those two out the window. Now I'm down to one that I feel good about, another that he showed me himself, and that's about it.

Here's the deal with the SD stuff. I have to come up with 4 self defense situations, and have a way of getting out of it. It can be just about anything. Grabs, head locks, haymaker punch. . .etc. etc. I also have to be able to explain what I'm doing and why, so this means I have to really know what I'm doing and why. In a test situation, that means I'll probably get bombarded with tons of questions that will make me have to defend my techniques.

My techniques so far are:

one handed shoulder grab (from the side)
two handed chokehold from the front (need something else for this)
two handed lapel grab from the front (got an alternative technique for this)

I want something different than just grabs for the fourth, but I'm not coming up with anything so far. If anyone has suggestions for any type of Self Defense situation and way to get out of it, that would really help me! If possible, it should be something relatively simple, but effective. Here's an option I had thought of:

Bear hug from behind

Anyway, that's all for now.

Until later,

CrimsonPhoenix

Breaking boards is fun until they hit back. . .

2008-12-15T23:04:00.010-06:00

I'm finally getting around to posting about my last class of the year. Okay, here we go!

On the 9th, we had a different kind of class. A party and fun night. One of the instructors brought in at least two trees worth of boards. I'm not kidding. Well, it seemed like that because during stretching and exercises, he, another instructor, another student and I went outside and carried in big stacks of them. It looked like a little forest by the time we piled them all up. Some might say he overdid it -- bringing all he did -- but I can proudly say that our class broke all of them by the end of the night.

Before we made our way through those boards (pun intended), we finished up with our warm up and the four black belts demonstrated some things we don't normally see in class. There was a little Tai Chi and its application in self defense, and then a self defense demo from our only female black belt that regularly comes to class. But my personal favorite was the escrima demonstration. Oh, wow did that look cool! On a side note, we don't start weapons training until 1st dan, so that's why is it was even more exciting for me.

After the demos, we started with breaking. Our class is mostly made up of kids 7-13, and they all elected me to be the first student to break. How thoughtful of them to volunteer me like that. I felt so loved. [/end sarcasm] I thought it was rather funny actually. I didn't mind. I've gotten the chance to break once before and none of them had because a long while since we've done it -- so yeah. Anyway, I broke the first with a hammerfist, and then they were all eager to have a turn.

Someone brought a Sharpie, so we all signed our boards after we broke them. I broke four in all. One with a hammerfist, one with a punch, and one with a. . .straight or vertical punch I think it was called. My last was with a front snap kick (that gave me a good bit of trouble, but I got it finally).

We started wrapping class up, and I wanted to break one last board. The younger kids kept going to the front and they broke maybe 5-7 each. I let them go, but wanted to get to 5 before the night ended. We were almost out of boards, but our brown belt was still up there breaking. He handed me one and I laid it down between two concrete blocks. Well stupid me tried to break it against the grain on the first try. Major ouch. If you've broken boards before, you know what that's like. Well, it made a nice, loud thunk and needless to say -- did not break. Well, the brown belt and one of my instructors hears this lovely sound and they realize what happened. Talk about embarrassing.

So I tried it again, still hitting with a hammerfist. And guess what? It didn't break either. Now my hand is starting to throb a lot. So my instructor comes back over to help. He has me try it again with the same result. Now he gets down on my level (I'm on my knees) and talks to me and tells me that I'm slowing down before I'm hitting the thing. The other black belt had broke three boards without spacing earlier and he asks me: "When did I break the boards?" I was the only one out of the three that had no clue as to what he was talking about. The answer was 'before he had even gotten up there to break. He had already broken them in his mind.' Now it's come down to me hesitating because I'm not completely, absolutely sure I can break this thing. My first instructor has me close my eyes and visualize the board already broken. When I open my eyes, he tells me to give it one last shot. "Don't hold back. Be sure of yourself. Go through the board." Well, I'm determined to break this thing no matter if I'm whacking at it all night. I want to break it. So I give it that one last shot and. . ."Thunk." The sound of defeat. *sighs*

Well, my first instructor says that's enough for tonight and breaks it. He said that it was the best board of the night. A board that you'd build a house with. That didn't make me feel much better. I was disappointed in myself. It was just a piece of wood and I couldn't break it.

Before talking to my instructors, I didn't really know what they meant when they said that I was hesitating because I was unsure of myself. I see now what they meant. In certain areas of Tae Kwon Do I feel very confident in how I do and how I can teach things. But in other areas like board breaking and sparring, I'm not. This is only the second time I've broken, so I was second guessing myself.

But even after a swollen and bruised hand from that attempted break, I feel more determined than ever to improve in my sparring and even in future breaking. I want it so much that I just can't wait for January's class. I want to learn and do.

One of the black belts told me that my worst enemy is myself. My passion is for martial arts and I am determined to overcome my worst enemy: myself.

Until next time,

CrimsonPhoenix

End of the Year Party

2008-12-04T21:04:00.000-06:00

Wow. It seems like I haven't updated this in forever. Probably because I haven't. Anyway, finals are going to be over on the 16th, so I should have a little more free time to post here.

Now back to the good stuff of this post. This Tuesday, on December 9th, we're going to be having a end of the year party / fun night for everyone in class. We won't have another class until January 8th which is a really long time for me. I actually wouldn't mind going up until the 23rd being the obsessive person I am about martial arts. That's probably just me though. Everyone else will be enjoying their Christmas break, but I'll be having a mental breakdown from not being in class. Okay, okay. I'm overexaggerating. I won't have a mental breakdown. But it's going to be very hard.

See I'm the kind of person who's week feels out of balance if I don't have/go to Tae Kwon Do. It just feels wrong and I feel really strange. Now I'll try to make it up by practicing my kicks, self defense techniques, forms and the like, but it's just not the same.

Now I'm going off on bunny trails. Sorry about that. Back to the end of year party.

So anyway, this class is going to be a special treat for a lot of the newer students because we're going to be doing some board breaking too. Our school doesn't emphasize board breaking, so we only get to do this kind of thing about once a year. Most everyone in the class has joined within the past two years, and that means that most of them have not even had the chance to break.
We're also going to do a lot of other fun stuff. I know people are going to bring snacks and drinks, but I don't know what the instructors have planned. They did mention games and something about a volleyball and a tennis ball. Hm. . .

I'm so excited about class because it's not often that we just get to go to class and have a party and play games and do breaks. Sometimes we do have games, but the first half of the class will be concentrated on forms or something similar. You know, the regular things you associate with a martial arts class.

I'm just really looking forward to this Tuesday. I'll update this blog with details of what we did as soon as I get the chance to.

After rambling on like this, I already have an idea for my next post. Guess I'll be working on that soon. But until then, I'll leave you with a quote from one of my favorite martial arts movies, The Karate Kid.

"Balance is key. Balance good, karate good. Everything good. Balance bad, better pack up, go home."

Excited. . .about t-shirts?

2008-09-29T22:25:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've been this excited about a t-shirt. But this is no ordinary 100% cotton piece of fabric. It's not going to be shoved to one side of the closet to be forgotten about, or get left on the floor until I remember to put in the wash. Let me tell you why this shirt is so special. This past Tuesday at the end of Tae Kwon Do class, one of my instructors brought in a box full of our. . .drum roll please. . .class t-shirts!

For several years, we've had two options. 1. Wear a white shirt and sweat pants (for beginners) or the white -- what do you call them? The pants that go with our gi. Gi pants. There. That's what I'm calling them for the sake of this post. 2. Wear the full uniform that would better be suited for a class set in Alaska. Or Antarctica. Or somewhere freezing cold like that. Not good for a sweltering hot day in the south.

But now we have a third option. A class t-shirt that isn't white. I've disliked wearing all white from my first class because the moment you sit on the ground to do exercises, or fall down during sparring, that white uniform picks up whatever nasty stuff is on the ground. Right now I have a black streak on the knee of my pants that just won't come off no matter what I do to it.

We've been waiting about two months since we were first told we were getting this third option. I've been so excited about them coming in, and tomorrow, I'll be able to wear it for the first time! I guess the reason that I'm so happy about a t-shirt is that I just really like being able to proudly display my school. I just feel so included and the whole class just seems more unified now. It's hard to explain, but maybe it's because a t-shirt feels so official? I'm probably known to most as the 'girl with a thousand t-shirts.' Well, that's my unoffical name at least. I have dozens of the things and they're so comfortable! Well anyway, I'm just really proud of my school right now.

Oh, and I need to include some pictures! I took a few today of the design on the front and back. Let's see if this works. . .

This first one is the image on the front. It's pretty small (the picture makes it look big) and on the left side. It shows two sparring figures. If you look closely, you can see one doing an axe kick.

The second one is on the other side. It's a good deal bigger than the front and spreads out almost over the whole back of the shirt.

Dojang Revelations

2008-09-04T13:24:00.000-05:00

Okay. I’ll admit that some — or most rather — of these won’t be revelations. Just some simple, little insights into the martial arts world and the things we have to face when we train. As I think of more, I’ll add them to the list. If you think of any, please feel free to share.

1. You will never know just how dirty that smooth, nice looking gym floor is until you put your shoes on at the end of class and notice the bottom of your feet. Gross.
2. When one forgets to go over said gym floor with a broom at the beginning of class, the gi/dobok makes a good substitute.
3. After having now-stained-with-black pants, one will remember to sweep the floor next time.
4. 100 degree weather and a long-sleeved, thick gi/dobok does not in any way, shape, or form make sense.
5. Accidentally leaving the jacket part at home is a perfectly good way of getting out of wearing it.
6. Cutting off the sleeves and coming to class in your new sleeveless fashion statement is not.
7. Just say no to long sleeves.
8. Always remember to tie the drawstrings of the pants tightly. No, we would not like to see a display of your underwear during class.
9. Tying your belt for the first time is much harder than the other students make it look.
10. Little kids and patience just do not go together.
11. Especially when said kids are just starting out and learning the ‘boring, repetitive basics’.
12. And especially when you have a frustrated not-as-experienced blue belt who’s ready to pull out her hair – from attempting to teach little Daniel-san these ‘boring, repetitive basics’..
13. Pushups seem to be a good motivator for the kid who’s more interested in twirling around than paying attention to the instructor.
14. In fact, pushups are good motivators for just about any in-class disruption
15. "No, little white belt. I am not impressed with your Daniel-san / Jackie Chan / Chuck Norris imitation and gymnastics routine. Any previous notions of doing things like that in class should be promptly left outside the building, to be picked up at a later date — or better yet, never at all."

Wincing and Trying Not to Show It. Ah, the Joys of Class Exercise!

2008-09-01T19:25:00.001-05:00

Well, you can tell right off the bat where I'm headed with this entry. I'm talking about exercise and the soreness that comes the next day after a really good workout. I think the degree of soreness I feel all depends on who is leading the class in the twenty minute or so warmups and exercises. Well, it depends on who is leading and what kind of workout they decide to give us. IE: If it's a day where we will be doing a lot of kicking, we will do lots of leg stretching.
Who leads the exercises depends on several factors. One: Which students are there. Two: Which instructors are there. And Three: Um. . .of course! Whatever the head instructor feels like having us do. That's definitely an important part right there.
Anyway,exercises can be really fun at times. They can also be very routine. Then there are the times when a student feels like running up and smacking the person in the front for trying to ‘work them to death’. I know I’ve had times when I’ve felt that way. But you didn’t hear that from me. Shhh! Don’t tell.
Sometimes everything goes very smoothly. Other days can be frustrating. I can feel the difference in how everything goes whenever I’ve been out of class for even a week. I can tell because I’m unable to stretch as far as I did the last time.
Well, on this class night, I definitely rediscovered some muscles I haven’t exactly been aware of. Most of the time the other blue belt or I lead the beginning workout. This night though, we had one of the instructors lead. She had us do several of the regular things that I include in my routine workout at first. But then, throughout the warmup, we did several new stretches, mostly focusing on the legs, to get us ready for a kicking night.
At the time, I noticed that I was able to go further in my stretches. Especially the butterfly (?) stretch. I was able to pull my head down to my feet. I didn’t think much of it during the time, but continued through the rest of the exercises, and through the rest of our two hour class with no problems. But the next morning. . .
Surprise, surprise!
I noticed the soreness as soon as I woke up. My first thought was "Ow, this hurts." Throughout the day, the constant soreness grew to being annoying. All those exercises based around the legs and kicking really got to me.
The pain reminded me of the night before. Usually, if we have had a more-strenuous-than-usual workout, one of the instructors will announce to the class that we need to do some light stretching when we get home so we won’t be sore in the morning. Well, no one announced this after class. Now the white belts might not have known, but all the colored belts, including me, should have remembered to do this. And as a responsible teen, I knew that I should have. I really did think about it. But once I plopped onto the couch and dropped my sparring gear beside me, all thoughts of a light stretch disappeared into the back corner of my mind.
Serves me right, I guess.
Well, I’m sure that being sore for the remainder of the week will serve as a good reminder to follow my instructor’s advice next time. Ow. . .yes, I believe it will. On the positive side, I actually like feeling sore — to a degree. It lets me know that the previous night’s practice was really productive. I’m trying to work on the same things that we covered in class so I will build those muscles up.

Oh, and another positive thing I almost forgot to add. . .we may be getting our class t-shirts at tomorrow’s class! I’m very excited about that for a couple reasons. The first is that I love to support my school and would love a martial arts t-shirt. The second is that we can opt to wear the class t-shirt and not the long-sleeved, hot, scorching, thick full uniform. I just wish we could have gotten them earlier in the summer.

Regular Updates

2008-08-30T14:26:00.000-05:00

I've been reading a couple martial arts blogs over the past month or so, and it's really motivated me to get this one going again. I'm in the middle of a post now, and hopefully I'll have that up by the beginning of the new week.

I'm hoping to start posting as regularly as college allows me to. I'll be writing about a variety of topics regarding martial arts, and my own journey in Tae Kwon Do!

Special thanks to 'Martial Arts Mom' for her wonderful posts! If you have a moment, please take a look at her blog over at: http://martialartsmom.blogspot.com/

~Crimson

Respect

2008-06-05T00:27:00.000-05:00

respect -- noun: high or special regard : Esteem. The quality or state of being esteemed

Respect. It's what we martial artists hear a lot about in class. It's something that's learned from day one. You may or may not learn to respect your elders outside of the dojang, but while there you learn so much more about it in depth.

Respect is something that is taught in many martial arts schools, but really it is earned over time. Sure I can respect the fact that there is a black belt tied around my instructors' waist. Obviously he/she knows a whole lot more than me about the art I'm studying. Hopefully they earned it the right way through many years of training, and not through some McDojo. And that's something that I don't need to question myself. I know that they earned their rank.

But to respect someone does not just mean to respect their rank or status. It's something much more. I guess you could say that respect comes with trust. They go hand in hand with each other. But back to my earlier point. What else do I mean about respect if it's not just for their status?

I mean that I respect my instructors for their character. I've seen them in action living by Christian values and teaching others the same. I've seen them come to class diligently without complaint week after week, year after year. And they don't even get paid for it. They come and teach because they love the art and want us to learn. They have servant attitudes that model what Christ would have them to do and we can see that through their actions. They praise us when we do something good and correct when there's something wrong. They are patient, kind, honest, trustworthy. . .and I could use a multitude of other adjectives.

My instructors are role models to me. I want to be like them. They have gained my respect not from being X Dan black belt, but for being who they are.

Crimson

My Story Part 2

2008-06-05T00:10:00.000-05:00

Okay, well now I'm going to pick up where I left off.

"...I don't think it was too long until I was tested for my green stripe."

Anway, so now I'm taking from Mr. S and Mr. H in the gym of a local church. There's a pretty good number of students (about 10-20) that are also in the same class.

To make a long story short -- class went on as usual and I hung out at green belt with stripe for quite awhile. I won't go into anymore details on that part. We moved to another church and stayed there for quite a bit, then were moved to the gym, and then finally to the side building where there is a small gym that's used for the church's lunchroom.

This past December, me and a younger boy tested for our blue and yellow belts respectively. What was so great was that although we were the only two students there on the last class before Christmas holiday, five black belts showed up. Actually, we weren't even going to be tested until the next year, but thankfully the instructors changed their minds. :)

So now it's back to the present. It's the month of June 2008 and we are still in that little side building. Our class has grown quite a bit and we average at least 8-10 students at the very least every Tuesday. I'm the highest ranking belt right now seeing as the other blue belt tested in January. We're having more and more black belts starting to come besides our regular ones. This past week we had five and eleven students. I'm currently in the process of training for my brown belt (3rd kyu) and I hope to reach that sometime this year. In the meantime, I have my hands full with learning, teaching, and practicing at home (which I need to do more of). Oh, and we're having a red belt from GA come in this Saturday to test for his 1st Dan! *excited*

There's my somewhat rushed story. Believe me, I could have gone into a lot more detail.

Crimson

My story

2008-06-04T01:19:00.001-05:00

Well I thought I would get this up and running with a little info and some stats on me, myself, and I. :P

I love the martial arts and the art that I am studying right now is Tae Kwon Do. I go to class once a week on Tuesdays from 6:30 to about 8:30 pm. I am the lead ranking student as a blue belt (4th kyu) and am hoping to earn my brown later on this year.

I started out taking TKD from Mr. O when I was about ten years old because I had become interested in it and some of my friends had already started six months before. Anyway, I went up through the ranks and ended up at orange belt (7th kyu). I loved the class but unfortunately the instructor moved and the class disbanded. :( (We'll call this School A)

So some time went by and me and the same friends who had gotten me interested in the first place were invited by a guy who was in our guitar class to come to his Tae Kwon Do class at a local church. We all ended up going and met the instructors, Mr. S (3rd dan) and Mr. H (1st dan). This class started at 6:45 and lasted until about 8:30ish. (We'll call this one School B) Now being only 12 at the time, I was a bit cocky and arrogant. I went home quite peeved and irritated because this one was (as my friend and I called it) stretchersize, they called things different than what I was used to hearing them called, and class went on differently. I thought that School A was better and I didn't like this one at all. I said that I hated it and didn't want to come back.

But my mom got me to change my mind and continue coming. Don't know how she did that but I did. Anyway, so I started at School B and went through learning what this class had to offer. Still, I was not too pleased with it all and so there were times where I would skip class a couple weeks in a row.

I started liking School B after a while and began enjoying going to class. I don't know where the change came from but came it did. After awhile I heard that Mr. O's class was getting started again by a new teacher.

On that note, I started doing both classes and went all the way to blue belt (5th kyu) in School A. Note to self, this was not a good idea for me. I started comparing the two and ended up disliking School A for a variety of reasons. 1. The classes were shorter. Only about an hour instead of the 2+ at the other. 2. Everything just got so routine and kind of boring. and 3. The partner I had for drills and practice didn't like being paired up with me and made it painful. I finally got fed up with it all and quit.

After dropping out of School A, I threw myself headlong into TKD with Mr. S and H. I don't think it was too long until I was tested for a stripe on my green belt.

Okay, well I think that's enough basics for right now. I'll finish up later.

My first post

2008-06-04T00:43:00.000-05:00

Well here I am starting off with a new blog. My others I just got bored with I guess, so I'm starting off with a new one and will hopefully remember to post here. *oops*

Anyway, this blog is going to be for my thoughts, journal entries, meaningful quotes etc. Anything that has to do with the martial arts and my personal favorite -- Tae Kwon Do in which I am currently a blue belt. Here I will reminisce about the day's class or rant about my pet peeves or whatever is on my mind at the moment.

So, cheers on my new blog!

Crimson