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
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.
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
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.
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
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!
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
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 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
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:
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. . .
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
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
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."
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?
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.
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
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."
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."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)