Walking Wounded

I haven't had much to say about TKD lately. It's been going well and progressing fairly smoothly, and I suppose there just hasn't been anything so interesting that I felt like sharing. But, today was the first day of a pretty full weekend of TKD and it seemed like a perfect opportunity to share.

I've been having an ongoing issue with my left foot. Due to post-surger(ies) remodeling of my foot, being barefoot is generally not good for me. Consequently, due to being barefoot almost always for TKD, I've been experiencing quite a bit more pain (and swelling) than usual. I ice and elevate as much as I can when it's inflamed, but it's now seeming to be a perpetual kind of pain. Unfortunately, there isn't much I can do about it medically. My only option would be yet another surgery to remove the fat pad and scar tissue on the bottom of my foot. Which is only ever a temporary solution because, oh yeah, another surgery just means MORE scar tissue.... Plus I have no interest in being crutches. Nor do I even have medical insurance. So... basically I just have to deal with it the best I can, since I'm not willing to give up taekwon do.

Anyway, all that being said: tonight at sparring one of my partners accidentally stepped REALLY HARD on my left foot. He didn't mean to, and he could see instantly how much it hurt and felt really bad. I shrugged it off because I didn't want to make him feel any worse, but it was so painful to even put my weight on it. But, I'm testing tomorrow for my orange belt and NEEDED to finish sparring because I was being assessed on it. So my very next (though thankfully final) sparring match was against Mr Saxton. I pushed through the pain as best I could, but he knew I was in pain and I'm sure he could tell a difference from my usual sparring. All I can do is hope that I did well enough.

I iced my foot as soon as I got home and for as long as possible before going to work, and I'll ice it again in the morning. Between that and some medicine I'm hoping I'll be able to get through testing smoothly. I REALLY want my orange belt.  It's been an extra long while in coming.... And, my mom is testing for her advanced white belt!

Tomorrow evening is our school's annual Halloween party, which I'm excited about. I have an awesome homemade costume, that I hope will win a prize. There's even a silly forms contest where you compete in your costume to Halloween music. I may or may not do that, because my costume is a bit cumbersome, but we'll see.

S[p]ar Wars and Yo[g]a

Two weeks ago I competed in my first TKD tournament--an in-house event called 'Spar Wars.'  It was a relatively small affair, and only one competitor was there representing another school.  This meant it was mostly familiar faces and a slightly less stressful first tourney experience for me.  It also meant that in my division there were only two of us; me and an orange belt woman.  She is a sweetie and someone I always enjoy sparring with because I learn a lot from her.  She also has probably 6 months more experience than me... so it wasn't too surprising that she won all four events.  I almost won the soft sword (or light sabre, if you will) fight because it was entirely new to her, but then she caught on quick and came back from behind to beat me.  But, hey, at least since there were only two of us it meant I came away from my first tournament with 4 silver medals! ;-)

I've noticed several different times since starting TKD just how much doing yoga has been beneficial to my martial arts.  It was only recently that I've come to notice that the reverse is true as well.  The TKD has improved my strength, balance, and flexibility immensely.  Poses that use to be/seem impossible are now possible, and those that use to be weak or wobbly are now solid.  Even my awareness of my own body (which I already thought was quite good due in part to the yoga) has improved.  I was struck today while in resting pose by how vividly I could feel my heart beat AND feel each pump of the blood  moving out from my heart and into my limbs, tracking it all the way to my fingers and toes.  Very cool.

What's kickin'?

Now that I have my yellow belt I'm learning quite a few new kicks.  These include crescents, axe kicks, spinning backs, and some jumping kicks.  It's nice having a new challenge and I'm enjoying it a lot.  I don't know if it's from my background in sports like soccer and rugby, but it seems like I'm picking it up pretty quickly!

The biggest surprise (to me) is that I can actually do jump kicks that I would have previously sworn impossible.  I've always joked about how big girls don't exactly jump/fly well....  Even launching off my left foot isn't too bad, with the exception of the retreating front thrust.  That one, well, let's just say it's going to take some extra practice.  I think it MAY be a matter of mental block more than any actual impairment caused by the scar tissue, etc.

The kick that's giving me the hardest time (for now, at least) is not even a jumping kick.  It's a switch step axe kick.  The whole switch step thing is my first problem.  It's supposed to be very smooth and without the upper body moving much at all, so that just the feet switch places enough to bring you closer to your target.  I haven't quite figured out how to get that smoothness down.  The other issue was just pointed out to me last night while we were kicking against the pads to work on targeting.  After the switch step and DURING the actual kick I'm supposed to be rotating my hips to become square to the target.  It's that rotation in the hips that should get my leg to the target area, not a purposely reaching/diagonal motion with the leg like I'd been doing.  Oops.

The location of the classes here in town has moved.  The major upshot is that we no longer have to deal with the weird sticky rubbery floor any more.  We're back on a thinly carpeted floor more like the one in the main dojang.  The only downside to the new space is that we no longer have mirrors.  I don't generally take much notice of the mirrors anyway, BUT now that I'm working on all of these new kicks it was a really useful tool for checking my technique against Mr Saxton and/or the other students.  Still, glad to be rid of the sticky floor!

How do you say yellow in Korean?

I got my yellow belt today!!!  It was a much smaller testing class this time than my first one, I think maybe 7 of us.  I was also the only 'adult' in the bunch.  Funny enough, this meant that I was actually in the back row of a group photo for once!  My nerves were somewhat better this time around, but there were still butterflies.  I guess I had no real reason to worry, as my entire testing went pretty smoothly.

The best part was that I broke my board on the first try!  I have to agree with Mr Saxton 100% about the wooden boards being easier to break than the re-breakable ones... and I have the bruised ankle to prove it.  If that bit of painful practice yesterday was what helped me with today, then at least it was worth it.  It made me laugh when Mrs Saxton said my break today made her nervous for Mr Saxton (who was holding the board) and he admitted the same.

I even got to redeem myself with regards to counting.  This time I was entirely prepared and smoothly rattled off the numbers through ten in Korean.  I suspect my pronunciation may have left a little to be desired, but at least I actually know them now!

I've been really impressed over the last 6 months by how supportive everyone is at CMA; the instructors, my fellow students, and even (or especially) their families.  It was quite obvious today when everyone applauded/cheered/encouraged each student.  That atmosphere certainly helps to foster one's 'Indomitable Spirit.'  It definitely inspires me to keep going!

Getting some color (hopefully)

I found out yesterday during class that I'm testing in a week. On the 16th, to be specific. Okay, yes, I knew I was on the list to test this month but I guess I thought it would be toward the end of the month. Now I'm already nervous. It doesn't help that I once again had issues today with two of my more troublesome self defenses. I thought I FINALLY had them down. I also choked when I was asked to perform my form alone. I couldn't help but be annoyed with myself because I KNOW the form. I just get so nervous at being the center of attention! Still, I have to just get over myself and do it. If they believe I'm ready, then I trust their opinion. Now I just gotta remember to find out what break I'm doing. And this time I'm prepared for counting in Korean!

Start Your Weekend Right

Okay, so I teased my mom that the next post would be entitled 'Wooden Spoons and Foam Balls' but I changed my mind.  I will explain that title though, since they were some fun training bits and pieces. 

The wooden spoon bit happened at home when my mom asked me to help her run through the white belt self defenses.  Since I had no interest in holding a real knife (even of the butter variety) at my mother, I grabbed a wooden spoon and held it by the business end so that the handle jutted out like a knife blade.  Of course, being who we are, we both ended up dissolving into laughter several times at my choice of fake 'knife.'  (It could also be the fake scaredy cat face she makes whilst DOING the knife defense that was causing the larger part of my own laughter...)

As for the foam balls, that was a blocking exercise courtesy of Mr Saxton.  It was a little like dodge ball, TKD style!  We each took turns standing basically against or very close to the wall while two foam balls were thrown at us in strategic places.  Ideally, we were meant to use our blocking techniques to deflect the balls as though they were fists.  I believe the exercise was meant to not only improve technique, but also speed.  I particularly enjoyed this drill!  Then again, I always enjoyed regular dodge ball as well.

Friday evenings are our weekly sparring sessions.  According to Mr Saxton, he thinks getting beaten up is the best way to start one's weekend.  I'm inclined to agree, even though these sessions actually fall in the middle of my own work week.  It's nice to go and sweat/work off any lingering frustrations and tire myself out in a good way.  I might have mentioned it before, but I'm really pleasantly surprised at just how much I actually enjoy sparring now.  I can even tell that I'm slowly but surely improving!  I got some nice compliments last night, which was awesome.  Even my stamina seemed vastly better than the last sparring session I went to.

Later today, we're going to march in a local parade.  We're going to be representing the school; wearing our uniforms and practicing punches, kicks, and blocks.  It should be fun.  I'm glad to be able to do it, since I missed our big picnic event on Memorial Day due to work.  Now I just have to figure out when I'm going to get some sleep... :-/

Last Sunday I took part in a 4-hour systema seminar.  It was pretty interesting, and I learned all kinds of new (and occasionally strange) ways to move/use my body.  It also meant all sorts of rolling around on the floor, dodging attacks, and being thrown.  All in all, it added up to one SERIOUSLY sore body just a few hours later... and the next few days.  Then on Tuesday in class, I got to do even more of the same with my already achy body.

Friday's class was good.  My body finally felt back to normal.  I have a really solid grasp on Taeguk Il Jong now, and am just working on making sure the moves are crisp and powerful.  Even my self defenses went much better this week than they have been.  I've got three of the five pretty well covered.  The other two defenses involve the live hand technique, which I can't seem to get quite right.  Mrs Saxton gave me some pointers last week that I think finally sunk in and helped me understand, so it took me considerably less tries yesterday to get it right!  I'm glad my self defenses are starting to come along, because I'll be testing in June (date still unknown)... and I still feel like I need a lot more practice.

I'm trying to get myself back into the running habit I had before I moved.  I can tell during sparring that my endurance has slipped quite a lot.  So, that means lacing up and hitting the pavement/sand at least 2-3 times a week.  Hopefully I'll find myself enjoying it again the way I'd started to in Charlotte.  Once I got over the clumsiness and learned to pace myself, I discovered that running was actually kind of fun and even cathartic.  I have no doubt it could be that way here too.  Plus, the views (not to mention the air quality) are infinitely better here!!

Family Affair

It's been quite a while since my last update.  I'll blame it on a lack of much new to say. 

Mostly I've just been working hard on my new form, the first Taeguk form: Il Jong.  I have learned my new self defenses only briefly and not yet had much practice of them.  I also have been sparring.  I actually managed to win against my two junior black belts here in town.  One I beat only because he wasn't "selling" his points well enough, either via his kiaps or chambering.  Certainly he DID earn far more points than I did, but I was doing a better job of selling it.  The other boy I actually beat fair and square, which felt really good.

After my yellow stripe testing, my mom decided she might like to try TKD.  It turns out that April was the official 'bring your friends' month and after some back trouble earlier in the month, she was finally able to join me Monday night.  She seems a little hesitant/worried about some ongoing back issues, but she's determined to give it a try.  I'm excited for her, because she needed to find something active and it's also just a fun way for me to spend more time with her.  She seemed as confused and frazzled as I felt at my own first class, but I was pretty proud of how well she actually did!

(Un)mellow Yellow

Today was my first belt test. I am now a yellow stripe!

Testing was a mixed bag for me. It was a large test class (18 people) and it took about two and a half hours to get through it. I had an insane case of nerves starting several hours before hand that grew into a huge knot in my stomach by the time we actually got started.

Fortunately because there were a total of six of us testing for yellow stripe, for time's sake we got to perform our form as a group and were spared doing it individually! Yesterday during class, I DID do my form solo at least three times. I think I would have done okay if I'd had to go it solo today. As it was, I think/hope that I was able to make the few adjustments that I was given yesterday to get it just right.

Self-defense went well over all. Maybe not my very best because my nerves were definitely getting to me. Aside from the tricky time lag, I finally managed to pull all the steps of my knife defense together!

I was really kinda worried about how the whole board breaking thing would turn out, but I got it on my second try. It was funny though, because absolutely all of the other white belts kicked with their left foot except for me. We were doing side kicks and since the point of contact is supposed to be the heel, I could have tried to do it with my left foot... but I didn't wanna chance it. It was a lot of fun to watch everyone else do their breaks, among all the different ranks!

My one big misstep was with the knowledge portion (for lack of a better way to put it). I was unaware that I needed to know how to count to ten in Korean. Needless to say, I couldn't do it. I was extremely embarrassed but all I could do was say, "I'm sorry, Sir. I don't know how." I'm almost certain he was disappointed in me. All I can do now is make sure that by the time I test again, I know the numbers perfectly. In hindsight I realize that I should have asked what would be expected of me....

I enjoyed watching all the different Taeguk forms. When they're done well, they're every bit as graceful and beautiful as dancing. The intricacy of some of the more advanced forms is just incredible. I'm so impressed at people's ability to memorize them! I was especially interested to see the Koryo form, because I hadn't seen it in person before.

Anyway, I am now very happy AND very tired. That's a combination I can deal with.

Faster Feet

This post has been a while in coming, but sometimes life gets in the way of blogging. At any rate, TKD things are going well.

I've been going to sparring about every other week, not to mention that we also spar during regular classes sometimes. I finally started to feel/see my own improvement within the last week or so. It seems after 27-ish years of walking on my heels (not to mention quite heavily), that I'm FINALLY learning how to be lighter on my feet. It's not going to be any kind of instant success story, but it's a hell of a start! I'm also starting to get the hang of 'focus[ing] but not focus[ing.]' That really just means that I'm starting to see attacks coming and actually respond appropriately and in time, recognize when an opponent is telegraphing their next move, and even (sometimes) tell when someone is trying to fake me out. Interestingly, when someone tries to intimidate me with loud and crazy kiaps, it doesn't faze me at all. I suppose growing up with two loud and crazy brothers may have something to do with this... ;-p.

My test for yellow stripe is Saturday morning. I'm not terribly nervous just yet, but I'm sure on the day I'll be CRAZY nervous. I got some clarification tonight about which board break I have to perform. That and my form are the things I'm most concerned about. I'm fairly confident of my self-defenses, punches, kicks, and blocks. There is an oral portion that involves general TKD knowledge and I have absolutely no idea what to expect the question[s] will entail. If it's the meaning of 'Taekwondo' or the tenets, I think I'll be fine.

Noodles with Knees

Things I now know:

1. Sparring is great fun!

2. Teenage boys have incredibly sharp, bony knees.

3. Sewing patches is dangerous.

Nothing terribly interesting to report for the last few classes. Between Friday evening and today, there has been quite a bit of sparring for me. I definitely like it far more than I would have thought. Of course, I now have a few 'war wounds' to show for my efforts. There's the skin on the bottom of my big toes rubbing off (whether from the floor or the safety booties I haven't determined), mystery bruises, and a VERY colorful and painful non-mysterious bruise on my right shin from colliding kicks with two different sparring partners.

I got my school patch and sewed it on my gi tonight. It looks all official now!

En gard!

Last night was punches, kicks, and blocks. I'm feeling better and better about these; not nearly so confused even with the combination moves anymore!

Since we once again had extra time, we worked on sword-fighting. No, there isn't actually any sword-fighting in TKD, but we did it anyway. Armed with swords made of dowel rods inside pool noodles, we dueled until one person gained 5 points. My first match actually went amazingly well and we traded points until he ultimately beat me 5-4. The second match... I didn't score a single point. It was one of those speedy little junior black belt boys with all the crazy energy. Oh well.

On Friday I should be getting my second stripe, since it'll be two months by then. If all goes well with testing, I won't ever even make it to three stripes on my white belt. I'll have a spiffy new one instead!

I'm trying not to think too much about testing. I mean, I'm practicing and preparing for the test but I'm trying not to let myself dwell on it so that my nerves won't be so bad.

Up and down, in and out

This'll be a short one. I am feeling under the weather. I did manage to make it to the noon class yesterday and the 2-hour systema seminar this morning.

Class did NOT go well for me yesterday, because I was already not feeling my best and both my concentration and retention were clearly affected. Kind of disheartening, but everyone has their off days so I'm trying not to dwell on it.

After class I went to one of my favorite little isolated stretches of beach where I knew I could be alone. I found the best patches of hardened sand and worked on my forms to the sound and breath of the ocean. The sand still shifted plenty so I wasn't too focused on technique so much as the spirit of the forms. It was meditative and I was able to kiap fiercely in my solitude.

The workshop today was pretty interesting and useful. I picked up some really good tips on breathing more effectively. We learned how different methods of breathing can be used/manipulated depending on the work you need your body to do. I also learned some full body relaxation methods that seemed to help me a lot more than trying to just tense then relax an isolated area. I find that maybe in that sense I'm TOO detail oriented, and I cause myself more tension rather than less. When I'm mindful of the big picture though (tensing then relaxing my WHOLE body in sequence), it comes easier and the results are instantly noticeable.

Link

I co-author another blog now, as well. My first post there actually addresses how THIS blog got its name. So if you're curious, please check it out:

Everyma'am-Crank up the Volume

WHITE belt rules

Testing is March 24; just over one month away(!). It's going to be a BIG test class, too.

Class last night was a big mix of everything. We covered punches, kicks, and blocks first as usual. Then we sparred for several rounds. Then to cool down we did forms.

Sparring those guys was a bit different than last week at the main dojang. Some of them were still helpful, but... there was one who was kind of a jerk. I'm well aware that I'm going to get hit while sparring, but it's supposed to be LIGHT contact. This guy hit me several times in the headgear much more than even half-strength. And it sure shouldn't have been an issue of control on his part, because he's a high ranking belt. So, I don't know what his problem was. Between being somewhat dazed from the worst of those hits and just honestly still out of shape, I was having a really hard time breathing. I almost asked for a break to go get my inhaler, but I pushed through it instead. After class, Mr Saxton explained more about the best breathing techniques. He also mentioned that breathing would be covered in depth this weekend at the systema workshop. Hopefully that will prove helpful.

Anyway, even though class last night was kinda rough, I'm looking forward to Friday (and Saturday). Maybe they'll go better.

Most Dangerous

I'm sitting here still coming down from one of the most awesome natural highs I've ever had. Why so chipper? Tonight was my first sparring session! It was SO MUCH fun!! I felt like a slow and flail-y dork, but that in no way diminished the fun factor. I even got a few compliments from total strangers at how well I did for it being my first night. One boy, a junior blue belt, just couldn't believe it was my first time and that I'd only even WATCHED sparring once before... that made me feel pretty good.

I wondered if being all bundled up in the gear would be uncomfortable but it really wasn't. Once we actually began the matches, I didn't give it a second thought. I had way too many other things to think about. The hardest thing for me tonight was knowing where, and how, to look. Relatively speaking I'm supposed to be looking in my opponent's eyes or maybe their upper chest. But even then, I'm not really supposed to focus on that. 'Looking, but not focusing.' That way I'm able to pick up his/her motions coming from most any direction. Okay, way easier said than done for me right now!

Even so, I managed to pull out some pretty decent blocks and even score a few points of my own. Some points I think I actually managed to come by honestly and some others were kinda left open to me as gimmes. Most of the people I sparred with were really helpful, which I appreciate.

Right before we got started, Mr Saxton mentioned that the two most dangerous types of sparring opponents are white belts (because they don't know their own strength and even when they think they're hitting lightly hit too hard) and black belts (because eventually they'll hit you back just as hard). I found this to be true because I KNOW I managed contact and even points a couple times quite harder than I meant to. I also missed contact a good handful of times when I wasn't adequately blocked and SHOULD have touched for the point. I gather this is the sort of control you have to learn with time and repetition. Still, I felt especially bad when I hit a junior green belt girl on the headgear harder than I should have. All I could do was apologize and be more careful, but I still felt like a big jerk.

Each match lasts 3 minutes and I think I did maybe 5-6 matches. It's definitely a good work-out because you never let up the whole time, even rotating between partners. I was sweaty and red faced, and I think it's possibly some of the most fun I've ever had exercising! Looking at the whole class, every single one of us looked exhausted but happy. Not a bad way to start a weekend, indeed.

My noon class today also went really well. It was just the two of us adult white belts again, which meant plenty of personalized instruction. I can feel that my forms and most of my self defenses are improving slowly but steadily. The only major issue I'm having is my final white belt self defense, which is a defense for when you're being held at knife-point. Mentally I know all the steps, but when it comes to physically carrying them out correctly... no. I'll fix one issue, and then suddenly I'll be doing something new wrong, that I had just done correctly the last time. I certainly hope I can sort it out before testing in March.

Visual Aid

I was all set with my swanky new gear last night hoping we might have time for sparring again, but it was not to be. So sad. But now I'm all ready for Friday sparring!

Progress

Class at the main studio today! It was a good class, I thought. It was only me and another white belt which was kind of a nice change of pace.

We blazed through forms and self defense, then we learned some systema ideas about relaxation and body whole-ness. Interesting stuff, but somehow far easier to understand than to actually USE. Bits of it reminded me of yoga, and I think the awareness of my body I gained from yoga and learning to treat it as a whole unit rather than the sum of its individual parts helps me now with the systema concepts. Even though we've talked about some of these concepts in a handful of my regular classes, I'm excited that there is going to be a systema seminar here in town later this month. Hopefully that will be very useful as far as getting some practice and learning to relax and respond that way.

Mrs Saxton mentioned that I should be testing in March! I'm simultaneously giddy and nervous. I'm glad to know that she's confident of my abilities, but I've got to work on my OWN confidence in myself. Some of it's coming with time, though. I felt really good today about my performance and how much better I'm remembering things.

My gear hasn't arrived yet, so still no sparring for me tonight. :-( But I should get it Monday, so if there happens to be time for it during Monday night's class: it's on!

Pajama Party

So... Tonight was a punches/kicks/blocks night and I got my wish that we would focus intently on these for quite a while. Yay! I didn't feel nearly as lost during these as I did last time, so that's a plus. My guarding stance needs work though. I have a problem keeping my front hand up high enough to protect my face. I'm sure all it'll take is someone to make contact with my nose once, and I'll learn my lesson.

Speaking of contact, the second half of class tonight was devoted to sparring. Since I have no gear (there's only extra gear to borrow at the main dojang), I didn't get to spar. Instead I was in charge of time-keeping with the stopwatch. During these three minute increments, I enjoyed watching the guys. It was obvious that they were having a lot of fun. I also noticed that because all five of us have different uniforms, we resembled some demented sort of pajama party tickle fight.

Now that I've seen how CMA's sparring sessions go, I'm more ready than ever to give it a try. Of course that meant ordering myself some gear first, which is what I did as soon as I got home. I got light blue so my gear would be easily distinguished from everybody else's. What I didn't think about was the fact that between my gear and my white dobok, I'll now look ESPECIALLY like a big fluffy cloud. Erg. At least the TKD seems to be helping me get past my weight loss plateau, so I can get less fluffy.

Because of work, my next class won't be until Friday. I'm okay with that though, because it means a noon class at the main studio. I think this is probably how my class schedule will stay for the foreseeable future. I might have to find a way to kill time between the Friday noon class and the evening sparring session though, to save on driving. I'm thinking library and dinner.

Spectating

Today I went to watch belt testing. Though I'm not to the point of testing yet, I wanted to have a better idea of what the process will be like. I'm glad I decided to go. I'll still be nervous/terrified when the time comes, but at least I know what to expect now.

I got to chat a bit with my instructors after the tests. It sounds like it'll be a pretty big test class the next time around, which is when I'll be up for my first test. I'm already a bit nervous about it, but Mrs Saxton sounded confident that I'll do well. She also mentioned the Friday sparring sessions and made a point of saying I could start coming whenever I felt ready. I don't have to spar for my yellow belt, but thereafter it becomes another testing criteria. I'm really glad she mentioned it, actually, because I've thought about going before but I wasn't sure if I could/should with what little I know thus far. I guess I'm gonna go give it a try next week!

There was adorable little 4 year old boy who tested today, who earned his high (or advanced) white belt. It was fun to watch him go through the same form that I've been working on relentlessly. He was especially cute and excited when he finally managed to break his board. And then of course, his mommy had to help him tie his new belt on. So precious!

The Point

Tonight was another odd night. We worked on some new things that Mr Saxton learned at a seminar this past weekend. It was mostly systema techniques that involved using relaxed, gentle touches to take someone down or get past them. It's a matter of giving or supporting someone's balance with your own energy and then taking it away without them realizing it. Without exerting any physical force or pressure, you can still guide them to the ground and take the fight out of them.

We did also work some on refining our punches, again with a focus on staying relaxed rather than tensing into it. That way the power of the punch goes only out and through, rather than also reverberating back. This I understood and could feel a definite difference in against a hand-held pad during individual punches. As for putting it into practice to speed up a flurry of punches against a bag, I'm not sure how successful I was. The punching in and of itself is so new to me that such a flurry of them takes all my concentration, and I'm likely tensing subconsciously anyway. I would like to soon have another 'normal' session of punches, kicks, & blocks so that I can get more comfortable with them. Hopefully it'll happen next week.

The best thought I was left with tonight came directly from Mr Saxton: "The point of martial arts is NOT to fight."

One Stripe

I got a stripe on my belt yesterday. I asked after class what it was for, because I didn't know. It basically just means that I've been there a month (not quite accurate, but who am I to complain). It's a visual indicator to instructors how long a student has had a certain belt. That way if someone has three stripes on a white belt, they have a good idea of '(s)he's been here three months, (s)he should know x, y, & z by now.'

Class went well. It was a forms and self defense day. I think I'm making good progress on my first form, but Mr Saxton gave me some crucial corrections that I need to work on. The positive side of this is that at least I now know the series of steps and movements well enough that I actually CAN now focus more intently on mastering the individual techniques within. And I got some clarification on the differences between Basic Form 1 and Basic Form 2, so I actually know 2 forms now! Still foggy on BF3... I know it involves some blocks, but I'm not certain which type and where they occur in the sequence. One thing at a time.

Self defense actually went well. Mr Saxton gave me kudos on a handful of my sequences, which made me feel really good. There are five white belt self defenses that I have to learn for testing, and they haven't seemed to really stick in my head very well. So the fact that I got complimented on some of them really meant a lot to me.

It would be nice to have someone I could practice with outside of class, but I'll make it work. I also feel like I might be ready to start going to the sparring session on Friday evenings. I'll be completely lost, but what else is new? ;-)

Circle of Awkward

Just got home from tonight's class. Instead of the (I presume) usual method of practicing our kicks, punches, and blocks we used a method called rhythmic kicking. It is apparently a Hapkido practice. Once I finally grasped the basic repetitive choreography, I think I did okay. It was then a matter of knowing which kick to use at the end. A major upshot of this rhythmic kicking was that we were working in front of the mirrors, instead of kicking pads. My left foot has only just started feeling normal again in the last day or so, and I wasn't relishing the idea of possibly hurting it all over again.

Then we worked on some self defense moves that all resulted in taking your opponent completely down to the floor. A lot of them rely on pressure points and/or manipulating the wrist or arm into uncomfortable angles. Some I did well one, some not so much.

A note about take-downs: apparently this is one sport/art in which being short is generally an asset. Because I am small, my turning radius is also small. When I take down the maybe not quite 6-foot Mr Saxton, he goes down HARD. This makes me feel bad sometimes. Usually it's at least a sign that I've done the move right, and obviously if I were actually being attacked I probably wouldn't feel nearly so sympathetic, but... it makes me feel guilty sometimes.

With our remaining 15 minutes of class, Mr Saxton polled the students on what they wanted to work on. To my chagrin the chosen exercise was "circle self defense." The idea is that one person at a time goes around the circle using the same attack move against each person in the circle, who must then counter the attack in a different way than anyone else in the circle has used. Sounds kind of fun, right? Except my current problems with this exercise are two-fold: I have only learned very limited white belt self defense sequences, so once those moves have been used by my classmates for a particular attack, I'm left to try to make up something else reasonable. Secondly, when it becomes my turn to attack my classmates I clam up. As a pacifist, I don't exactly stand around thinking of ways to attack people. It's an incredibly awkward thing for me to (even fake) attack someone.

Interesting to note, though, that upon my declaration of being a pacifist, Mr Saxton replied that he is as well. This is a subject I've been thinking about quite a bit recently, and I will eventually post an in-depth examination of pacifism and martial arts.

Ouch

So. Tonight was my fourth class and I have already managed to hurt myself. Given as clumsy I am, I'm not sure whether maybe I ought to be proud I at least made it this far first....

Also, in my defense, it is/was an issue with my left foot which I couldn't have predicted. It's going to be a trial and error thing-learning what limitations I may have with it. My second toe is gone and my third toe appears normal length but is in fact missing the first joint. Which basically means that I cannot flex my left foot much at all. Not generally a problem and my balance is luckily unaffected, but it remains to be seen what effects this may have on my TKD practice.

In today's case, during a particular kicking exercise I must have unconsciously tried to point my toes way too hard and when I made impact with the pad it jammed or otherwise forced the two problem metatarsals back enough to aggravate a nerve. It happened towards the beginning of class and made it very difficult to bear half or all my weight on my left leg. But, I worked through the pain and treated my foot when I got home. Hopefully it'll feel better tomorrow before I go to work to stand on it for 8 hours straight.

Today was a punches, kicks and blocks day BUT we also had a chance to run through our forms briefly. The practice I've done at home to memorize the sequence definitely seems to have helped. I didn't feel nearly as lost this time and I think I made fewer mistakes overall.

I won't get to go to class again this week until Friday, but it'll be at the main studio and I tend to enjoy those classes better. At the class here in town there are usually two junior black belt boys in their teens who can be somewhat distracting. Nice kids, but distracting. Also, there are other adult beginners at the main studio so I don't feel quite so out of my league there.

White Belt Optimism

I have always wanted to study martial arts. During my childhood it was never possible, either due to local (un)availability or cost. Now at the age of 27, I'm finally fulfilling this dream.

The first week of January I attended a local adult Tae Kwon Do class as a spectator on Monday, then returned Wednesday for a free trial class. In my t-shirt and sweats it was glaringly obvious that I was new. The Wednesday class is generally comprised of forms and self defense, so I basically had to just jump in and try to follow along as well as possible. I spent much of the hour feeling incredibly clumsy and awkward but both instructors (Mr & Mrs Saxton) assured me that I was doing well for a beginner. After class was over I got a chance to talk to them briefly about officially signing up, as well as expressing my concern/questions regarding the issue of my left foot. They both seemed to feel that it shouldn't pose much of an issue and that in the few instances where it may, I can easily work around it.

Which brings me to this week when I officially got started. I showed up early to class on Tuesday and was presented with my dobok, or uniform. I changed and everything went smoothly until it came to the belt. Even though I'd previously looked up how to tie it, actually doing so was a different story. Mrs Saxton had to help me get it right. That class was generally spent on punches, kicks & blocks, but it was modified a bit as there were only two of us white belts and an orange belt. Once we'd run through those, we also got to work on forms.

I wonder already if Forms might not end up being the hardest part about TKD for me. They are set patterns of movement that you learn and memorize. I gather that the intent is to build up muscle memory so that these sequences of imaginary battle become naturally ingrained. For each new rank/belt there are at least 1-2 different forms that you are required to learn. Anyone who has spent much time with me knows that my memory (for anything other than music) is spotty at best. I never have done well at rote memorization. Learning/mastering my forms will likely be the biggest task of discipline and patience that I will face.

At any rate, I really enjoyed my classes this week. Each time I leave the dojang, I start looking forward to the next class! It's exciting learning something new and pushing my body to work in ways it never has before.