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.
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