darren_stranger | Entries tagged with taekwondo

The Victorian Autumn Open poomsae competition was on Sunday. As it turned out, the only competitors in my division for individuals were David and myself, while for team poomsae we were uncontested. This was a little disappointing, as coming first or second out of two doesn't really tell you a lot, and i also wondered how much experience it would provide in terms of performing under pressure. As it was, though, i think i was even more nervous than at the Vics last year, and just walking out on the mat made my knees turn to jelly. I hardly remember anything of how i performed the poomsae, except for trying to keep my legs from quivering, but Mr Rozinszky said it looked good, so the auto pilot must have worked well. Mr Roz was talking about how you just have to practise these patterns so often that you do them automatically when your mind goes blank, and i remembered saying the same thing so many times to students with respect to self defence, which i guess is really a large part of the point. So it was quite useful in that respect, as well as a small preview of how nerve wracking it will be at the selection trials in June. It was also a good reminder for when i watch the videos from the World Championships and think "i could do better than that", to remember to ask myself if i could do so in front of all those judges and cameras and crowds, and over a whole day of competition. (I also noticed on Sunday that most people i knew performed well below the standard i've seen them do in practice, so the nerves obviously affect us all that way).

The actual results were gold in both the team event and the individual. It was a little disappointing that the first gold medal i've ever won in anything was in an uncontested event, but perhaps i can look at it that i've gotten a first out of a field of one, then first out of two, so i can work upwards from there. I'm hoping they'll put the scores up on the website soon, so i can compare with other scores from the day and get more of a picture of how i'm doing (though it will only be a rough idea as there'll be variations with different judges and patterns).

One other thing also became clear, both from this and the club comp last term - we need to do a lot better at encouraging our students to compete. It's quite shameful that we haven't done more in that respect, so we need to get that sorted this term.

Edit (8/5/07) - the results are now up: I scored 14.9, which was the second highest of the black belt males (after David Atkinson at 15.4) so i'm pretty chuffed about that (there's different judges and patterns to take into account, but it gives an idea at least). Mel and Bronwyn scored into the 15s too (which doesn't surprise me) though Anne from Hansu had the best score of the day at 15.9 (wish i'd seen her patterns - will have to watch next time).

Not a bad result. Now to get up to speed for the big one..

An interesting observation from training last night.

We were doing a very basic self-defence exercise, just blocking incoming punches from a defensive "don't want to fight" guard and following up with a counter strike. Against a big swinging hook punch, we were blocking and countering with an elbow and, without thinking about it, i kept finding myself grabbing the punching arm and pulling it in to my hip while delivering the elbow strike, which seemed quite effective. It wasn't part of the exercise we were doing at the time or one i remember practising that way before, but i worked out where i was getting it from: I've been spending a lot of time working on poomsae lately, and also thinking about the role of the "pulling" hand in strikes and blocks being just that - a pulling action. It seems that motion has just become ingrained, even without practising it with a partner like that, and it just seemed a natural thing to do without even trying.

It's just a small thing, but i was quite pleased with the idea of a useful self-defence move becoming an automatic, reflexive action through solo patterns practise - exactly what poomsae is supposed to do for us. If nothing else, it's nice to have a moment of confirmation that all that work does have some useful, practical benefit (especially when the gaps between formal tkd and what we do for self-defence have been playing on my mind a bit lately as well).

Yesterday i went to another taekwondo seminar, this one run by Mr Kang the national poomsae coach.

It was at Hansu tkd in Ormond, and it was quite a pleasant trip down there - i haven't been to those inner SE suburbs for ages, and it reminded me that we're long overdue for a visit down to Prahran, St Kilda or maybe somewhere like Brighton Beach (after all, it's still only $2.50 to travel anywhere on a Sunday). The club itself is nice - like a big old garage opposite the station, with a rollerdoor facing the street painted with taekwondo images, a little office / change room beside it and a big matted area behind, with kick bags, mitts etc and lots of posters describing the meaning of various patterns, taekwondo philosophy and other inspirational quotes. Quite a pleasant atmosphere to train in.

Warm-ups gave me some serious flexibility-envy, and trying to keep up with Mr Kang was a losing battle. He did do a lot of those old fashioned warm up stretches - the kind that i'm sure helped ruin my back in the '80s - with bouncing and jerking and other things we try to avoid in our own classes, so i spent a lot of the time consciously avoiding the more dodgy actions while trying not to be obvious about it. I'm aware of my own limitations and know that i would barely be walking today if i'd done all of those things.

The training itself was pretty intense, five hours spent mostly in front or back stance, doing blocks and kicks over and over, or poomsae themselves, with a ten minute break every hour or so. On a 38 degree day, with no air conditioning and just the roller doors open each side, i found that the heat didn't seem to matter. Just like i'd noticed in January, it didn't feel any hotter training in that than if it had been somewhere in the 20s. I suspect that maybe it's because the body just reaches it's own working temperature regardless of the outside temperature - either so hot on the inside that the surrounding air makes little difference, or just reaching a self-regulating 'cruising' temperature moderated with all that sweat coming off. Plenty of water and electrolyte-laden sports drinks, however, were essential. There was something also appealing about training in a street-level dojang, with people walking past the open roller door and another looking out onto a back alley. Perhaps it's to from times in the past that i've walked past other dojangs/dojos, seen people training and wanted to be in the class, and this time i was. The breeze was nice too, even if the air was hot.

Aside from the workout, the information was good - Mr Kang is big on explaining why something should be this way not that, or things like the differences in sparring kicks for speed and poomsae kicks for power (aiming for the old 'one hit, fight over' principle), the timing of the slow-fast part of a technique (one-two-three!) or how a block travels in an arc because you don't know exactly where the attack is coming in, while a strike travels straight because you want to minimise the chance for it to be blocked.  His accent was hard to follow, but he got his point across most of the time.

That said, i can't remember too many specific technical points from the day - it was more the overall principles that seemed to be clarified for me, plus the odd bit of specific information, such as the palm block starting with palm out instead of up (an idea i never liked, but that seems to work a little better with the amount of body twist he put into it).

There was also a neat little exercise for measuring out the basic stances: Starting in moa seogi, turn left toes out to 90 degrees, then straighten the heel and bring forward to parallel = naranhi seogi.   Turn left foot out again to 90 degrees = wen seogi. Turn right heel out 30 degrees from lateral = ap seogi. Turn right toes 90 degrees from lateral, bend knees = dwit gubi.   Turn left heel 90 degrees from lateral then bring parallel = juchum seogi. Turn left toes out 90 degrees and right heel out to 30 degrees from lateral = ap gubi. (Note - there's none of this 22.5 degrees for ap seogi etc stuff any more - it's all either 90 or 30. "Everything same now in taekwondo.")

In poomsae, we covered the Taegeuks from 4 through 7 (was supposed to be up to 8 but we ran out of time while discussing differences with Mr No's seminar last week, which is a whole 'nother story). Today's session covers the black belt patterns up to Sipjin, but i agreed with Elaine that i'd only go to one day and we'd spend the other together, so i'm passing that up. Still, i think i got good value from yesterday, for general understanding and appreciation of why things are so.

The final session was devoted to poomsae work, with Greg videotaping some of the patterns and critiquing on the soundtrack to play back later. Some of the points from mine this time were:

Taegeuk 8: Need to make a bigger wind-up the the body block after the double kick, not just come from the guard position (a general comment for most of us). I'm doing wesanteul makki too fast in the cross-step - should be 1-2-3 count, not 1-2. Also watch i don't pull the upper part too far in. The following pulling chin punch is also too far out - should be closer than a backfist strike. My palm block is also starting from down at my hip, or sometimes even below. Should be starting at shoulder height.

Taebaek: The spreading lower block is too far forward - should come back just past my front knee (break a stick over my thigh). On my double punches, i'm turning my fist over before the punch rather than at the end - could explain why it jars my elbows. The grabbing and pulling action on the punches coming forward needs to be faster - similar timing to Basic Pattern. At the top end, my back knbee is wobbling in back stance - it may be a little T-shaped, making me twist more for the pulling chin punch. I felt off balance on the spinning backfist strike and thought i might have made a T-shaped back stance there too, which the video showed was correct. Turning to a more front-on position with a proper back stance should help that. (Edit - trying this at home, i found this put a lot of momentum into the backfist, making me me lose balance and not be able to stop. Experimenting a bit, i found that pulling the right hand in strongly helps put the brakes on).

One final thing to come out of the session was on Jitae. Barry was trying to work out why we consistently end up a full metre behind where we start. One suggestion was that between the side kicks, the step down should be feet apart to naranhi seogi distance, not together. Also, the front stance tends to get quite big on the double punch, which would also contribute.

So, that's the end of the programme. There's still going to be some Sunday sessions for poomsae, though probably not this sort of structured syllabus. It's been well worth doing, even if i wasn't thinking of competing. It's a shame it has to end, though i've learned a lot that i can take back to our own classes.

Thursday night session began with a quick revisit to the basics again, starting with side-to-side backstance transitions. First was double knife hand block (mine needs to be bigger - i've made it too small - at last something i have to change to a way i prfeer to do it), then single, then single lower, then lower double, then the double knife hand block / lower double knifehand block combo from Pyongwon.   My arms were aching like they were about to drop out of their sockets by the time we finished that exercise, which tells me i was tense all the way through. One day i'll get this relaxing thing. Maybe.

Then it was a revisit to the front stance exercise - feet parralel then opposite back to front stance, timing hand and foot for lower block - then a variation with a step forward to front stance followed by a parralel / step back version, going through lower, body, upper, outside and minor outside block.

From there we moved into some more mini-pattern exercises. First was the front kick to turning side kick combo from Pyongwon, paying particular attention to the process of front kick, step down to short stance (facing away), look over shoulder, side kick, which did make the side kick easier to control through less forward momentum. Then we did the same exercise with a partner watching, and Grant spotted that my toes were angled up on the left side kick. I also found that if i did it slow my balance was fine but if i rushed it was off (surprise surprise).

Next mini-pattern was the first row of Koryo, coming forward toward the mirrors - ie, one count = knife hand block through to body block, then knife hand block in the same back stance, then other leg next count. Then the top row of Koryo, from the knife hand side block through to the side kick and spearhand. Again on this my toes were sometimes up, so i have to watch the shape on that.

Then it was time for poomsae proper, the seniors working on the higher patterns with Mr Rozinszky. Points to come out this time were:

Jitae:   Watch back stance on first move - still wobbling. Must twist at end of lower block (start of forward line) not turn over and push down. Step back down to front stance (foot touching the ground but not settled) before starting the double punch.

Chonkwon: Watch foot angle on front kick (other patterns as well).

Sipjin: Yoke strike needs to be held in more, and a little lower.

Pyongwon:   Barrell push should push more. "You have to feel the patterns" says Mr Roz. Also watch the direction of the side kick - sometimes goes off at angle towards the front.

We also went over some of the criteria that the judges use to score patterns, as follows:

First category is 'Accuracy', with sub-categories of basic movement (ie which technique, attracting a 5 point deduction for doing the wrong move) and correct movement (ie proper shape and positions, with deductions between 0.1 and 0.5 for errors).

Next category is 'Mastery', including volume of movement (ie how big a movement, windup etc), balance and power & speed, each ranked from 0.5 to 1.0.

Final category is 'Presentation', covering control of rhythm/tempo/softeness/hardness and 'expression of ki', each again ranked from 0.5 to 1.0.

Gives some idea of what criteria the judges are looking for and how they affect the final score, which is helpful.

Only one session left to go.  Kind of a shame, but there's so much i've learned in these three weeks. Well worth it is an understatement.

Greg set us an aim for last night's session: "To achieve SNAP without effort".

Accordingly, the focus was on trying to get more power through relaxing, rather than strength (which tied in with what we'd found with that backfist on Saturday).

We started in horse riding stance, feet parallela and gripping the floor (Darren stop leaning back). We went over basic centre punches, first slowly, then a little faster but still without force, then concentrating only on putting power into the punching hand, ignoring the pulling hand, then finally concentrating on the pulling action and trying not to put power into the punching hand. As planned, that last version produced the most snap in the punch, highlighting what Greg wanted to illustrate. A couple of sets of punches like that, kihap each time and trying to concentrate on the pulling hand only, thenwe split into pairs to watch each other go through punches - five body and five face - to see what we could see. Rob spotted that my body punches are starting from the ribs, not the hip.

Then Greg had us all sit down and close our eyes, picturing ourselves doing lower, body and upper blocks with perfect relaxation and snap, before standing up to do the same blocks for real. Getting that relaxation is the difficult bit (even in my mind i was tense) and i'll have to work more on it.

A brief discussion of ki and kihap followed. Responses on "what's a kihap for?" included a focus of energy to increase power, increasing your confidence (and decreasing an opponent's) and one i hadn't heard before: to make you breathe (to get past that 'rabbit in the headlights' paralysis, as Greg put it). We also did a ki exercise - rubbing hands together, then rolling a ball of energy between our palms, forst one way, then another, getting bigger, then pushing in and out like a concertina, to feel the energy between our palms. Then the palms are placed against danjung to store the energy away, with comparisoins made to the actions junbi seogi (noting that fists finish in front of danjung, which i hadn't thought about before).

Moving along, we were asked to revist the problem technique that we'd nominated a few lessons before (which i'd changed four times before settling on knife hand block) and make a mini pattern of that move and those before and after it in the pattern in question. I'd actually been doing that, having made a little kicking pattern of the middle rung of Taegeuk 8, which i was having trouble with, but this time i decided to use the first rung of Koryo (something i've also done that way before). We paired up again, to watch each other's mini-pattern and offer feedback. Then we reformed as a group to go through a couple of examples, focussing on kicks. First was the front kicks from Sipjin, starting from bawi milgi and focussing on the pulling back of the hands (also using bawi milgi as the turn). Then it was the coming forward ine of Taegeuk 4, from swallow strike to knife hand block, focussing again on pulling the hands back with each kick.

Next we went through Taegeuk 8 step by step to fine-tune technique. Some points to come out of that were that the stance for the wesanteul makki isn't quite front stance, but has both feet parallel, then what becomes the front foot in the next front stance doesn't move too far (a point i had wanted to clarify from a class or two before) and also that in the back stance to front stance transition on the last rung, the front foot comes straight forward, with the turn of the back foot making the width - something i had forgotten and was not doing.

We then went through Koryo in a similar way, and i had trouble relaxing in the wind-up to the knife hand blocks. I need to learn not to try so hard, which is not easy. The top end we spent quite a bit of time on, going over the shape of the side block, the height of the target punch, the pulling in action with the side kick, and the downwards block / elbow strike combination. I did notice that doing th the outwards knife hand strike in a more forwards than round motion halps me not jar my elbow so much, so that's a help.

The last part of the class was for free pattern work, though i ended up spending it teaching Pyongwon to someone, which i didn't mind as it's going to take a lot more than twenty minutes practice for me to start getting the hang of not trying so hard.

Finally a brief discussion listed the next three stages of the side kick exercise - level five: extending a standing side kick shape with support of a bar (but not along a wall like level four); level six: full side kick with support of bar; level seven: free standing side kick.

Two more sessions to go. I'm going to miss it.

Still, i've got lots to practise.

Edit - trying earlier to get that relaxation thing happening, i found that, instead of trying to relax from the shoulders down, i actually got better results by thinking about relaxing from the face down. It seems to make some difference psychologically. Worth further investigation.

Edit the Second - practising tonight, i realised that making too wide a stance on the last move of Taegeuk 8 actually makes it harder to get power in the backfist strike. Wrong angle of the torso, perhaps. I also noticed just how much pulling in the tummy and holding the head high can "lift" a pattern (in both a physical and metaphorical way).

Barry wasn't able to make it due to a car prang (not serious), so Mr Rozinszky took the class today.

We started out with kicking, doing front kick to a mitt over a kick bag at our front knee, then the same for side kick. Then the continued side kick from Koryo, then with the knife hand strike and punch as well. Finally we did an upper block, side kick and elbow strike combination, like Taegeuk 5 but with the mitt as target.

Next we did Koryo as a group, then with kihap every technique. Everyone was out of time, but it helps with finish for every move. Then we split into age groups for patterns, seniors working with Mr Roz. Points to come from this part were:

Koryo: My knife hand strikes are too twisted in the body - needs to be a more natural angle. Off centre front knee in my front stance is probably connected with this.

Keumgang: Mountain block is too high.

Jitae: Neck and shoulders too tight and tense on the last set of knife hand blocks - need to relax.

David also made an observation that he'd picked up from watching the DVD from the world championships, that he'd noticed the Iranian team (silver medallists) were doing horse stance with their wieght on th eballs of the feet, heels almost lifted off the ground. He'd tried this for himself and found it helped for stability and transitions, eg in Keumgang. Trying it out for myself, it did seem to make a big difference. I think an effort to stay on the balls of the feet will help a lot of things, and i guess is consistent with taekwondo principles. Very useful.

Then we split into threes, with one partner watching the other two go through a pattern at a time ("you have to pick at least three mistakes or it's 50 pushups"). A lot of my mistakes were the usual ones, with a few newies:

Jitae: First back stance is wonky again, from trying too hard to whip that block around - just sit into it. The front stance with lower block has a bent back leg, as if i'm anticipating the back stance to follow.

Chonkwon: Upper block part of santeul yopjireugi is too low - lift it higher. Upper arm of sonnal wesanteul makki needs to be more behind me.

Sipjin: Boulder push is at a funny angle - possibly due to wonky front knee in the front stance. Also needs to be straighter at the elbows (push out more) and at the wrists (push fingertips forward).

Finally, we did some more mitt-striking, as Mr Roz had seen our elbow and other strikes lacked power. First we did swallow strike, with mitts for the block and strike, then elbow strike, hitting upwards as in Pyongwon, then inwards as in Taegeuk 8. On all these, i felt more power when i pushed my back foot into the ground, even on the inwards one (which we often do with a twist in the hips, lifting the back heel up like a boxer - that seems to work for speed, but the front stance version seems to have more solid power behind it). Then we did the forward backfist from the end of Taegeuk 8, with the preceding elbow strike included. I wasn't getting any power in it, until i thought to relax in the wind-up, as if i was doing it two handed, and it worked much better. David remarked that that one was better, and i was saying "yeah, the difference was i relaxed here" and went through the motion again without even trying, and hit it twice as hard again. Bingo. Once again, relaxing makes it stronger, and this is why i haven't been getting any power in those techniques, always being tense in looking for that power. So another important discovery (albeit something i know already, in theory, but don't remember to do in practice). Then we did knife hand block, in which i need to keep my elbow in more, and hit more forwards, using the upper arm muscles (David was saying that Mr Roz turns the wrist over at the start, then hits straight down, rather than twisting at the end - something i may need to investigate more). The final exercise was side kick to the mitt, doing 5 sets of three kicks without putting the foot down, but David and i were still playing with knife hand block and ran out of time to do much of that one.

Jamie took us for a warm-down stretch, and included some core work, laying on the tummy, sucking in the belly button ("as if there were a column of ants marching under it") then lifting hands and legs like Superman. Then the same with one arm and opposite leg.

So, some good fundamental points to come out of this session, especially weight on the ball of the foot and the relaxing in that T8 sequence. Both things i knew as general principles, but hadn't looked at in that specific context. These sessions are brilliant. Such a pity we're 3/4 of the way though now.

Barry took this session, which started out with some front stance work, moving back and forward with lower, body and upper block. It took a while to get back into stride, the finer points of the exercise having slipped away a bit after a few sessions without doing this. Mr Roz picked up that by back foot is turned too far out, at 45 degrees instead of 30 (too much t'ai chi perhaps). Also, my body blocks still need to be closer in. Barry pointed out that a lot of us are finishing with our foot before our hand when coming forwards but not backwards, suggesting that we're rising with the step and then falling forward into stance. Staying low should help give a more controlled step and better timing.

A similar exercise with back stance followed, with lower, minor, upper, single and double knife hand blocks, back and forward. Again my minor block was too far out and my knife hand is still bent at the wrist. Then it was back to front stance to practise the twisting block from Chonkwon, going over the wind-up and slightly twisted stance involved.

Finally for this part, we did the upper block, side kick with backfist, elbow strike to target combination from Taegeuk 5, up and down the room, paying attention to the height of the backfist (usually should be higher than seems right) as well as proper recovery from the side kick.

The bulk of the class was spent on actual patterns work, starting with the common patterns of Taegeuk 8 through Sipjin with the whole class. No new points came out this time, though i found myself making a lot of the same mistakes as always. Then we split into pairs and spent quite a while watching each others worst patterns to find the problems. I chose Taeguek 8 and Koryo, but ironically did them better than i have in ages (perhaps i'm learning to relax and focus when i'm doing it by myself with someone watching, which would be good). There were still plenty of errors for David to spot, the bulk of which still relate to going to fast and rushing things, rather than taking a moment to pause with the finish of each technique before jumping into the next. On the middle rung of Taegeuk 8, for instance, when i thought i was going too slow, i was apparently still rushing it. David suggested a big pulling in motion with the next palm block, which gives more power as well as slowing it down. Other specific points were:

Taegeuk 8: Front stance is too wide on the pulling chin punch - i'm moving my front foot across as much as we used to, not taking into account the now slightly offset angle of the previous stance (it may pay to check with Greg or Barry about the exact movement of the foot on this transition). My knee is bent on the front stances of the middle rung, again from rushing into the next move. My supporting hand in the double knife hand blocks is also too far forward, i think from trying to get a stronger flick around with the turn. I'm also pivotting on my heel in the last two turns, into back stance on the last rung. This is why i lose balance here. Pivot on the ball of the foot.

Koryo: I'm sometimes not pulling back my other fist to the hip on kaljaebi, or closing it on the knife hand strikes. I need perhaps to concentrate on the pulling in hand and let the striking hand worry about itself. My horse stance was a little too big, as usual, and i'm tensing my shoulder on the elbow side-strike - should just relax and hit.

Pyongwon: I'm still having troubles overbalancing on the turning side kick. What seemed to help was pausing momentarily after the front kick, so as to not have too much forward momentum. A slight pause after each technique seems to be a common thing needed in my patterns.

Bushfires caused power blackouts in many parts of the city yesterday, apparently causing chaos on the roads as traffic signals were out. Bayswater and Knox weren't affected, so i didn't see any sign of it on the bus to training. It was only when i got to Glen Waverley that i saw any power out, and pretty much the whole suburb was darkened inside. Of course that meant no fans or air conditioning at training, but who needs that on a 41 degree day?

This session kicked off with, well, kicking drills, using mitts in groups of three. From front stance, one partner held a mitt at the front knee, which the kicker had to kick over to hit the target, held by the other partner. This forced us to pick up the knee and kick out and back, rather than just swinging the foot up. Then a similar exercise for side kick, with two mitts held horizontally about 30cm apart, which you had to kick through to hit the third mitt just beyond them. This was a little harder, as thinking about going between the two mitts distracted from kicking strongly to the target. My other problem in this was not coming back to a proper front stance, but landing narrow and somewhat turned to the side.

Next came a backstance exercise that proved quite instructive: Starting in ready position, turn to left with knifehand block in backstance, then turn to right (of starting position) with right foot forward, then to front with left forward, then to back with right forward, and so on. The sequence goes like this (naming the foot in front, and with 'north' as the starting position): Junbi (N), left (W), right (E), left (N), right (S), left (E), right (W), left (S), right (N), guman. Then the reverse: right (E), left (W), right (N), left (S), right (W), left (E), right (S), left (N), guman. What was most interesting about this was that despite the number of times i'd heard Greg say to turn one foot then the other to turn into back stance, eg in last turn of Taegeuk 8, i'm still trying to turn both at the same time, pivotting on the back foot as the front swings around. No wonder i find it hard to keep balance and sit into the stance right.   It also would apply to cat stance, and the middle rung of Taegeukl 8 that i'm struggling with at the moment. After running though that exercise all together, we paired up and had on partner watch the other to see how the transitions went. Melissa spotted mostly that my stances often ended up too narrow (T shape instead of L).

Then it was on to patterns work, all going through Pyongwon and Sipjin then seniors doing Jitae and Chonkwon with Mr Roz.

New points were:

Pyongwon: After front kick, recover then step down as if in short stance facing away from where side kick is going to go.

Sipjin: On sonbadak makki, supporting hand's wrist is straight, not up against other forearm. then open fingers one at a time, starting from index finger (one per count until both hands are spear hands).

Jitae: Need more twist in slow upper block. Watch where last four knife hand blocks start.

Chonkwon: Twist block - start from opposite shoulder in a gathered in position (actually touch opposite shoulder with blocking hand). This will pull hips around in windup, lifting back heel off the ground, then finishes with front stance a little smaller and slightly twisted.   Sonnaldeung wesanteul makki should stay close to body.

We finished the session with some pnf stretching / strength work for front and side kick, as in session #4.

Oh, there was one other lesson, on a more personal note - i've got to learn to speak up more.   At the end of the class, Mr Roz was mentioning about how far people travel for these classes, like Barry from Hastings and Simone from Bendigo, then mentioned that i travel for an hour by public transport. Greg chipped in at this point and asked if anyone was going toward Ringwood and could give me a lift, since i don't like to ask. I was taken by surprise and didn't think quickly enough to say that i actually prefer to get the bus, that it's my quiet time to go back over what we did in the class and get it written dwon in my book, and that getting a lift actually stuffs up my routine. It's always the way with me - things catch me unprepared and i only think later what i should have said or done. Maybe it's a case of being more on the ball at any time so i can think on my feet, rather than think later what i should have said or done, which would be useful for a lot of situations.

Mind you, with the public transport disruptions from the blackouts, perhaps a lift was a good idea after all.

Barry took us for this class, starting with basic back stance work - changing feet on the spot with various blocks (kihap each time), then same for front stance. Then we went through Basic Pattern with a kihap every step, to concentrate on good technique and finishing every one. After that, the whole class went over Pyongwon and Sipjin, mainly for those that are still learning these, then we broke into age groups for our specific patterns. Mr Rozinszky took our group and ran us through Jitae, Chonkwon and then Taegeuk 8. He pointed out that we are better on higher patterns like Sipjin than we are on Taegeuk 8, and that unless our lower patterns are spot on, we won't get through the first elimination to even get to do the others. Points to come out of these parts were:

Pyongwon: Watch where foot steps down from front stance - is it landing with heel turned toward where the side kick is going?

Sipjin: On bull block, push hands upward like a punch, so they can twist out and up at the end.

Chonkwon: Elbows stay bent on mountain push, don't straighten.

Taegeuk 8: Finish every technique strongly - like we did in basic pattern.

Then we made pairs to watch each others' patterns, paying particular attention to footwork. Liz watched my Taegeuk 8 and Taebaek (two i'm likely to have trouble on) and spotted the following:

Taegeuk 8: First move - not turning back foot to 90 degrees (still a bit forward)*. More finish needed in first kick of climbing double. Need to put hammer fist to shoulder on pulling chin punch (currently resting it flat). Need to turn support foot into tiger stance (should be 22 degrees, leaving it at 90ish).

Taebaek: Rushing too much (still), especially in the last half. Hammer fist needs to be higher to be in line with side kick (i also don't think i'm turning my support foot enough). On the return line, i'm drifting off to the right. This seems to be from pivoting on my heel for the spinning backfist, instead of the ball of the foot. I also need to sit down more into the back stance, so as to arrest the forward momentum. Pause after centre punch before turning into the gawi makki line.

We finished up with some more core stability exercises fro Mel. First, on hands and knees, pull in the belly button to activate the TA muscle, then in a controlled way lift one arm, without shifting weight or wobbling. Repeat for both arms, then the same for legs, lifting straight back. Next level is to lift the opposite arm and leg in the same way. Net level is to life arm and leg on the same side - weight has to shift for this one but try to control wobbles (i did notice i could do this a little better when concentrating on my tummy muscles).

Another core exercise is to make a shallow V shape, resting on the bottom with feet and back slightly raised. Hold the position still to work core muscles. Next level is to move arma around in a circular fashion without losing balance or wobbling. Next level is to move both arms and legs (kind of like a breaststroke motion) while maintianing balance (very hard). Core work needs to be done every day to build strength.

* Edit - going over these patterns again tonight, i realised the best way to make the first back stance work in Taegeuk 8 is just to consciously think of sitting down into it (yes, that old thing). The basics strike yet again. Also, i noticed that i was taking an extra step when turning on the middle rung (from tiger stance with palm block "west" to tiger stance with knife hand block "east). This seemed to be remedied by paying attention to pivoting on the ball of the foot. Turning to face the front more with the spinning backfist in Taebaek seemed to remedy that off-centre finish just as Liz suggested.

Oh, i learned one other thing with this session. When i got to Glen Waverley, i was wondering whether to get a coffee somewhere, as i'd only had one in the morning and was feeling a little tired. I decided to not get one and see whether it made a difference, but i didn't need it at all. The physical exercise probably did more to get my brain firing than any imbibed stimulants. That's worth remembering for those times i'm tired and think i need a coffee to be on the ball for training.

Straight into the patterns this time.

The whole group went over the common patterns of Taegeuk 8, Koryo, Keumgang and Taebaek, then into age groups for the highest patterns - Jitae and Chonkwon for us with Bronwyn. Partner work came next, with Barry, David and i watching each other's patterns. General points to come out of the session were as follows:

Taegeuk 8: Need to slow down the first couple of moves and finish each technique (which is a pity as that's exactly what i was trying to do). I'm also doing a couple of little extra steps in places - midway through, stepping back from the front kick, i'm moving my left foot first in a little skip or hop backwards, and just before the turn into the last rung (double punch into single knife hand block). Also, my outside body block needs to be a bit lower, and my left knife hand is a bit off-shape - i'm pulling my ring ringer in, instead of the middle finger.

Keumgang: Leaning back again in horse stance on major hinge and losing balace. Must get that under control.

Jitae and Chonkwon: On slow punches, elbows should be in for both pulling and punching hand.

Chonkwon: Double uppercut should finish at jaw level, not higher. Circling move after supported minor block (far end) should be smaller - not upper block height. Jump high on turning inside kick. On mountain push, upper hand comes no higher than eyes - should be able to look over fingertips. Watch back foot on tiger stance.

To finish up, we did some more side kick exercises, with four levels. First level - lying on side, extend foot out in good side kick shape. Second level - extend and retract smoothly along straight line (shoulder hip and foot stay in line). Third level - same kick, snapped out with power, keeping straight line and good shape (i found my foot goes to the side on this). Level four - standing up with back against a wall, bring foot up to bottom ready for a side kick, with the heel touchign the wall. Push out a slow side kick, keeping the heel on the wall the whole way and tracing the same line on the way out as back in. For practice do ten repetitions each leg, can start low and get higher.

Homework for the night was to pick one technique (not a principle like slow/fast) that needs work and work on it. I initially chose double punch, to do it without jarring my elbow as i always seem to do, but later i changed it to the mountain push from Chinkwon, together with its preceding move. I also need to practise the new way of doing knife hand strike in Koryo, from behind the ear and coming straight forward.

Yesterday's session started out with back stance work, facing the mirrors. We did basic blocks - lower block, upper block, outside body block (note - now comes from opposite hip) single and double knife hand block. We continued on the last block with a partner to watch for correct hand and foot position, timing and power (slow/fast and twist at end). Heidi spotted that i'm turning my back foot too far (angled slightly back instead of 90 degrees) on left back stance.

Kicking in front stace again followed, first as a group up and back for front, roundhouse and side kick (note - when turning in front stance, turn with lower block and kihap, then, for kicking stance, make momtong bakkat makki), then with partner watching for front and side kick, standing upright 2m away as a target (aiming for centre at shoulder height).

Next we did the centre-line combination from Taegeuk 4, from swallow strike through to knife hand block, travelling up and down the hall (note - when turning in back stance, use the same block or technique you last did). On the front kick, the left hand is pulled back to the hip as if pulling the front kick up, ready to punch in time with the step. Then we did the same sequence with our partner watching from across the hall, and Heidi picked up only that my punch was a little behind my step timing.

Then we got into the patterns work itself, going over Taegeuk 8, Koryo, Keumgang, Taebaek and Pyongwon. In Taegeuk 8, Greg pointed out that the body block and double punch should not be evenly timed (block-punch-punch) but with a faster beat on the double punch (block, punchpunch). In Keumgang, i lost balance on the major hinge because i was leaning back in horse stance (TA strikes again), while in Pyongwon my yoke strike needs to be lower.

20 minutes' free work was next, in which Barry, David and i worked on our timing as a group. We decided to just focus on Taebaek as a good one to start getting into synch with each other's rhythm. It took a while, but we started to click as we concentrated more on the pattern's rhythm than on watching each other. I need to slow down before the first block - "and block" - instead of jumping too quickly into the first move. It will also pay to do my patterns practice at home with rhythm in mind.

After poomsae, we had an introduction to strength work with bike tyre tubes and various ways to use them. For blocks and punches, hold them behind the back from one hand to the other, then replicate the technique with resistnace via the tube. For kicks, lie down with tube stretched from hand to foot and extend the kick out with resistance - can do pushing kick or side kick (works best on that with the tube passed over the top of the kicking leg). Can also do side lifts from a standing position by attaching the other end to the bottom of a post.

Last was partner lifts to develop upper leg strength. Kicking partner stands by the rail, with partner holding leg like a downwards kick. Push down for count of five with holding partner resisting, then lift leg a little higher (kicking partner should try to lift this, with holder just helping) and repeat count of five pushing, then once more. Finally holder lifts the leg as high as it will go, resists for five and then gently lets go of the leg. Kicker should hold the leg up unsupported as long as possible. Do the same for side kick, watching for good shape and upright body.

Homework for the day was to write down one thing we did well, rather than just all the mistakes. I chose the kicking in front stance, holding my back straight, tummy in and head up, support knee bent to step into a good front stance.

Yesterday's session started out with some basics again, working some more on front and back stance. The first exercise involved making a proper front stance (using the edge of a mat as a guide), then bringing the back foot up parallel with the front (ready stance width, knees still bent) then stepping the other back to make front stance on that side. After repeating a few times with hands on hips to get the feel, then we did it with blocks, hands coming to the ready position as the feet come parallel, then blocking as the stance is made. I found that exercise really helped me get a feel for the slow-fast / soft-hard part of the technique, and for once i could feel power in lower block without overextending and jarring my elbow. We did that over and over with lower block, body block and upper block, concentrating on stance, timing, correct starting position and slow-fast.

Next was back stance work, making a right back stance toward the left of the room, then turning the other way to make left back stance. A few times of that to get the feel of the stance, then we did it over and over with double knife hand block, again concentrating on slow-fast, timing and correct position of hands. When doing it this way, the previous blocking hand stays in much the same position to be ready to become the supporting hand, while the supporting hand comes up to the shoulder ready to do the block - ie starting position of support hand is same height and angle as a block. One thing i noticed in this exercise is that when i'm in a good back stance, i can really feel my weight sinking straight down into the floor through my back foot. The fact i've never noticed that before means i do need to spend a lot more time on this basic stuff. Test for correct back stance size - pivotting on ball of back foot, drop knee down towards front foot. Should land in line with front heel.

We then spent some time going over Pyongwon and Sipjin for those that are still learning it, and fine-tuning technique for those that already know it. In Pyongwon, Greg picked up that my circling action between the knife hand blocks was too big - elbows should stay bent and trace a smaller path. In Sipjin, the bull block should be at upper block distance (one fist from forehead) and one fist apart - then pull to two fists apart. When demonstrating the sonbadak makki, i noticed Greg's fists were both closed during the wind-up and meant to ask him about that, but i forgot. Must ask next class. (Edit - the answer is yes, closed fists, but it's not important).

After that we broke into groups to work on the higher patterns for a while, us older folk doing Jitae and Chonkwon, then split into pairs to watch and scrutinise each other's technique (espeically watching for up-and-down motion). I worked with Barry and i asked him to watch my Koryo, as i know that's one i'm having trouble with stances in (back stance in particular). I didn't do too badly on that, as i was trying to stop myself over-twisting my upper body, though he could still see some wobble in my knees, suggesting it could be a question of muscle strength around the knee and that running might help strengthen that area. I also was overextending tong milgi again.

I then did Chonkwon, which i'm still struggling to get a handle on and, as expected, there were a lot of points on that, as follows:

Wing spreading: Do to an eight-count, hands up parallel by 2, fully extended by 7, then stretch right out on the 8.

Circling motion: I'm doing too fast - don't rush it. Then for the uppercut, bring the fists ready as i step back to cat stance, then go fast into the puch asi sit down into stance.

Shuffling step: Step front foot forward with first block, bring back foot up to front foot as right hand drawn back ready for block, step forward with front foot with second block. One-and-two. Very hard.

Circling motion and mountain push: Again, don't rush it. Circle hands smoothly and bring back to hip, step out to cat stance (not too big) as hands rotate from hip to centre. Don't push hands too far forward - that's why i feel hunched over and leaning forward. Cat stance should be small and palm hands don't come much further forward than feet. Mountain push starts with hands quite close together.

To finish off, we quickly went over ways to speed recovery after heavy training sessions, which included:

- Simple carbohydrates (eg a banana) straight after training.
- Hot & cold shower.
- Massage
- Water & electrolytes

Judging my the soreness of my legs, i wish i'd done more of that yesterday than eat the banana. :|

Quite a different poomsae class last night.

Very hard, old fashioned training. By the end of it i was walking like a Thunderbird puppet on wobbly legs and my dobok is still soaking wet today.

Loved it.

We started off going back to basics, with hand techniques in horse riding stance. The first thing Greg picked me up on was leaning back in the stance, instead of sucking in my tummy, keeping my chin up and sitting down into it (this is where those TA muscles Mel was telling us about come into play). We worked on developing power, using kihap, slow-then-fast and pulling back of the opposite hand (straight back like an elbow strike). First we did punches with two hands at once, to work on power just from the kihap and slow-fast, then normal centre punch, face punch and double punch (kihap every time). Then we went over the basic blocks in a bit of technical detail for the current correct technique and then backfist strike to touch on the more circular action it uses now. Standing for ages in horserinding stance was a killer on the calves and quads, since we don't do it very often these days, but i liked getting that old-school kind of exercise. Despite what a lot of people think about horse-stance drills, it's a good way to focus on the upper body, while the legs get a good workout just holding there (i can see why some karate styles are still big on doing lots of that work, particularly when they have to take thigh kicks in their sparring).

The next exercise to follow on from that was just to stand with a partner and watch a body block / backfist combination to spot for errors. My problem was making the block and strike too similar in size - backfist should be further out than body block, as well as higher up (my block is too far out - wrist should be one handspan in front of solar plexus).

After that came work on front stance. First were some technical points on a couple of ways to get the feet in the right position (i quite like the idea of feet parralel in naranhi seogi, take one and a half steps forward then let the straightening of the back knee turn the back foot to 30 degrees, though you need different models to teach different people). Then we practised walking forward and back, hands on hips, to check stance (must watch that front knee - should be directly over the second toe but keeps wanting to turn in. Proper stance feels uncomfortable, so i've obviously been doing it incorrectly for some time). Then we'd do the same but with closed eyes, feel if the stance is right, then look to see if it was. Basic stuff, but obviously something i need to work on more - watching my grading video from last year i could see a lot of that inward bend, so it's an ongoing problem.

Then we did front kick drills, kicking to the mitt from front stance, first on the spot then waking forward. Again my front knee was coming inward on front stance, so again i have to work on making the proper stance feel natural. Greg was my partner, and after my turn he went wandering, so i just practised on my own. Mr Roz picked me up on kicking in four-part style (needed to flow smoothly as one technique) and also not keeping my back straight and chin up - those TA muscles strike again, which is what David had earler thought might be the reason i tend to hunch forward when kicking. So good information coming out of that exercise.

Side kick was next, and Greg pointed out the need to extend the kick further out, really pushing out from the hip, rather than controlling it like we tend to.  After kicking to the mitt for a while (and again it was spotted that i'm hunching over a bit) we did a partner exercise where the kicker would hold onto the bar with one hand and the partner's hand with the other, then slowly push out with a side kick to their stomach. Then the partner would encourage us to extend further and push them back more until we were more fully extended. One thing i noticed in that was that i found it easier, flexibility wise, when i remembered to bend my support leg.

It wasn't until the second half of the class that we actually did some poomsae, concentrating mostly on Koryo and Keumgang.   Again Greg spotted me leaning backwards in horseriding stance in Keumgang, and also turning too far back in back stance while doing the single knife hand block. This tied in with what i'd been thinking earlier in the day - that my wonky back stances may be coming from trying too hard and twisting too much in my upper body, with the resultant torque shifting down to my legs. That had occurred to me while stepping through the first move of Koryo earier on (in the change room in fact) and realising that i wasn't facing fully toward where the block was going but was almost side-on, and was probably turning my body away to the right in the wind-up (perhaps taking the idea bit too literally), rather than simply turning to face the left as i sat down into stance. Doing it the latter way, it was much easier and felt less wonky below the waist.

Going over Keumgang, a lot of time was spent holding the crane stance, which really taxed those muscles still recovering from the horse-riding stance work. I'm sure i wasn't the only one who wobbled out of there on shaking legs, but it was good to do some old-fashioned work and get that different kind of exercise. Even Mr Rozinszky noted that it was like a class from the old days, that we just don't get the time to do any more.

Other technical points / revision from this session:

Juchum seogi:  Outside edge of feet parallel. Fists on hip must rest on outside - hammer fist touching on bone, elbow straight back. Feet grip the floor.

Upper block: Now starts from opposite hip, finishes one fist distance from forehead (above and in front).

Body block: Starts with fist at shoulder height, finishes with wrist one handspan in front of solar plexus.

Front stance: Front knee over second toe, shin vertical, weight on outside of edge of feet.

Back stance: Chest at 45 degrees, not further.

It also occurred to me what the ITF style's 'sine wave' motion might be about - a way of using the slow-fast / soft-hard technique for power. Certainly looks that way to watch footage of their demo teams.

I've decided i'm going to write down every little thing we do in these classes, not just to remember the things i'm learning, but to also learn how to teach these skills to this level.  Teaching the basics is one thing, or passing on tips and pointers, but at 4th dan i should be able to teach black belts in this much detail and run these kind of drills, and this will be a really good way to learn.

Current Mood: stiff, sore and smiling

Competition poomsae class last night.

I have a lot of work to do.

Mr Roz called me out on stances - back stances in particular, probably wobbling again or off-angle with my back knee. Trouble is, i can't feel myself doing it, so i don't know when i need to correct it. If i'm doing that wrong whenever i'm practising, then all that time will be spent practising it wrong. I did notice, just after the class ended, that as i stood in a corrected back stance and talked to Barry for a minute, by the time i next looked at the mirror my knee had drifted forward again, which makes me think that's the position it's used to. Maybe i just have to go back to basics and stand still in back stance until my knees are used to doing it properly and can find their own way there.

Also worrying is the power in my blocks, which i had thought i was getting a handle on. But Mr Roz called me out on that too, did the old "block my arm, no block it!" thing, but i couldn't get the power in it. Next time i've got to think to ask what it is that i'm not doing right to get that power, rather than just limply flailing against his arm. If i can get that punching bag hung, maybe i should practise hitting that with blocks as well, instead of just blocking air all the time.

All up it was pretty disheartening - not that i mind the criticism (hell, i need more if it, otherwise i don't know what i'm doing wrong) but just a general malaise of self-doubt, along the old 'if i can't even do a back stance or body block properly, then i shouldn't be teaching anyone else' lines.  That will pass though, once i get past ego-bruises, and this is exactly the sort of thing i need to get out of it.

Anyway, here's some other points that came out of the night:

Charyeot: Fists need to be more to the side - thumb touching outside of thigh (eg on the pants seam).

Kyeongrye: Need to bow deeper.

Beginning moves:  Slow then fast (windup / block)

Tong milgi:  Don't push too far forward - only to blocking distance.

Taegeuk 8: Watch start position of wesanteul makki - upwards block is starting near groin, should be from hip. Also don't drift back towards start position when crossing over.

New technical style:   Knife hand strike now starts from behind ear (arm and elbow back) and comes strainght forward, not around. Pulling chest punch in Taebaek now steps with grab (finish grab as stepping foot passes other).

Core work:   To feel tightening of trans-abdominal muscle (transverse abdominus, or TA for us plebs), place fingers 2cm forward of hip bones - muscle will bulge there as belly button is pulled in. Should be able to hold that tight and still breathe normally, talk etc. Practise holding for 30 second periods throughout the day.

Core work for side kick - lie on side, tighten TA muscles, lift upper leg a few inches, lower, repeat. Then same but bring lower foot up to meet upper - can go to second or even third level. Keep TA tight whole time.

Edit - I'm going to write notes on here to summarise what we've done on each class, in as much detail as i can recall, as i can tell there's going to be a lot of information to remember. I'll need to find my notebook too, to write things down on the way home (as Greg suggested).

Current Mood: resisting discouragement

I had the morning to myself, so it was a good time to get in some more poomsae practice.

The front yard was too sunny by the time i got up, so i decided to head down by the train line to see what shade was there. I found a really good spot in the shade of some pine trees - fairly flat ground, not too much debris, no ants nests to destroy, and opposite a yard with lots of nice lush trees (just had to ignore the 'graffers lick balls' grafitti on the fence). With a bit of imagination, i could also pretend that the train line itself was a nice cool stream and that i was practising on the bank. When a train is coming, i can just go and sit under the tree for a moment, doing a spot of meditation and enjoying the smell of the pine. A pleasant cool breeze helped too.

I'd decided today i would focus on relaxation, in the 'moving meditation' type of mode, which i haven't done for a while. Lately i've been concentrating on power, technique and timing, but have been very tense and ended up exhausted before long. This time i concentrated first and foremost on relaxing, with precision in technique second and above all not Trying Too Hard. That worked very well - not only was the technique and power sharper, but i was almost never out of breath for the next pattern (despite smoke in the air and a slight hangover) and it was over an hour and a half before i even started to feel tired. What's more, i enjoyed it better as well. It was relaxing and pleasant and felt like recreation instead of hard work, even with the sweat dripping off me.

The silly thing is, this isn't the first time i've realised all this.

I obviously just need to learn the same lesson over and over to understand it properly.

Current Mood: mmm, sweat
Current Music: Zombie Ghost Train - Devil Child

Regular classes wound up last week with a grading on Monday then our usual break-up night on Thursday (though i swear it seems only a term since last year's). At the suggestion of a couple of the parents, we also put on a short display of some black belt patterns and self-defence routines for the junior students. I found i was much more nervous doing a pattern in front of them than a whole table full of 6th and 7th Dans, which is probably to be expected as i've got more investment in inspiring these kids than scoring well in some competition. It was good fun though, and an idea i think we could make something of with a bit more preparation.

Over the break we have poomsae classes to refine techniques for competition. I'm looking forward to doing the training, though again i have reservations about where it's leading to in the longer term. I was disappointed this year to miss out on going to Korea, but at the time i just couldn't afford the trip to Sydney for the qualifiers (let alone knowing where the funding for Korea would have come from) and, until David mentioned it, i hadn't even considered that this meant being on the Australian national team, with the extra training and time commitment that's required for that.

Trouble is, not much has changed since then. Money is still stupidly tight (every week seems to involve counting coins to see what food we can afford to buy at Aldi) and that doesn't look like changing any time soon. While i may be able to put the money i get for teaching toward any travel for the qualifying competition (the next one i think is in Sydney early next year) i still don't know how any overseas travel gets paid for, plus whatever other national competitions might be involved. Then there's the training - if we were to make the national team, there would certainly be special training involved, but even the three times a week i train now are a sore point at home, and i don't think additional nights away from home will go down well at all (unless they're early morning sessions, which in turn will be interesting to get to by public transport). Even just for myself, i also don't want to be spending too much of my time on patterns at the expense of other areas i need to work on, like self-defence or sparring. To my way of thinking, the fact that poomsae is my strongest area means i should be spending more time working on other skills, but i can forsee sessions spent practising patterns week after week while others get to work on different things.

So i don't know what to do about it. I'm meeting up with David and Barry tonight to practise as a group, but i'm worried about starting something i'm not going to follow through, and about letting people down when i've said i'll do something.

(edit - next day)

At training last night, i realised one thing i'd forgotten in all that - this is something i enjoy. Really enjoy. Churning through a pattern in unison with David and Barry, finding our timing on a section and moving in synch, it felt great. I want to do this. Somehow, i'll make it happen.

Current Mood: indecisive
Current Music: 45 Grave - Evil

One thing i like about Doncaster training is we do something different every time. Well, not very time, but a fair bit of variety at least. On Saturday we did punching exercises with mitts and gloves, which made an interesting change. For future reference, here were the drills as i remember them:

(all in short stance)
1. Lead-hand jab, making sure to turn hips and trunk into the punch. Both sides.
2. Same thing, but concentrating on pulling the punching hand back after hitting (imagine a rubber band between the glove and your teeth).
3. As above, followed by rear-hand cross (rear heel lifts off ground).
4. "Rips" - Punching into ribs (mitts facing in and slughtly down at rib height) - turning hips and torso, heel on punching side lifts off ground. 20 reps.
5. "Rips" coming up the body - four at stomach height, four at ribs, four a little higher (shoulder height?), four at face (mitts in and slightly down).
6. Left to ribs, right to ribs, left hook to head, duck (holder swings mitt at you), right uppercut to chin (same mitt held horizontal). One side only.

It'll be good to get that punching bag at home hung, so i can incorporporate some of those into bagwork.

Current Mood: Monday

I've been thinking a bit lately about the old idea of martial arts helping to make people less violent, due to having confidence in your ability to protect yourself (and being more self assured in general) and hence being less likely to over-react, be provoked or to have something to prove.

If this was so, then i wondered why i'm constantly imagining acts of violence, in imagined self defence situations and other stressful or confrontational scenarios. I know that at least some degree of this is from spending time thinking about martial arts and self defence. So the question arises - is the whole 'becoming more peaceful' thing a myth? It certainly doesn't seem to be working for me.

But thinking more about it - it finally occurred to me the other day that it may not be the idea that's lacking, but just that i haven't gained that level of self-confidence myself. Makes sense to me.

Current Mood: stuff
Current Music: The Birthday Party - Mr Clarinet

Mr Rozinszky came in to training last night, watched us take the junior classes, then had David and I join in with the red belt class while he took us all through our paces. It was another exhausting Mr Roz session, drill after drill and pattern after pattern without stopping, but that was good. It's funny, lately i've been doing 40 minute poomsae sessions at home with few rest breaks in between, at least once or twice a week, but i don't get anywhere near as knackered as i was after about 20 minutes last night. It must be something to do with being more tense or trying harder when in front of The Boss.

Anyway, it was all good. While it went a few patterns past where i'd really like to stop right now and into 'please please god let it stop' territory, with me weak and wavering all over the place by the time we ended at Shipjin, somehow i actually didn't die and, after a water break and a couple of minutes rest, was ready to move on to some some kicking drills. It's easy to forget that you can go a bit further than you think and still recover for some more, though it does help to have someone else to push you along when you feel it's time to stop.

It makes me think that we probably do take it too easy in class and probably should push things a bit more, especially for black belt sessions. I know i feel really good peeling off a dobok dripping with sweat and knowing that i've had a good workout, and i'm sure others would feel more satisfied that way too. Last night in particular it was very good timing, as i'd been in a funk stewing over this and that and feeling really depressed before class, even wishing i didn't have to go to class as i was more in the mood to sit at a pub and wallow, but afterwards i seemed to have sweated all that out, or maybe had some endorphins kick in, and felt fantastic.

Maybe that's another lesson to remember - sweat is better than lager to drown sorrows with.

Current Music: Bob Marley - Exodus

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November 2014

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strange days

Entries tagged with taekwondo

knee-trembling on a sunday morning..

Hmm

(no subject)

trial by video - poomsae training #12

variations on a theme - poomsae training #11

relax, and make it snappy - poomsae training #10

on the ball, relax - poomsae training #9

ah say, slow down boy - poomsae training #8

aircon is for wimps - poomsae training #7

the basics strike back - poomsae training #6

brass tacks - poomsae training #5

gettin' technical - poomsae training #4

back to basics again - poomsae training #3

back to boot camp - poomsae training #2

sigh

on the line

making the most (drama) out of opportunities..

Kwon bop

work in process

sweat good