Update:

My ankle is still not right. It's slightly swollen still and hurts when I move it certain ways. I am able to walk on it, but I think that this might have prevented it from healing properly. Either that, or the doctor misdiagnosed it and I've done something worse (torn ligament or something of that nature) in which case, I'm screwed more than likely.

Because of this injury, I didn't train for almost a month. The first time I went back was this past Wednesday, and even then I didn't do too much. I pushed it a little further on Thursday, which caused me to have to sit out for about a quarter of the class & help the others.

Then, there was Saturday. I shouldn't have been training at all on a still injured ankle. However, when the visiting master says (and I quote) "I want to see what you've got", there's no way I'm taking that as anything but a challenge. So, I dressed out, warmed up and proceeded to "test" with all the other candidates for about 2.5 hours. Big mistake. While I don't think I injured my ankle even more, I can definitely feel the side effects of training so hard after an entire month off. I've definitely learned my lesson and will be staying off of it as much as possible until it is healed and I get a clean bill of health. Then, it's game time, which hopefully means back to the gym at least 4 to 5 days a week.

Until then, I will have a rather uneventful blog. My apologies. :(

Take care! :)

Ankle update

So, if you've been bored enough to actually read this, you've realized that about a week and a half ago now I sprained my ankle pretty badly, which has rendered me unable to train or pretty much do anything besides walk.

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Unfortunately, while it has gotten better, it still isn't nearly as healed as it needs to be for me to get back on the mat yet. :( Whenever I rotate my ankle I can still feel some pain down the side, so for now I have decided to keep from training still. As much as it kills me not to, I know it is for the best to stay away from anything that could injure it further and therefore put me out of commission for even longer.

Let's hope that this thing heals up soon. I'm sick of missing out on awesome training sessions!!!

Potentially hurt my ankle. Cool.

-__-

Really? All I did was a round house kick on the heavy bag and then somehow ended up rolling my left ankle on my standing foot. Pretty early in my training session, too. Which of course meant that I wasn't able to continue because I didn't want to injure it even more. Time to ice up I guess.

UPDATE: If it wasn't sprained before then it surely is now :( Rolling it twice in one day isn't very helpful, I guess. Especially when you're wearing shoes with a slight heel, you step off a curb to cross the street, onto something underfoot the wrong way and completely turn it in. Ugh. Wonderful.

MIA yet again. lol

Training has been interesting over the past week. I've been sparring a lot more and it's been a battle the entire time. On one hand I love sparring. There's no way to know what the other person is thinking or what they are going to do next. You constantly have to be on your toes and ready for absolutely anything that may happen. And the thrill of the unknown is one that I will never get tired of. Plus it is a great stress reliever, in my opinion, probably the best way. On the other hand (being a girl) coming home with bruises down your legs and arms kind of sucks because the only way to cover them up is by wearing jeans, which is brutal during the summer, especially in Blacksburg. There's also the fact that I haven't properly trained in sparring in the past couple of years, so I'm pretty rusty which only leads to getting beat 9 times out of 10 (if we were to actually keep track). With the increased amount of sparring I have been doing lately though, I'm getting back into the groove. It's tough, but the challenge of getting back to sparring well is one that I accept wholeheartedly. :)

7.8.11 - 7.11.11

I've been MIA lately, I know. The reason behind this: 4th of July & school. :( Karate was cancelled Sunday & Monday in observance of the 4th and I started my second summer session here at Tech last Tuesday and my evening class prevents me from being able to go Tuesday and Wednesday. :( So my first class in over a week was last Friday, but that was only an open mat, so it wasn't very structured and I used it mainly to just feel out my abilities after not training for so long.

My first official class back was yesterday. We've switched it up and focused on sparring for the past two nights, which has been a nice (but difficult) change of pace. I wasn't really up for it yesterday, but today I felt much better and got much more into sparring with everyone. Even if I'm going to have a nice little bruise on my ribs and arm. LOL. :) I hope that the classes keep getting harder and that we do end up sparring a bit more, because even though I hate it right now, I really do ultimately enjoy it. I find the challenge of sparring to be thrilling. So, if things keep going the way they have been, and the instructor's seminar that the two instructors and two potential instructors are going to this weekend is any good, which I'm sure it will be, then classes are about to get much, much more interesting. Good thing I'm always up for a challenge! :)

6.28.11 - 7.1.11

Classes have been pretty typical. Basics, hyungs, il soo sik, repeat. With a little bit of new details thrown into the mix though. Along with sparring and learning some muay thai! :D

Although we did do gun defenses on Thursday night, which was pretty interesting. Personally, you pull a gun and I'm giving you whatever you want. That's just personal though, and still, it was kind of fun learning some defenses against a gunman.

Friday (7.1) was probably the best day of training. I first went to the TSD open mat at 2pm and worked on some more forms and did some bag work. It's pretty hot in the room we're in, so I didn't try to push myself too hard see as at 6pm I was going to the TKD open mat. Now, I cannot stand TKD, personally most all styles are just a sport to me, not an art. I made an exception though. I met a guy last week that is a cho dan in TKD and we talked a lot about our training. Eventually, he challenged me to a sparring match, which I accepted of course. So, Friday night we sparred and it ended up going alright. I haven't sparred in ages and I'm not a huge fan in the first place (but when I'm in top form, I'm good).

Friday was also the day that I unexpectedly got to learn some muay thai, which I've always been interested in. It was really basic stuff (obviously), but it was really tough! The techniques aren't done anything like how they're done in TSD or TKD. Even the hand positions and stances are completely different. I'm very intrigued though. Especially since the GIRL that was teaching it was a kick ass instructor! It was so awesome to see another girl out there that all the guys know to stay away from and not mess with because she could do some serious damage. I loved it!!!

Unfortunately though, classes have been cancelled this weekend for July 4th celebrations and I start my new class next week which will make it impossible to train Monday through Wednesday nights. :( So, my amount of time training is going to be significantly cut down from 6 days a week to 4. Only 6 weeks of this though!!! :)

6.23.11 & 6.26.11

This is getting harder to keep up with as school gets progressively more time consuming, especially when karate isn't all that interesting at the moment. Thursday class was pretty easy, we kind of goofed off more than we actually trained. Yesterday, well, yesterday was not fun. Training on a mere 3 hours of sleep was rough and training after a long night of partying was even worse. Made it through it though, somehow. Haha. I did feel the repercussions today though. It's one of only two times this summer that I've felt sore the morning after training. Class was good though. Tough, but good. We spent most of the time doing combinations and then modifying them a little bit after doing them for a while. Then, there were forms. Oh, how I despise forms. Luckily it was a higher level for that I actually enjoy doing and teaching. Hopefully, we'll start doing more interesting things from here on out though, because I can only do forms for so long before I want to start pulling my hair out!

6.22.11

I went to karate last night with the intention of training, especially since I skipped class on Tuesday night. So, when I showed up to class last night and saw that the head instructor wasn't dressed out and looked as if he was about to leave, I was curious to say the least. He explained though that it made no sense for 3 instructors to be there when there were only 3 people in class (besides me and the other instructor, there was one adult and two kids) So, he left and turned over the class to Michael. Another concern came to mind though as I realized that there were two little kids and one adult, which to say that combination of students is impossible to teach is an understatement. We began class though and warmed up as usual.

Then, the best thing that could have happened did. Michael asked me if I would teach the little kids while he worked with the adult! I was beyond excited. I taught kids for almost 7 years and loved it. They are the most fun to teach because you can just let go and have fun. Teaching kids makes me remember my time training when I was their age. I remember all the fun I had and all the friends that I met. It makes me remember why I am so passionate about martial arts and whenever I work with them I realize that training doesn't always need to be serious. There are the obvious times where we must be disciplined, but we should also continue to have fun with it so we keep enjoying what we're doing, which can be applied to anything that you do in your life.

I really hope that I can get more involved with teaching around here. I love training,  but (as I'm sure I've mentioned before somewhere in one of these posts) teaching is where my true passion lies within martial arts. It is the best feeling in the world to pass on your knowledge of something that you love to others and to see them grow and become better because of your knowledge and instruction. This is the main reason why one day I would really love to own my own studio.

I'm going to end on a side note today. As Michael was giving me a ride home yesterday, the little fact that I had not been in class on Tuesday came up. While talking about this, he made the comment "Yeah, I was kind of worried you weren't there. My first thought was 'I hope she's not lying in a ditch somewhere.' And I meant to message you on Facebook when I got home, but I forgot." What I took from this: You know you train too much when people start worrying about your well-being after missing just one class in the past 3 weeks. Hahahaha.

6.20.11

Class was great last night. I about passed out from how fast paced and difficult some of the things that we did were, but those are the types of classes I love the most. Most people hate being in pain or discomfort, and when the cause is anything other than an awesome class like last night's, I tend to react accordingly. When it comes to feeling the physical pain I do from martial arts though, it just invigorates me even more. It's actually a wonderful feeling. I feel accomplished and proud of myself for making it through these types of training sessions. I don't mind being sore or tired if the cause is from martial arts, and it's when you get to this point that you know you love what you're doing. It makes me fall in love with my martial arts training more each and every day, which I never thought would ever be possible.

6.16.11 & 6. 19. 11

Classes have been good. Nothing new there. I enjoy learning the TSD material (to an extent, some of if just doesn't flow for me, but I'm trying to find the positive in it, like that it is helping me become a more well rounded martial artist in general) I like that it makes me think and expand on what I already know. I'm getting back into the habit of constantly thinking about what makes sense and what techniques work together.

I'm still not physically where I want to be, but that's a long term summer goal. As long as I'm where I want to be by the end of the summer, I'll be satisfied. Which I foresee happening without a doubt now since I've recently decided to make some changes in my personal life that will make everything much less complicated and will allow me to start focusing on the things that really matter to me. Karate most definitely being a priority, only next to my education.

Goals for the next month: 1) Focus on training more on my SBD material, which has proven to be a challenge since I'm alone in this endeavor for right now. 2) Getting my lower back checked out/straightened out so that I can prevent any serious injury so I don't hinder my training in the future.

6.15.11

Good class last night. Did some...interesting combinations.They didn't flow very well and they were kinda difficult but fun nonetheless. Until we started doing jump kicks and I started to feel a pain in my calf. Hopefully this isn't an indication that I'm going to have issues with it this summer, but we'll see. I'm going to take it easy during class tonight and see how it feels. If it starts hurting anymore I don't know what I'll do, because more than likely I'll take a week off. Wonderful -__-

6.14.11

Oh, teaching, how I've missed you so much!

First class I've taught in over 2.5 years (at least) tonight went pretty well. I mean, there was only one other person there, typical of summer since everybody and their brother goes home. Hahaha. But I think overall it was good. My voice is a little scratchy from talking so much though. On a daily basis I hardly ever say a word (wow, I'm just now realizing this, what a weird concept) and I did a complete 180 today by talking the entire class. I can't wait to teach again! :)

Soo Bahk!

6.13.11

Tonight was, well to put it simply, another rough night, mainly because we did the same thing that we did last night (and saying that it kicked my ass is an understatement). I'm physically starting to feel much better while training though. Not at many aches and pains that I frequently ran into when I began my training again, which is success in itself and overall my flexibility is starting to come back (which is AWESOME!).

On the other hand, I'm still not used to the different training surfaces and therefore my technique has decreased. This has been my main focus (besides just getting through some of these classes) for the past couple of training sessions.

 I'm currently happy with how things are going overall though. I'm feeling much more at ease with those whom I train with, which has made the experience more enjoyable overall. I'm excited to see how the rest of the summer goes and to pick up a couple new forms, ho shin sool (wrist grabs), and il soo sik (one step sparring) along the way.

Soo Bahk! :)

Words of wisdom, or so I hope...

The instructor made a very thought provoking statement tonight:

"Martial arts is eternally humbling."

Short & sweet, but very, very true nonetheless. No matter how long you train, you're always going to run into something challenging, where you must then submit to the technique, the pattern, the bag, etc. You are not always going to win. You are not always going to be the fastest or the strongest. And training in the martial arts definitely reminds you of this each and every day. This is why those with egos that exceed their capabilities don't usually last very long. Those who are willing and able to realize that martial arts is more than a "sport", but rather a lifestyle will find they get much more out of their training than those who see it as a contest. Martial arts is not always about being #1, sometimes it's just about getting back up when you've fallen down and keep going on.

6.12.11

Karate was much needed today! I had issues with someone earlier today and I knew the only way I was going to feel better was by training, so thank goodness it wasn't cancelled like I was worried it was going to be. It wasn't very interesting, but it was very physical. It's amazing what adding one simple kick that you've done the entire time you've trained will do to a form. Basically, between the bike ride to & from and the class itself, I'm feeling much, much better and relaxed! Can't wait to go back tomorrow! :)

Soo Bahk!

6.9.11

Trained yet again last night :) Pretty basic class. Learned some of the TSD one-step sparring, which were pretty simple, but kind of confusing at the same time. Some of the combinations just didn't flow very well and didn't make much sense to me. But, oh well, if i want to start teaching then I'm going to have to suck it up and learn them. -_- Speaking of teaching, I'm super pumped because I'll be teaching my first class on Tuesday! :D I'm kind of nervous, which is a weird feeling since I love teaching. I guess it's mainly because of the fact that I'm probably not completely prepared to dive in and start teaching TSD yet. Physically, I know I'm ready and capable, with the exception of a few minor aches and pains here and there, nothing new there haha. Mentally, I'm definitely going to have to pump myself up. Until then, I'm just going to stick with being nervous and hopefully getting it all out of my system before Tuesday. :)

Soo Bahk!

6.8.11

Did pretty much the same thing tonight that we've been doing all week. The only exception was that tonight I worked with the instructor on kind of learning one of the TSD forms, which was awkward and interesting at the same time. The best part of tonight was after class though. The president of the TSD club on campus was giving me a ride home when he asked me if I would be interested in teaching some classes, which I was ecstatic about! And he also asked if I would like to become more involved in the club, like in a leadership position, which is awesome as well because many of the upper level members will be graduating soon, so they need to start finding people to take over the club and I'm here for another 3 years, which is possibly the longest out of the higher ranking members. 

Back to teaching though, I haven't taught a full class in well over 2 years now and it's the one piece that has been missing since I've started training again. I didn't ever think I'd have the chance to teach outside of my studio, so when he asked me if I'd be interested I was shocked and thrilled and honored all at the same time. It means a lot to me that he would ask me to teach mainly because, even though our styles are almost identical to each other, they are still two separate federations now. This is quite possibly the best thing that has happened to me in a while, especially karate-wise. I'm so excited to start preparing and learning the TSD material that I don't know so I can start teaching ASAP!

Soo Bahk!

(& now I guess I should also start adding) 

Tang Soo! :)

6.7.11

Short class last night, but good nonetheless. Definitely starting to feel the side effects of training 5 out of the past 7 days, but hey, there's no better pain or soreness than that from which you love doing. Onto training session 6 since last Wednesday. Can't wait! :)


Soo Bahk!

Last night I realized something

I've been training for 15 years this week. I'm so proud to say that I've spend 15 out of my 20 years dedicated to Soo Bahk Do. I'm so lucky to have found something that I love at such a young age. It's made an impact on my life that I can't even begin to describe. No matter what happens, there's nothing and no one that can stop me from training. I can't wait to see what the rest of my training holds for me, even though it might be some of the hardest training of my life, I wouldn't have it any other way. :)

SOO BAHK!

6.6.11

Another great night at karate tonight. Pretty much a repeat of last night, minus the walk there and the bike ride home. Definitely going to sleep like a baby again tonight! 

On that note, goodnight and Soo Bahk! :)

6.5.11

What a day! 2 mile walk to karate. An hour of really intense training. Another mile walk to my bike. Then, a 2.4 mile bike ride home. Needless to say, I'm absolutely beat! But at the same time, it feels wonderful!!!

As for karate (since that's the actual point of this blog :p), I was very pleased tonight. I trained with the more senior instructor off campus, who's also a third dan, who I wasn't exactly happy with last Wednesday, but that's in the past. I got much more respect this time around and he even pointed out that the others should be doing their technique like mine (on one specific occasion) and he asked me for my input a couple of times, which is a total 180 from last Wednesday when he basically called me out in front of the entire class, disrespecting my rank and training. As I said earlier though, this is all in the past now. What matters is that I know he does actually respect my rank and training, and that's the most important part.

Class tonight wasn't particularly hard, just really physical. We basically did basics and combinations the entire time, both hand and foot techniques. They were much different than what I'm used to, so some of them proved to be a little bit of a challenge, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. :p We finished up with 3 or 4 forms, one of which I did absolutely terrible on, but that's to be expected since that was probably the second time I had done it in...8+ years, literally. It was from a group of forms that we have just started to integrate back into our program, when I left for college, which is obviously no help to me. Haha.

Overall, today was really great. Lots of great exercise, all thanks to the buses not running in Blacksburg on Sundays, but hey, it was definitely much needed and it definitely doesn't hurt. Plus, it was later in the evening so the temperature had dropped and I was able to enjoy exploring Blacksburg at the best time of the day. :)

Goodnight & Soo Bahk! :)

6.2.11

Even though I was sore as all yesterday I still went to class, of course. Hahaha. It was good. Got back down to some real basics: stances. All in all, it was much better than Wednesday night, which I discussed with the instructor last night which gave me some peace of mind on the whole situation. I'm even more sore today though. I'm going to take the next 2 days to seriously do some rest and recovery. It's good to feel the pain of being sore again, even though it means that I'm out of shape, it also means that I've had good classes, I've been working hard and that I'm making progress. :)

Soo Bahk! :)

6.1.11

Not exactly happy. Training was alright. Everything else kind of sucked. I'm sick of doing jumping kicks and flying jump kicks, especially on tile floors like tonight. My knees and ankles can't take much more of it. Also, really irked by the lack of understanding of what sparring really is and the lack of respect I felt like I received tonight, but I may just be imagining that. Oh well, nothing can be done about that now. Time to study and go to bed.

yet again. i've gone too long.

the last time i trained was during the week off that i had between the end of school and the beginning of my summer classes. so, that means the last time i trained was may 18th. -_- not cool. and on top of that, the training was mediocre at best. while those who are testing within the next 6 months are putting in no extra effort to master their material, i'm training my ass off. i've got a minimum of 2 years for sure before i can test again and i'm busting my ass to get ready already. luckily the club here at school is starting up again this week after having some issues with booking a room due to a flood in the gym we normally train in. i cannot wait. there's a ton of built up frustration and anger that i need to release and the gym is just not cutting it.

two.more.days.

then, i'll be home and able to train at my studio.

too bad i'm only home for a week :(

guess i better make the most of it :)

I haven't trained since 4.28

This whole exam thing is starting to become a major problem. :( I can't wait to be home this time next week training at my studio for the week that I have off between spring and summer sessions! I'm literally going to go to every class available. Maybe I'll just sleep there. Hahaha. Just kidding. But seriously, I can't wait.

When I read things like this...

"The overwhelming majority of those who practice martial arts will never achieve even a modicum of celebrity or wealth, but they do acheive something significant in their lives. An obscure martial artist is still a true martial artist, and that intrinsically is a great achievement because the meaning lies in the difficulty of the effort itself." -unknown

I can't even begin to describe the pride that I feel inside for my art and training. It's things like this that makes me just want to train every day of the week and focus on nothing else. Can't wait for class tomorrow night! :)

4.28.2011

Whew. What a workout tonight! We didn't have so much as a regular class as we did a "fun" class, which meant lots of cardio! We started off with some basic kicking and forms to get us going, which went pretty well. I still can't get used to the bad mat and when we're doing the double kicks that TSD seemingly (and unfortunately for me) loves to do, I have a hard time working them. Not to mention that most all of them kill my hips and knees (again, no help from the wrestling mats) but I got through them by some miracle. We then did some punching combos on the small targets and kicking on the hanging bag. It felt so good to feel the pain in my hands and feet again. It really gives you a sense of accomplishment, no matter how bad the burn may hurt from the vinyl and skin clashing over and over. It just feels good to hit something. Sometimes it's the way to relaxation and releasing all the pent up frustration and tension that tends to build up during the week. We also walked through a couple of grappling techniques, but we didn't do them in too much detail as the three of us there didn't really know exactly how to do them, much less teach them effectively, but they were still fun to do nonetheless! We then ended out the class with some cardio exercises like leap frog and bear crawls, which about killed me. I really hope that the next couple of classes will be this way. I really miss just working up a good sweat and having "fun" running around like I used to make the kids in my classes do. It's such a good way to end the day, minus having to clean up my room. Haha.

As for the club itself, I've really started to get to know the guys there a lot more which has made training with them much more enjoyable. I've realized that as much as I am a people person, it really takes a lot for me to open up at first. Especially when it's around other martial artists, which is really weird considering I've been training for so long. I guess it's just because even though I'm most comfortable on the mat (compared to literally anywhere else in the world) it's still really awkward to not be on the mat with the people I want to and am most used to training with. I miss the guys back home so much and I so wish I could just go home this summer and train with them like I should be. But, I must play the cards I have been dealt. I'll still have a pretty good support system up here. The other Dan member will also be training pretty intensely this summer from what I understand., which will be helpful in staying motivated even though I'm not really where I want to be. And as much as I may not like it, this will be a good experience for me to really break out of my shell and get used to training with others even though I may not exactly like the circumstances. That's why the fact that I'm getting comfortable with the TSD guys here is really great and kinda reminds me of home in a sense that I've got a good group of guys around me that will help me achieve my goals, even though the guys back home can never be replaced by anyone. They've gotten me through more than any person could ever imagine. And for that, I can never, ever thank them enough. :)

Now that I've gotten sufficiently sentimental, it's time to finish up my night with a bit of organizing and cleaning! So much fun! -__- Not.
Goodnight and Soo Bahk!

4.23.2011

This is really late, but Saturday has been on my mind and so I figured I would just go ahead and post about it, even though I didn't actually do anything at karate. I did, however, go out and watch the gup shim sa (colored belt test) held on campus for the TSD club that morning. It was quite interesting. They sort of wing it compared to how we run ours. The proctor called out the test, whether it be from memory or whether he just calls out whatever he wants them to do, I do not know, without so much as a hint of a script or printed schedule. He walked around, rather than just standing pretty much in place, and corrected people in the middle of the test. There was a lot of interaction between the review board (or lack thereof considering it really only consisted of the one Sa Bom Nim, but we'll get to that later). Certain parts of it were quite strange to be quite honest. The overall result was very much similar to what I'm used to, but there were a lot of little things that just wouldn't have been accepted in our do jang.


As for the actual participants, they all did quite well. It was hard to judge some parts though because it seemed as if it were just a free for all. They would be told to do their Ho Shin Sool or Il Soo Sik on their own and it was all very overwhelming to watch. I didn't like it. I couldn't sufficiently determine (not that my opinion really matters, it's just habit kicking in to judge candidates during a test) if any of them were doing them at the level they should be performing and I don't know how the one Sa Bom could really get a good look either.


Then again, I was kind of suspicious about him. He seemed like he definitely knew his stuff because when he spoke to the group after the test he brought up basically every point that I noticed, both negative and positive, and had some really good feedback as a whole. You don't really get to that level and not know what you are talking about though. It was more of his personality and how he acted during the exam. He would completely ignore the fact that there were people testing. He would get up from the table to talk to the two Dan members about techniques or whatever he saw that was incorrect. My problem with this is that DURING the test is NOT the time to be doing this. He's wasting valuable time where he should be watching the candidates and taking notes on what the two instructors need to work on. Then, there were times where the candidates would be bowing to him after performing or after speaking to him and he didn't even have the decency to look up from taking notes for 5 seconds to acknowledge them and show them the respect that they deserve. Yes, they are your juniors, but they deserve respect as well and as an instructor, if you do not respect your students then you are going to lose them. I've always believe that you should treat others how you want to be treated, especially when it comes to martial arts and the exchange of respect, no matter what the difference is between rank, age, ability, etc. As a martial artist for 14 years, and someone who was always disrespected or disregarded, even when I one of the highest ranked individuals in my do jang, just because of my gender and age, I realized early on that these things don't matter. Just because I was female and very young didn't mean that I was any less qualified than the older male counterparts that I trained and taught with. So, seeing this happen again makes me upset. By disrespecting your students or those who aren't as experienced as you, you are showing a lack of discipline and respect for the people that could be running the organization that you have put so much time, effort, energy and money into. You are not showing them, through your actions, how a senior should act. You are just perpetuating a negative attitude and showing the lower ranking members that once you get even just a little bit of experience, that it's okay to look down upon those who will eventually be lining up behind them in line.


Overall, I was quite impressed, especially since I was finally able to watch everyone and not just catch glimpses of what they were doing. They got out there and they were pretty on point for the level that they are. They were all very disciplined (which I definitely don't see when the lower level students are running classes) and they did everything that is expected of a martial artist. I don't like that this is typical though. You're supposed to be having fun, yes. But, martial arts is also about learning discipline, control, respect among many other things. The mental part of training should be stressed just as much as the physical part is. Rick English said it best when he said "A black belt is nothing more than a belt that goes around your waist. Being a black belt is a state of mind and attitude.” This doesn't just apply to those who are black belts though, this can apply to anyone who is a martial artist. At the end of the day, the color of the belt around your waist doesn't matter, all that matters is that you are a martial artist and that you carry yourself in that way in everything you do. Personally, what you get out of martial arts mentally is much more useful and valuable in everyday life than what you get out of martial arts physically. If these were my students or trained in my studio back home, 75% of them would be in a world of trouble for the way they act. It's so hard not being able to help make changes to the program here and it's even harder for me to keep my mouth shut. I was always able to say what I wanted (within reason) or how I felt about things back home because I was so involved in the programs. If I didn't like something, I was able to express it. If I wanted something to change, I could make it happen. Here, I have to monitor myself and watch how much I say because I'm just a practitioner here. I'm not an instructor. I have no real say in what goes on and how things are done, which is really frustrating sometimes because I want to see everyone achieve their goals and have a good experience. I know how to make this happen (not that the program here isn't successful or anything) and it's frustrating to not be able to help the program and even the individuals improve for fear of overstepping my boundaries.

Anyways, that's all I've got and since I'm sure I've sufficiently bored whoever actually read all of that, I'm going to stop now before I really do serious damage. Hahaha. 

Soo Bahk! :)

4.22.2011

Open mat this afternoon went pretty well. Got through Chil Sung O Ro finally! Got some work in on the bags. Geez, it's been so long since I've had a good ass kicking from the hanging bags. Never fails that it always knocks you around pretty good. Haha. Knee wasn't bothering me at all today, which was definitely a relief and my hips weren't too bad. The only thing I really can complain about is that we were in the same room as last night so we were on the bad mats again. :( Overall, a pretty successful week of training though! :)

Have a good weekend & Soo Bahk!

4.21.2011

This one won't be nearly as long as Tuesday's post. Haha. Training was good. It seems that I've tweaked my knee and my hips were really stiff tonight, but that's just the usual now. I tried not to push them too hard as to not completely tear them up yet again, but it seems that my knee really needs some TLC because it was pretty bad tonight when I moved certain ways. It doesn't help that the mat is squishy wrestling mat stuff which just makes pivoting and landing jumps even more difficult, which they do much more of than I've ever been used to. I can't complain but so much though, at least I have somewhere to train. That's all that I can really ask for at this point. I'm hoping that tomorrow's training will be better since it is an open mat and I'll be able to go at my own pace and take my time. Otherwise, training tonight was much better than Tuesday and I enjoyed it despite having hurt myself. :(

Goodnight and Soo Bahk!

April 19, 2011

Training tonight wasn't spectacular. As similar as Tang Soo Do and Soo Bahk Do are, it's been a hard adjustment still. The classes are the total opposite of what I'm used to. Very informal with little stress on focus and discipline between instructor and student. Very fast paced and while there is some attention to detail, it's not nearly the same level of scrutiny that I'm used to, either when I was training or when I was teaching.

I'm not trying to say that SBD is superior to TSD by any means, but at times, for me, it leaves much to be desired. I have, however, noticed that I enjoy classes taught by the other Dan member there, rather than the Gup (colored belt) members, but it's a bit much to expect a graduate student in mechanical engineering at a top notch engineering school to teach every class there is.

It's a completely different environment than my studio back home as well. This club is just a bunch of college students looking to try something new, they aren't paying over a thousand dollars a year to train; they're paying less than twenty for an entire semester. So, there's no monetary motivation to go to class and get the most out of it. And I can't count the number of times that I've seen uniforms and belts just thrown on the floor, like they are just pieces of trash. I'd be killed for doing such a thing, as it shows no pride or respect for your training that you've put into your art. They are able to show up whenever they please (if testing isn't their number one priority, because they do have a minimum attendance requirement) and put as much (or as little) effort into it as they want. I guess this is just something that I have to adjust to, but not fall into. I cannot let myself jeopardize my technique and everything I have learned just so I can keep up with the others, which I felt myself doing at some points tonight. I guess there's also the issue that I tend to be a little uptight about my training, so I could stand to relax a little, but martial arts is all about tradition, technique, philosophy, respect and discipline, which I refuse to not uphold to the fullest.

Not only can I be intense though, but my instructors back home are all intense as well, to say the least. I guess that may be where I picked it up from. Just maybe. Haha. Anything less than your best, especially once you reach Dan, is unacceptable. You are expected to pour your heart out into the do jang (studio) every time you train, no questions and no exceptions. Not only is training physical though, a certain mental awareness is required as well, and if that's not there, then there no hope of remembering the material or making any progress.

So, I guess in the end, it's just a matter of the level of dedication and the time I have invested in martial arts compared to those who are just orange (or yellow belts, as it is in TSD) because you can see the difference in the training of those who are green and red belts. None of them understand what it means to be a Dan, and they can't be expected to understand yet. Being a Dan is so much more than being exceptionally proficient in your style. It's a way of life. It's a mindset. You've first got to understand this before you can fully embrace it and your commitment to your martial art as a high ranking individual.

Overall, I hope that training will improve by the end of the week and some serious progress will be made on my part. Seeing as how when I tried to do Chil Sung O Ro tonight, which is one of five forms I need to know for Sa Dan, I couldn't get through even 10% of it. It's really disappointing, but this just means that I've got to step it up and do my research and do it after classes no matter how tired I am. I do however need to start monitoring my hips again. It's been so long since I've had to think about not straining them too badly that before I know it I'm going to be out of commission yet again. I've already noticed the digression they've made to back when I was training six days a week and here I am only training three on average. It's going to be hard to get back into that mindset, but it's what I've got to do for my own physical well being.

 Until then though, it's time to rest and recover before the cycle starts over again on Thursday.

Good night and Soo Bahk!

Goals:

I figure it's best to start off my journey by setting some goals that I want to achieve, both short & long term. Here they are:

• start training again between 3 & 4 days a week, and then eventually work back up to 6 days minimum like how I used to train
• possibly go train with another instructor who isn't too far away so I can get back on track with my material
• get into a good routine (healthy diet, gym, etc.) this summer since I'll be here in Blacksburg still and won't have as many distractions
• re-learn and expand on what I already know about the history of Soo Bahk Do
• embrace these more (or at least the ones that apply to me)

As hard as it's going to be to get back to my old ways, I'm going to do it no matter what it takes. I've waited for this moment for basically my entire life, and there's no way I'm going to let anything or anyone get in my way.

And so it begins...

Well, it all really began 14 years ago, but the next 2-3 years is what it all really comes down to. Thousands of hours spent on the mat training, the blood, sweat & tears shed. All of it leads up to this. The training that I will be doing for the next couple of years will quite possibly be the most intense of my entire martial arts career, but I've never wanted anything more than this. I'm here to share this experience with anyone who wishes to follow along with me during my journey and to document this monumental time of my life for myself to look back on after I have fulfilled this lifelong dream.