I Will Fight You
That's right. I am now a Hapkido white belt. Shazam.
My friends Haley and Matt were telling me how they had just started Hapkido, which is a Korean martial art, and I thought to myself, "Hmm...I've always wanted to know how to eviscerate a man with one quick chop...this could also be really fun to use on my brother when I get back home -- payback for all those years of abuse...." And then I plunked down my money.
Hapkido means "the way of coordinating energy," or "the way of harmony." It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, pressure points, throws, kicks, and other strikes. Hapkido practitioners train to counter the techniques of other martial arts as well a
s common unskilled attacks. There are also traditional weapons including short stick, cane, rope, nunchucks, sword and staff." (Thank you, Wikipedia.) Basically, it means that I will become a fighting machine.
My first lesson was...memorable. As in, my muscles are still screaming a week later, and I'm pretty sure I made a lasting impression on Master Yun, what with my imitation of a dead fish flopping around on the floor and my comic inability to do a simple front roll that kids all across the world learn as soon as they start breathing. Good thing I am a vessel of self-confidence. Ha.
The lesson includes respectful bowing to our master and our classmates. We all wear a black cotton uniform that is comfortable and breathable. Then we stretched and did jumping jacks, sit ups, and push ups. My lack of upper body strength reduced me to a humiliating 15 or so "girl" push ups. Eeek. Then we did these odd floor exercises, where we contort ourselves in such a way as to jackknife our way across the room. Hence, the flopping. Master was very supportive, repeating, "It's your first time. You're doing very good." What a gent. I'm hoping after a few weeks I'll start to look slightly more coordinated. Then we moved on to roundhouse and front kicks. I was nailing the mitt that Haley held pretty well, and Master Yun complimented me and said, "Have you taken taekwondo before?" And I said, "No, but I've played soccer for twenty years!" Finally, something in my favor! The last 15 minutes were spent learning moves, like how to take down an opponent when they grab your wrist or throw a punch at you. Haley and I had lots of giggles, as we were clearly the most inept. But never fear-- I will quickly learn how to hurt you. It's in my blood.
My friends Haley and Matt were telling me how they had just started Hapkido, which is a Korean martial art, and I thought to myself, "Hmm...I've always wanted to know how to eviscerate a man with one quick chop...this could also be really fun to use on my brother when I get back home -- payback for all those years of abuse...." And then I plunked down my money.
Hapkido means "the way of coordinating energy," or "the way of harmony." It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, pressure points, throws, kicks, and other strikes. Hapkido practitioners train to counter the techniques of other martial arts as well a
s common unskilled attacks. There are also traditional weapons including short stick, cane, rope, nunchucks, sword and staff." (Thank you, Wikipedia.) Basically, it means that I will become a fighting machine.My first lesson was...memorable. As in, my muscles are still screaming a week later, and I'm pretty sure I made a lasting impression on Master Yun, what with my imitation of a dead fish flopping around on the floor and my comic inability to do a simple front roll that kids all across the world learn as soon as they start breathing. Good thing I am a vessel of self-confidence. Ha.
The lesson includes respectful bowing to our master and our classmates. We all wear a black cotton uniform that is comfortable and breathable. Then we stretched and did jumping jacks, sit ups, and push ups. My lack of upper body strength reduced me to a humiliating 15 or so "girl" push ups. Eeek. Then we did these odd floor exercises, where we contort ourselves in such a way as to jackknife our way across the room. Hence, the flopping. Master was very supportive, repeating, "It's your first time. You're doing very good." What a gent. I'm hoping after a few weeks I'll start to look slightly more coordinated. Then we moved on to roundhouse and front kicks. I was nailing the mitt that Haley held pretty well, and Master Yun complimented me and said, "Have you taken taekwondo before?" And I said, "No, but I've played soccer for twenty years!" Finally, something in my favor! The last 15 minutes were spent learning moves, like how to take down an opponent when they grab your wrist or throw a punch at you. Haley and I had lots of giggles, as we were clearly the most inept. But never fear-- I will quickly learn how to hurt you. It's in my blood.
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