I began my first week of training on Monday the 16th of March 2015. I made myself acquainted with my new instructor, Mr Blair and then stood awkwardly to the side of the gymnasium, feeling shy. I made conversation with a few white belts yet still felt disconnected.
Suddenly, a large shout saying "LINE UP!" filled the gym. I ran to where I knew my place would be, right at the back, furthest to the left.
We proceeded to do several cardio exercises. Running up and down the gym, running around the gym, grape-vine running, backwards running, bear crawl running. All the loving memories of running in TaeKwon-Do came flooding back to me, hitting me in the face. Taking five years off training definitely wasn't a smart move regarding my endurance. I was heaving for air at the end of the twenty to twenty-five minutes of straight cardio.
After we took the time to stretch for a cool down of five minutes we jumped into basic techniques of practising stances. I was allocated a senior student to teach me them. Her name was Chelsea and ironically enough, we found out we were almost exactly the same age, but nine days apart. She taught me the first two basic stances:
Forward Stance- The same as walking stance in ITF, back leg extended with foot pointed forward and front leg bent with the foot pointed forward, the width between the legs are shoulder width apart and the length almost twice that.
Back Stance- The same as 'L' stance in ITF. Front leg bent with foot pointed forward and back leg bent with the foot pointed to the side.
Suddenly, a large shout saying "LINE UP!" filled the gym. I ran to where I knew my place would be, right at the back, furthest to the left.
We proceeded to do several cardio exercises. Running up and down the gym, running around the gym, grape-vine running, backwards running, bear crawl running. All the loving memories of running in TaeKwon-Do came flooding back to me, hitting me in the face. Taking five years off training definitely wasn't a smart move regarding my endurance. I was heaving for air at the end of the twenty to twenty-five minutes of straight cardio.
After we took the time to stretch for a cool down of five minutes we jumped into basic techniques of practising stances. I was allocated a senior student to teach me them. Her name was Chelsea and ironically enough, we found out we were almost exactly the same age, but nine days apart. She taught me the first two basic stances:
Forward Stance- The same as walking stance in ITF, back leg extended with foot pointed forward and front leg bent with the foot pointed forward, the width between the legs are shoulder width apart and the length almost twice that.
Back Stance- The same as 'L' stance in ITF. Front leg bent with foot pointed forward and back leg bent with the foot pointed to the side.
Before the end of training, the two white belts who I had talked to were bought to the front of class and promoted to the next belt grade, White belt/Yellow tip. I found it interesting that they did not need a grading test to proceed to the next level, or perhaps they had already had a test before training, I was unsure.
I ended the lesson by thanking the instructor and Chelsea and left feeling confident.
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My second lesson was on Wednesday and my instructor greeted me by handing me a brand new uniform. I tried it on and it was a little too big but I didn't care, I felt like part of the family. This uniform was very different to the ones worn in ITF.
Rather than being a light weight jacket, with velcro to keep the two sides together at the middle or like a shirt you can put over the head, this uniform was what I can only describe as a Gi, like a Karate Gi or Judo Gi.
With strings on both sides to keep the jacket closed and instead of meeting at the middle, one side crossed over the other. The second thing I noticed is that it was a heavy weight material and hard for my skin the breathe through. But regardless I still felt complete with the Dobok/Gi/Uniform.
Training started as it had on Monday, with running, this time paired with a few push-ups, sit-ups and an attempt at a handstand. After the cool down a senior black belt took over my training, asking me to perform low blocks.
He seemed surprised and looked curiously at me with one of the brown belts. "So what other martial arts have you done before?" he asked me. I told him I had done ITF for a year and he replied "It shows."
Talk about a confidence boost!
I ended the lesson thanking him and going home keen for Monday's training.
Thank you for reading.
-Kirstine
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