Saturday is for rest...or is it??

Another week has snuck by me without my knowing it. Well, I DID know it...but I've had meetings this week that have tied me up. Monday night we had a Cub Scout meeting--the first one of the year. Miss A had her schedule pick up on Thursday. She's taking all pre-AP or pre Advance Placement classes, with the exception of math. She's taking Algebra I. I'm glad...I'll get a chance to review with her! She's changing her Biology to a Pre-AP class. I was surprised to hear that from her, but pleased nonetheless. She's a smart girl. Yes, I AM saying that because I'm her mom, but also because I know she can do anything she puts her mind to.

Mr. A's not 100% interested in Cub Scouts..YET. He hasn't gotten into the swing of things yet. I have to get him fired up for it. We did have an interesting talk about martial arts forms as we were walking home from the store this morning. We were talking about him reviewing Kee Cho Hyung Il Bu, because he needs the practice. Just because we're out of class this month doesn't mean that we have to let everything flop. We will practice and work on our techniques and forms.

Next week we have a full week of Band related activities. They start practices in the evenings, so no more "two a days"...instead, they'll practice from 4-8, so I MIGHT get to hear them this week. No practice on Wednesday. Thursday there's a Pep Rally, plus it's "Meet the teacher" night at the Elementary school. I hope we'll know who the little guy is getting for his teacher soon! We want to know more than 1 day before we meet the teacher!! Friday is the "Watermelon bust" at the high school, then Saturday is March A Thon. I've got to help with that. Need to find out what I need to do for that.

I feel good

I'm pretty tired and wiped out, but I have to say that I feel so much better tonight than I did the other night, it's not even funny! I got to work with a very patient Master who helped me overcome some differences in the way I learned and the way I need to do forms now. I feel much better about doing them.
We worked on the Keechyo forms: Keechyo Hyung Il Bu, Keechyo Hyung Ee Bu, Keechyo Hyung Sam Bu. Then we broke off and worked on forms with different people. I worked with Master M and Mr. S. We reviewed Pyung Ahn Ee Dan and I learned some neat ways to improve what I knew...It was a great refresher and I think I feel a bit more confident about being able to remember the forms now. n
We also worked on Pyung Ahn Sam Dan (that's the form I call "Superman". I'd love to see Oldman's take on that!), Pyung Ahn Sah Dan and then Pyung Ahn Oh Dan. I feel that I have a better grasp of the forms. I can actually SEE a few basic moves and why you'd do them.
During Pyung Ahn Sah Dan, I did the thing I have always done...I reached up as if I was grabbing a giant. I have to keep in mind that the grab (it's a collar grab) is not meant to be grabbing giants. It is meant to be grabbing a person who is roughly your same size. I would not be reaching for a person who is 6'9 when I'm only 5'3!!! Keeping that in mind will be beneficial.

We ended with Pyung Ahn Oh Dan. I can't call it "Oh dam" anymore because that one I actually had mostly in my head. Of course, I'd been talking about it with a friend via text messages and it's still on my phone, but that doesn't count. I wasn't looking at the phone when I went through the forms.


Over all, I feel MUCH better about this class than I did on Tuesday. I felt that I had a more open mind, that I was receptive to working hard on my forms and that I was receptive to asking for help. That's what I needed.

Thursday's class

Thursday night's class was most fun and challenging. Master M had us do what she called a "DQ Sundae". Basically, she started us off with a technique and we then had to one by one, add on another technique. It was a matter of listening and remembering. She demonstrated each technique as we called it out. That was fun. It started out with an Aneseo Pahkaro Mahkee (spelling, sorry!), followed by a low side kick in kemah Jahsee (horse riding stance), then a torrida (spinning)...um, it was a back fist. I am still learning the terminology, so I don't have it all yet. It was a Kap Kwon, I think! I offered a Jang Kwon (palm-heel strike) ending in a front stance. I'm not looking at my notes at present, so I don't have all the techniques our line offered up memorized. It was a lesson in putting together the various techniques and think of the flow and how they interacted with the previous and the next technique. I have to admit to being disconnected. I was concentrating on doing the technique and making sure I did it correctly (which can be improved, I'm sure!). I didn't really think of the application at that point, but I've since been thinking about how they worked together. I can see in my mind how a torrida kap kwon can work to pop someone upside the head (I believe it's a temple strike), then with my offering (jang kwon), it's a blow to the ribs to further incapacitate the opponent. I think there may have been another kick there...I forgot what Mr. L offered (a spinning inside/outside crescent kick, maybe??). One of the other Mr. L's offered up a round house, I think. I forgot (again, not looking at my book), what the last technique was.

We were in two lines and the second line offered up a high block, jumping front snap kick, something that landed in a cross legged stance, reinforced middle block (I THINK). It ended with a jumping front snap kick with the REAR leg (need to work on those...I think too much and an opponent would see it coming a mile away!), ending in a cat stance with a plier/pincer grip?

When it came to forms work, I actually remembered Keecho Hyung Il Bu, Ee Bu and Sam Bu!!!! I think I spaced out on Bassai, so that means I need more work on it...and Naihanchi Cho Dan I think I had!! It really pays to practice. I'm going to get myself back into the habit of reviewing forms, starting with my basic forms and working up. I really need to stop THINKING and actually start doing. I will get there. Nothing happens overnight, no matter how impatient I am.

Mr. L gave me a few pointers on my high 'x' blocks. I can see the application and the benefit of doing it the way he showed me--there's a 'divot' on your wrist that you can lock your other wrist bone into...and it's more stable than the way I had been doing it. One minor tweak learned and committed to memory (we hope!).

Post class

Why the heck was I nervous about this class? Was it because I have a low sense of self esteem? Possibly. Possibly because I didn't know what to expect and therefore expected the worst? I don't know, but once I started showing Mrs. S. my forms, everything settled down. I felt like I had a captive audience, one who expected to see perfection and yet was understanding that I felt odd. I haven't worked on forms in a really long time, so this was a good thing for me. I felt that I was showing them that I am capable of going into their school and performing at a high level. You know what? I wasn't showing them. I was showing myself!

I pretty much glued myself to Ms. S for the duration of class. I like her. She has a great sense of humor, and I found out that she teaches her kids to do a middle knife hand block as "a cup of tea and slicing bread" (you are basically holding one hand in front of your sternum, palm up, flat and the opposite hand is out in front of you as if you're slicing something.). That was a good thing to learn. I told her that we learned Pyhung an Sam Dan and Pyhung an Sa Dan as "Superman" and "splat!" for certain parts of the form. I did Pyhung an Cho Dan and goofed up part of it. I wasn't remembering my forms properly because of nerves or something, but I caught it and stepped back to the point where I lost it.

It was funny to see these guys realize that I was Aidan's mom. They've only seen me twice in the kids' class, out of uniform, and again twice on Saturdays. I had a bit of fun when Ms. M recognized me as Aidan's mom, but also as a black belt.

I won't be participating in the Dan pre-test on Tuesday. It's an assessment of people's abilities. Mrs. S said it was a "benchmark" of fitness and ability. Should be fun when I finally get to jump in on one. Of course, I have to learn the names of the blocks/kicks/punches/etc. That's something I need to put out there. I need lots of work on the Korean. In my last school, we didn't use the Korean terminology all that often. We switched from calling the first form "Basic Form #1" to "Keechyo Hyung Il Bu" about the time we started having Master St. James attend our belt tests. Having gone through two belt tests at USMA, I'm sure I'll be able to attend a belt test at BTK with little difficulty. I'm going to start working on my terminology and studying. This has to be treated like a university program in order for me to excel. I prefer to think that I'm learning at a higher degree of education, so I'll get myself into that mindset now.

Who turned on Summer and Martial Arts babbling

Please tell me WHO decided that 99 degrees was a good temperature for May 19th?? Can we say "wicked HOT"?? Yep, it was that kind of a day!! Hotter than Hades (almost) and certainly NOT comfortable!! Very much a "stay inside in the air conditioning" type of day. My office is already at super freeze mode, which means I wear a sweater most of the day, but going out at night, I don't need it. I also won't run the a/c in my car because 1. Gas prices are outrageous and 2. I don't need air until I pick up Aidan from school. HE needs the a/c. Since I'm "old" (2 weeks and I'll be "older still") and get chilled easily, I don't run the air.

Aidan and I went to class tonight. I got Mr. T to work with him on forms and technique. We really worked on his front stances. Since he was in Young Warriors and was bumped up when he reached black belt in there, he's never had the opportunity to correct his stances. Tonight we worked very hard on correcting his stances. He's a brown belt and is just now getting the stance correct. Fortunately, the older Mr. B (he's a third Dan, working toward fourth) was very patient and worked hard with him tonight to help him correct his stances.

I worked on forms during class. I really like doing forms better than I like sparring or some of the other things. The joint locks are fun, the weapons are fun, but I prefer the forms myself. It's somehow soothing and helps me refocus. It's somehow meditative as well as thought provoking. I can turn off my mind and just put myself into the matter at hand, that of doing the forms.
We ran through Kee Cho Hyung Il Bu, Kee Cho Hyung Ee Bu and Kee Cho Hyung Sam Bu, then Pyung Ahn Cho Dan. After that, we worked on Pyung Ahn Ee Dan, then Sam Dan, Sah Dan and then Oh Dan. We didn't work on any of the higher forms, but that's fine by me. I was able to refocus and get my head wrapped around the forms properly. I always mess up and confuse Sam Dan and Sah Dan. I call Sam Dan "Superman". I call Sah Dan "Splat!" I call them so for the way they look when you're doing them. Sam Dan has a move that looks like Superman puffing out his chest. Sah Dan starts out with a "Splat!" to the left, then a "splat" (two open hands, palms outward, one in a high block, one in a low block). I really like those forms. I like Pyung Ahn Oh Dan best though. That one's a fun one.

Next month we're starting a new curriculum at the dojang. We'll be working on Tae Kwan Do instead of Tang Soo Do. I'll still be a black belt, but my forms are now going to change. As it's standing, it'll be interesting to see how things work out for the black belt test in November. I'm supposed to be learning Jin Do, but nobody's worked on that form in several weeks. For my second Dan, I have to know Jin Do and Nahainchi Ee Dan. I just have to start working on them. I'm debating on whether or not I should attend the black belt class tomorrow. If I go, I'm not sure they'll be working on forms or if they'll be working on sparring. I'll have to play that one by ear. I don't know if I want to skip out and stay home or not yet. It all depends on how my day goes tomorrow.