Lessons

I’m very behind in writing because life is complicated, but I just wanted to jot down a few notes about my last class.  I talked with Teacher about doing a section in class as he had suggested.  I picked side-kicks and told him what I’d be doing.  I took up a majority of the 2nd hour, but it felt like a longer time.  It’s tiring to do all the thinking as well as the work.

The lesson:
- side kicks
- side kick with step behind
- water dummy practice
- partner drills

The first three were pretty good, but the partner drills were pretty crappy.  We really needed folks of similar height and flexibility to start off, but it didn’t go that way.   Short, tall, flexible, not – argh!

Stance

Crick, crack.  Crick Crack.  “Jeeze,” I thought to myself.  “Is this what my wife heard over the years?” 

With the plethora of new students Teacher is making a very solid beginners lesson plan which requires endless repetition of the kicks and work on stances.  In our discussions last year before my Brown Belt exam he was emphasizing that I needed to be an example in form and so on.   The primary example is that I present the stance in it’s most traditional form (Japanese not Korean).  Let’s just say that I have a very difficult time having the top of my leg in parallel to the ground. 

So he explains to the class that because of my age some the things that should be done and emulated aren’t going to happen. 

Well, pride goeth before the fall.  I forced myself in a lower stance (still not the parallel) and felt pretty good about it because it wasn’t too uncomfortable on my knees – and then noticed the clicking noise.  That just doesn’t sound healthy. 

Long story short – I’m back on the glucosamine and cutting back on jogging. 

After class back to Teachers place for beer and therapy.  Then called into work at midnight.  Tough morning the next day.

A Well Executed Day

I normally jot down my notes either the night of class or the next day before work gets started,  so this is a bit behind since we have class tonight and I’m writing about something that has happened almost five days ago.

The class was invigorated with some more new students so we actually started fairly early and has a small rest break making our class closer to the 2 hours that I say we do, but normally don’t. 

Teacher is still on the formula, so I was able to apply a few things after our talk to the class.  When I was leading the warm-ups I simply didn’t ask permission and told people what to do.  I led people in counting and did some corrections and hints through out the class. 

The hardest thing to do for me is to consciously get my mind in the correct place.  I’m doing a lot of self checking and stopping myself from placing the way I speak and think in the pejorative.  I find this exhausting and distracting.  However, it keeps my mouth shut more often.  Probably a nice break for my friends. 

The Big Talk

I think I may have mentioned that Teacher and I talked briefly about what’s next in my development.  After class last night we met for an hour and half on what’s expected of me for my Black Belt. 

I don’t think I can put everything into a nutshell, but it felt like a particularly intensive therapy session.  I came in thinking that we’d be talking about physical requirements and how to figure that out based on my age, but Teacher wants to focus on these things:

- be assertive (without being a dick)
- teach portions of the class in a more formal manner
- be more situationally aware

I left thinking I rather have a hard physical test (which he assured me I would) than the above.  Situational awareness can be worked on all the time, but the other things are going to require to me face aspects of myself that are a struggle.  By my very nature I’m easy going to a fault and avoid all conflict.  However I’ll do this to the nth degree; so much so that it creates conflict in other areas. 

Unfortunately there isn’t a syllabus that outlines how do this, but when I started my campaign to stop apologizing all the time it was a very small component.  Next stop – stop with all the self depreciation, and then figure out how to accept that I know some stuff. 

I know that in class I have asked the students if they want to do something instead of telling them.  How’s does one retool one aspect of their personality without changing who they are?  I don’t think I can do a major change, but Teacher says that I will do this without any problem.  Interesting times ahead.

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Two new kids in class.  Several out on injury (not from class).  So a good time that went by quickly.