Saturday, September 24, 2005

Wow.... Just....Wow....

Wow... I am in awe.... This morning started out well with an all-belts class. There were only three of us, so Mr. Coleman had us work mostly on forms. I got to review my old forms and tweak a few minor things, which was good. Then we did something we usually don't do; we talked. Mr. Coleman asked us what our goals were in Tae Kwon Do, and life in general. I told him that I don't see myself doing martial arts as a profession, but its become such a way of life for me, I don't think I'll ever quit. I also shared that one of my goals in life was to drive through a toll booth and pay for myself and the next five cars that come through. It seems pretty random, but I've always wanted to do that, just to make a few strangers smile.
After class I got a quick lunch, ran a couple of errands, then was back at tkd for the four hour self-defense seminar. We spent the first 20 minutes or so, just talking about what self-defense was, and going over the three A's (Awareness, Assessment, & Action). Next we paired up (I was with Paulette, which I was glad about. She's very serious about martial arts, but knows how to have fun at the same time).
We started with wrist locks, which I've always found rather complicated (If I ever get into a situation, I think I would just panic and twist the arm in a random direction and just pray that it hurts them!) At one point, Paulette had me in a lock, but I didn't feel any pain; so Mr. Coleman came over, took my wrist, and I let out a yelp because the pain surprised me so much!
We moved on to arm bars and sweeps, which I'm more comfortable with. Its easier for me to have control over the whole body, not just the wrist. One of the distractions that Master Lucas showed us was a strike to the chest area, before locking the body up. Needless to say, that wasn't very fun for us women, and I think we'll all be a little sore tomorrow!
Next came my favorite part; working with weapons. We started with escaping from someone who has a knife to your throat from behind. I think I got "stabbed" in the back and "slit" my wrists a couple of times in the process of learning. Then we worked on disarming someone who is attacking you with a knife from the front. Master Lucas came over and corrected me when I let go of my attacker's wrist for a split second in order to change my hold. Its very important to always be in control of the weapon; you can strike and hit all you want with one hand, but always keep your attacker's wrist locked up with the other hand.
We practiced with guns next (no, not real ones!) and I definitley got "shot" a few times! We started with a gun to the center of your forehead. You don't make any sudden movements, or you're dead. You slowly raise your hands up and play the coward: "Hey man, what do you want? Do you want my money? Can I get my wallet out?" Then you turn to the side so the bullet goes right past your forehead if they pull the trigger, and grab the gun by the top, so they can't fire again; bring it up, and twist it upside down so the barrel is facing them, then bring your arms down and break it out of their hand. Another one we practiced was if someone has a gun in your back. Again, play the coward, but you have to look to see if its just your friend messing around, or if its for real. Then you spin to the outside of them and lock their arm. Strike them, kick them, then take the gun and clear the area.
We ended with a pizza party and question & answer session. It was amazing; I could do an 8 hour session of this stuff and not get bored! It was most definitley worth the $25, and I can't wait until the next one!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi TKD Rocker--
And thank you for linking my blog!

What a coincidence that we were both doing self-defense this weekend. Your seminar sounds like it was very interesting--especially working with weapons.

Did it make you feel more self-confident, or more aware of the dangers? (You said you got "shot," "stabbed," etc.)

TKDMom

TKD Rocker said...

I think it was a little of both. became aware that I had to be more exact in my movements while working with the weapons, and whenever I got "killed", it kind of jolted me, like "what if that had been the real thing?" But I gained confidence when I successfully disarmed my attacker, or when one of the instructors complimented me. I guess it has to be a balance; you have to be aware of the dangers, but also be confident that you can take care of yourself if the situation ever arises.
-Pam