The End of Kim's Black Belt Academy

Tonight I attended my last Taekwondo class at Kim's Black Belt Academy. Due to some changes in my master's personal life (Out of respect, I prefer not to post about them), he has decided to take on a co-owner (Paulette!) and thus dissolve the school. Our new school will be called Kim's School of Martial Arts, and we've all been assured that it will essentially be the same. I'm a little apprehensive, though. I've been with the school for almost 11 years, and I'm kind of sad to see it go, but I'm glad that we're expanding and growing.
Something weird happened during class. We were doing self-defense and I was having trouble with a wrist-lock, so Mr. Coleman came over to help. He took my arm and put the wrist-lock on, but sharper and faster than normal, which made it hurt a lot more. Now understand, I have faith that Mr. Coleman knows what he's doing, and I would trust him with my life, but the fact that he didn't seem to notice how much he was hurting me confused me a little. I was so distracted by the pain that I could barely focus on what he was telling me. It reminded me of something TaekwondoMom said in one of her posts about Master Hughes inadvertantly hurting one of his students. Hmm.... Comments??

I'm Back Full Blast!!

Wow, today was the best Taekwondo day I've had in awhile. School was cancelled because of the ice, but Mr. Coleman said we would still have class. I was hoping for a small crowd//no one, because its always more fun and relaxed in small groups (plus, you get a lot more done). When I got to the dojang, Brian was the only one there. He said that Mr. Coleman couldn't make it, so I was going to have to help him teach class. Weapons was first, and nobody showed up for it, so the two of us spent a lot of time on the bo katas, then moved to sai, and finally tonfa. We finished up early, so we tried some self-defense moves on each other, which was really fun. We used a technique that Mr. Coleman just recently began teaching us, where the person that is attacking doesn't just sit there and wait for you to take them down. They grab you and shake you around and try to pull you away, so you have to find a way to manuever them down to the ground. I like it, because its much more realistic and can prepare you for potential "scuffles" that you may have on the street. I also enjoyed working with an adult who is larger than I am, because it helps me to figure out how much force I need to use when defending against the average male. I mean, come on; There will never be a time in my life when a five foot little man//dwarf attacks me. Its most likely going to be somebody significantly larger than me, and that's the main complaint that I have about Mr. Coleman at the moment. I always have to partner with little kids or other small adults. Anyway, I'm getting off-track. Self defense/sparring class was pretty fun. We had about eight people, so we all got a lot more individual attention. I hit Brian in the jaw.... twice.... But not on purpose! :) Brian had me lead warmups, then do some kicking drills and combinations before we started. It was good practice for me, and I think I'm improving a little more with my teaching skills. We just did drills during sparring; no freespar... :( But it was still a good workout! After class, Brian and I went over one of the harder bo katas a few times, then I helped him lock up. I think Brian's probably my favorite taekwondo person. He treats me like the young adult that I'm becoming, and doesn't make any allowances for my height//size. He doesn't go easy on me at all, and that's what I admire him for. We also have a lot of the same ideas//thoughts about where the dojang is headed and what kind of improvements could be made. Anway, its cool, and I'm really happy that I'm getting more and more out of tkd.

Sorry

Wow, its been a long time since I've blogged! School has been evil to me, but exams will be over soon and I'll have a lot more time to post here. Umm..... Letsee.... Some recent things that have happened: I got my testing application for my 1st progress stripe! Also got my testing application for kubodo. Mr. Coleman said he wanted to move me up to the higher levels because I'd been doing it for so long (before they had a belt system for it). I've got a demo coming up in a couple of weeks at Brian's church (again!) they really seem to like us. Gotta go, my free period is almost over ("yay" for chemistry tests).