Exams are OVER

Wow, I finally have time to breathe, now that exams are over! The past couple of months have gone really well regarding Taekwondo. I'm teaching tonight for Mr. Coleman. I've also been going to the black belt classes that we have once a month. The latest one was especially fun. It was just me and Max (an older black belt), so we did some take-down sparring drills (its like sparring, except more realistic. Less kicks and more grappling). Max outweighed me by a lot, so it was easy for him to swing me around, but Mr. Coleman told me I got in a few good shots as well.
Yesterday, I had a private lesson with Mr. Coleman (I'm doing a set of five this spring, and probably another set in the fall). I love the private lessons because its just one-on-one, and we can work on more advanced techniques that I don't learn in class. We worked on my form (Taebek) for about 45 minutes, and we nitpicked the heck out of it! He gave me something to work on for every single move in the form, and I loved every minute of it! I wrote all the notes down and I've been practicing nonstop. Mr. Coleman wants me to compete with it at the State Championships this summer, so yay! After working on Taebek, we did some wrist locks and arm bars on the mats, which I really enjoyed! I found out how difficult it is to take down a grown man, and how much I still have to learn. It really deepened my conviction about training with larger guys, because I could barely take Mr. Coleman down, and I'm pretty sure he wasn't going full force. So that's what I'm going to focus on for the rest of my private lessons: Improving my self-defense and learning how much force I need to exert in order to take down the average male.
As promised, here's some more about weapons: Out of all the weapons, the bo is by far my favorite weapon. I just take to it, and love the gracefullness of it sliding through your hands. As to Taekwondomom's question, "Is it hard to learn?", I'm not sure. I began training with it when I was 9 or 10, and can't remember much. I suppose it would be a bit easier for an adult to learn, because you've developed enough muscle to handle it, and your mind can grasp the concepts easier than a child. I'll write more later - my OC is over.

New Schtuff

Wow, I finally have time to update! Last week, I was pushed headfirst into my new teaching role. My master called me Monday morning (sounding sick as a dog), and asked me if I could teach class in Troy that night. Teaching in Asheboro is one thing, because I know most of the students. But I hardly know anyone from the Troy gym, so I anticipated some awkwardness. Overall, it went pretty well. I established my authority, we did some kicking drills, bag drills, and self-defense.
Turns out Mr. Coleman was very sick that week, so I ended up teaching on Friday and Saturday as well. It was a little tedious (I didn't get to workout at all this week), but it gave me a chance to hone my teaching strategies.
Letsee, I've also been taking private lessons with Mr. Coleman. We mostly work on punching (jabs, hooks, reverses, uppercuts), and I'm learning a more realistic fighting style (less kicks, more grappling/punching). Its really fun!
As per Taekwondomom's request, I will now talk about weapons. Our gym offers Traditional Okinawan Kempo Kubodo Karate (we just call it Kubodo). We learn bo staff, sai, tonfa, ecubo, and nunchucku. My personal favorite is bo. I don't really have time to write much about it (i have to get to class), but I'll post again with more details on weapons.