...But it's really the most exciting and enjoyable thing I've been doing on a regular basis.
My summer schedule has been: wake up by 7:30, go to the pool and swim 1000 meters (minimum), go to work for eight hours, then go straight to tae kwon do, and finally home for a shower, dinner, an episode of Buffy/Angel, and bed by 11 so I can get up early and do it all again. I don't really have unstructured free time, but I'm in the emotional range of content to happy with everything I'm doing.
Tae Kwon Do has been a pretty big part of my life since my sophomore year of high school. It was the first sport I was really able to stick with because there was no external pressure or expectations I had to meet or exceed. It's all about my personal journey and interactions with the school community, not what a coach wants me to be doing. I really needed, and still need, an outlet where I can be my own person, set my own goals, and still be part of a strong community.
I cannot even begin to explain the types of friendships I have formed in the dojang because it is such a random group of people. There's a certain type of trust one needs to share with his/her training partners, and that leads to conversations about what you're doing, which lead to conversations about life, and soon enough you have made a friend in a person you otherwise never would have met. These relationships are great when I'm home, but are what truly make me miss my school when I'm away at college.
I've always had a special place in my heart for classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The first classes I ever took were on those weekdays, and when I switched to taking classes at the main school, I went on those days. In the year to year and a half leading up to my black belt test, I started going 5-6 days each week, but Tuesday and Thursday are always TKD days in my mind.
The instructor for those classes has a particular kind of creativity that I have never found elsewhere. Her alternative approaches that train the same techniques as every other traditional class have truly made me a better martial artist and a more creative thinker. I think we understand each other in a very unique way. Lately, I've been going to class early to work on self defense with her. This has been the most important training I've done all summer. It's a different way of thinking, because I really don't live in a violent world, and having to seriously contemplate these scenarios makes me uncomfortable (as evidenced by the "uncomfortable face" which I cannot complete a session without making). Better to be uncomfortable now than freaking out and having a blank mind if I should be attacked.
Anyway, tonight's class with her was simply wonderful. We did a drill where each student had to contribute 3 kicks to make a string of 9. I had to come up with the first three, and she knew exactly what I was thinking, so, because she said it before I could, I came up with an entirely different set. The second and third strings were different; she assigned a variation (hopping, skipping, jumping, flying) to each contributor. I had hopping and jumping, respectively, and I was a bit mean; I used a hopping axe kick, which is tricky in terms of balance, and a jumping turning wheel kick, which is nearly impossible to do. It was fun though...
Then we worked on kicking two bags over, about 400-500 pounds of material. I'd done it once about a year ago, but I couldn't do it tonight. Something to work on before class :) Finally, we all worked on a skipping side kick speed break. I'm so close!!!!!! Goal for the summer. I will drive around with that board until it is decimated. I refuse to leave for school with it intact.
The way the combination of personal growth, sense of community, and athletic work combine make an amazing training experience. When I'm tired or sore, the other aspects of at TKD class make it worthwhile to go to the dojang anyway and be with the people who make me stronger mentally and physically.
Today is awesome because I was reminded of the lightheartedness and pure fun that can be part of Tae Kwon Do.
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