Monday night I had the pleasure of teaching the infamous falling and rolling class. Everyone came back for class last night so the wooden floor must not have been too punishing. Despite hitting most everything correctly I still had bloody knees and a scuffed elbow from when things did not go so well. I really wish we had mats. However, we are lucky to have a studio so we have to make due.
Last night Sabum was back and we mainly worked on self-defense and one-steps. In particular we tried to emphasize technique and not speed. For beginners the speed will come later but if they don’t have the proper technique most of it does not stand a chance of really working. Our curriculum has a plethora of wrist lock take downs. The catch is that they rely on fine motor skills which science has shown to degrade under stress. So, when I was working with the students one thing I stressed is what to do if your technique fails. Namely, have a “Plan B” which should be something from the gross motor skill category: Punches, kicks, elbows, etc.
In the advanced class we worked on various combinations. These are still hard for me due to my age. Trying to make a 40-year-old body do what a 26-year-old can do is rough. Some I can pull off while other TKD combos are still rough as a cob.
I think my love-hate relationship with effective combinations (i.e., those that are not as slow as a turtle) has helped to make me a counter-fighter. I simply cannot rely on dazzling speed and a blitz attack. So, I’m forced to read my opponent and respond when there’s an opening. Not necessarily a bad thing because I used to a big-time charger. My other strength is also a weakness: long legs. In a TKD-style match once someone with shorter legs gets inside my range I have a problem. I have a few “go-to” techniques to get them off me but my favorite still is punching. Since the new students look like they are not going to quit and finally have their own arm guards I rolled that out on them last night. Suddenly they realized that while their hogus may protect them, when they come in close old Bob can still cause their arms pain via punching. The result is that they almost always back up and out into my leg range where I can kick them again.
We closed with me sparring two opponents again. I did much better than I normally do but still got beat down. This time I opened up on body punches. Part to conserve energy which allowed me to pick my kicks. Again, while largely ineffective if someone is wearing a chest guard, they can work if you “accidentally” target arms. Plus, during the ebb and flow of sparring you are likely to punch a shoulder or part of the body that is not covered by the hogu. In a non-sport setting I’d be sticking and moving and hunting for heads with my hands. So, the drill does have value in my opinion.
This time I caught an ankle to the head and once again have a minor black eye. Past that, it’s just the usual soreness.
~BCP
