Gearing Up & Winding Down

Sabum was out sick so I taught class on Wed. night. I arrived early and reviewed all my forms again.

We are considering a tournament in April so I got the students to start thinking about what they’d like to do. This was also a good follow-up class from Monday’s sparring night. I warmed the class up with our balance drill: Essentially you stand on one leg and without falling over execute hook, side, or round kicks. The catch is your kicking leg cannot touch the ground.

Then I went into kicking drills on the shield. I had the students work on technique, power, and accuracy. In particular, after seeing problem areas during sparring on Monday, on certain kicks I really emphasized accuracy. Then I taught them a few new kicks: Standing jump side kick and the reverse (aka turning) jump side kick. Both have tournament and self-defense applications and are two of my favorites.

I closed class by having each student demonstrate their highest form. Then I demonstrated the nunchuka kata that I’m considering for the tournament. I’ve done it to death at home. However, in front of people I made a few minor mistakes. So I need to get the jitters out now before I try a weapon’s form at a tournament.

Past that, I’m waiting for an official date for the Cho Dan confirmation test in May. Given my prior experiences in other hard arts, my age, the beating I’ve taken in almost three years of taekwondo, and potential growing injuries on my 40-year-old body, I am seriously considering a move to a softer art starting this summer.

If Sabum keeps it kicking I gave my word to help train her for her next dan rank. I can also assist with teaching. However, I have no plans of pursuing 2nd dan. I would probably ease up on the taekwondo and mainly focus on helping teach and her training. In addition, this option would still allow me to enroll in a Chin Na class which is offered at a local kung fu school–this way I can continue to grow as a martial artist. Their Chin Na course is designed to complement hard arts and you can eventually obtain instructor level (aka quasi-black belt).

If the school takes down its shingle then I’m considering either Chin Na or Aikido. The only Tai Chi Chuan offered in the area is the Y.M.C.A.-style exercise variant that appears to be quite popular. I’d only consider it if there were a school that taught it from a self-defense perspective. There appear to be none in the area so that’s out.

Interestingly, if I studied Aikido I could complete a Trinity of sorts: Having studied martial arts from China, Korea, and Japan.

I’ve love to hear of any martial artists from a hard style who made the switch to Chin Na or Aikido. I’ve been told by one person that having a black belt in a foundation style makes it more likely for you to get the most out of Aikido from a self-defense perspective. So, I’d be interested to hear thoughts on that. I may post this one to Convocation too.

~BCP