For my new experience this week, I decided to kick things into high gear by taking my very first martial arts class.
This goal of trying new things prodded me to reconnect with an old Facebook friend whom I knew took Tae Kwon Do, and I asked him where I could start. He saw my request for a Taekwondo class and raised me a Jui Jitsu class.
While I wasn’t sure that I would still be standing after the first one, not to mention I had no idea what the difference was, I agreed to go to both. (As it turns out, Jui Jitsu doesn’t require much standing anyway — but I’ll get to that later).
I was really excited about trying a martial arts class. It’s actually always been something I’ve had a small interest in, yet never bothered to try. But as the time grew closer, more and more visions of getting kicked around by kids half my size started entering my head, and it dawned on me that I had no idea what I actually signed up for.
Luckily for me, my friend was very encouraging, and like my other new experiences, it was a very easy going, do-what-you-can type of atmosphere. Plus, the class was small and consisted of other working adults who were nice to me and didn’t kick me around.
Tae Kwon Do mostly focuses on technique, so I didn’t have to spar with anyone. It’s of Korean origin, and it mostly taught the proper form on kicking and punching — which makes sense because I also learned that the name itself translates to “the art of the hand and foot.”
I was surprised how many of my former “yoga skills” were incorporated throughout, since a lot of the technique involves balancing and attention to breathing. It was surprisingly very therapeutic, and in the beginning I even started to feel like a bit of a natural. But that was short-lived as soon as the instructor added a second step.
Alaina O'Neal 