I have two master’s degrees and a well-established career. I also have a first degree black belt in taekwondo. I manage my finances and pay my bills like an independent woman in a Beyonce song. That and a quarter won’t even buy you a cup of coffee anymore. Despite all these credentials, I found myself struggling to follow instructions that were intended to be simple enough for children during taekwondo class Monday night.
Continue reading “Thinking Too Much Makes You Stupid”
This post is part of The Poomsae Series, which discusses life lessons gained from taekwondo forms or “poomsae.” Forms, typically practiced to hone technique, have also been for me a type of moving meditation that quiets my mind and helps me stay present.
[A Note for Taekwondo Folks: In this post I’m discussing the common first dan black belt form Koryo. In my school we refer to it as “Koryo Two” because we also do a rarely-used, older form at the bo dan level we call “Koryo One.” Bo dan is the final color belt level before first degree black belt. Reader Jon Karlsen was kind enough to post a video of “Koryo One” in the comments of this post. To avoid confusion among readers from different schools, in this post I will refer what my school calls “Koryo Two” by its universal name, Koryo.]
In case I’ve needlessly confused anyone with that introduction, I’m talking about THIS ONE:
Continue reading “The Poomsae Series Part 11: Koryo, or Managing Change Like a Black Belt”
Practicing taekwondo has been one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I’ve changed inside and out, and I feel like a million bucks. Women, however, are still sorely underrepresented in martial arts, so I’d like to encourage all the ladies out there who want to do something healthy, challenging, and fun to give it a try. Here are a few reasons why martial arts is especially helpful to women:
Continue reading “5 Ways Martial Arts Can Benefit Women”
When I received my new black belt uniform a few weeks ago, the first thing I noticed wasn’t the bright white fabric, colorful patches, or black lapels. I noticed this phrase on the packaging:
“I Am My Own Nemesis.”
Continue reading “I Am My Own Nemesis”
The way forward isn’t always a straight path. Sometimes it’s curved. Sometimes it’s a zigzag pattern. Other times you have to take a few steps back or even start over to get yourself going in the right direction.
My injuries these past few months (first the hamstring, now the back) have been trying, but they’ve also been interesting lessons in patience, balance, and as I experienced in tonight’s class, modification. Another way to look at modification would be to call it adaptability.
Continue reading “Closed Door, Open Window: How Adversity Can Hone Adaptability”
You know what the best part about taekwondo is?
Your training pants double as your fat pants.
I spent the week of Thanksgiving eating my weight in food at my parents’ house. It all started with a pumpkin donut at the airport Dunkin Donuts the Saturday before Thanksgiving, plus a free drink coupon from Southwest Airlines, and it went downhill from there. I spent the week before that convalescing (i.e., pouting at home) due to a severe back injury. I’m feeling a little more like Steven Segal than Bruce Lee these days.
Continue reading “Tae Kwon Dough”
“It’s January and February right now. Spring will come.”
My dad was offering me some words of comfort the other night as I sat curled up in my bed, sobbing and dredging up one ridiculous worry after another: regrets of things I did long ago, a reopened wound from a bitter breakup, letting go of pieces of me that I couldn’t get back. I felt lonely, vulnerable, and hopeless. I didn’t really have a rational reason to be upset, but it felt like the flood gates had been unleashed. Damnit, I was going to give myself something to cry about.
Continue reading “The Inevitable Slump”
I swear it was just yesterday that I wrote about August coming to a close. How is it that I now have only (counting today) 23 days until I test for my black belt?
Maybe it doesn’t feel like it’s that late in the year because it’s still 90 degrees most days here in Texas, and I’m still wearing flip flops everywhere I can. Maybe it’s because my work schedule suddenly became much busier, so I haven’t had time to notice that the weeks have flown by in a blur. But isn’t that how we always approach the passage of time? In a flash, the time is gone, and yet we’re constantly surprised by it.
Continue reading “What the Hell Happened to September??”
It’s become a running joke that I flinch when a kick is thrown at my head during free sparring. In situations outside of a taekwondo school one might think that this is a perfectly normal reaction. Something startles us, we flinch. It’s human nature.
Continue reading “Ha! Made Ya Flinch!”
“What’s the next part of this form?” my instructor asked, swiveling his head around and looking straight at me. We had just passed what I call the “jazz hands” portion of Palgwe Sam-jang, the green belt form that we were reviewing that night.
“Ki-yahp and punch!” I shouted back. “No, wait! It’s THIS!!” I crowed triumphantly, whirled around to land in a deep front stance, and slammed down a low block with a sharp satisfied exhale.
Continue reading “Commit, Even if You Look Stupid (I’m Good, I’ll Just Watch From Back Here)”