01209dom’s Weblog

I don’t know what is worse. Having to sit and watch everyone else train when you are not, or training when you know you can’t actually do anything. After my latest injury setback this has been the conundrum I have been faced with for the past week. I attended the following Tang Soo Do and kickboxing classes the following Wednesday after last Sunday’s grading, but only as a spectator. It was not a pleasurable experience I have to say as the lesson consisted of lots of kicking drills, involving kick shields which is typically one of my favourite activities! I wanted to get on the mat and have a go myself so much it was actually more painful than my bloody rib!

When it came to Friday’s class I really couldn’t bring myself to go. I wasn’t feeling too good throughout the day anyway, and after discovering that I still couldn’t do push ups or sit ups I was left feeling very low. It was pretty bad of me not to have gone and given my support to the others in hindsight, but I was pretty miserable and would have just annoyed everyone with my moaning anyway!

By the time tonight’s lesson arrived I really didn’t care. I was going to go training and that was it! I hadn’t trained since the previous Sunday’s grading and was really missing it. It’s a very strange feeling to be honest. Even though it was only two sessions I missed, it felt like ages since I had worn my Dobok and belt (weird) and I felt like I had fallen behind (even weirder!). Anyway I thought to myself ‘sod it, I’m going to train today and that’s final’.

It felt great getting my Dobok on and standing around with the others before the lesson started, but after grimacing with pain from throwing a couple of punches I realised I was going to have to take it nice and easy. It sucks knowing that you are restricted and can’t do things to your full capacity. When doing side kicks and front kicks on kick shields I had to use minimal power which is very frustrating. Just wanted to smack them into next week but I couldn’t. Oh well I will mend I guess and I have two days more recovery time before the next lesson. At least I’m back training!

Yesterday (Saturday) myself and the guys headed up to Dartmoor again for more camping and shooting. On checking the Met Office website in the morning I noticed that there were severe weather warnings for Wales and the South West, which meant strong winds and lots of heavy rain. Did that put us off? HELL NO!!! As I had the week off I was actually able to travel up in the afternoon as opposed to coming straight up after work, but due to some delays and huge congestion on the road we didn’t actually get to our site until early evening. The rain was already falling quite heavily and no sooner had we put the tents up it absolutely hammered it down! Luckily as the evening progressed it gradually eased off and we even managed to get a pretty decent fire going towards the end against all the odds.

The evening was spent mainly in my tent, cramming seven of us into the main sleeping area. The drinks were flowing nicely and we even had a keg of beer! We challenged each other with various riddles and played various games to keep ourselves amused. As some members of the group succumbed more and more to the content of their beverages, the games started to become increasingly comical. One of the challenges was to name a computer game which started with the last letter of the previous one within a certain time limit. On one persons turn “OBE’S ODDWORLD!!!” was defiantly roared to the rest of the group. His letter was actually ‘R’ and he was thinking of ‘Abe’s Odyssey’. Hilarious!

The following morning it was time to gear up and take to the woods for a few rounds of airsoft. As my rib was still pretty sore I did most of my shooting standing up as I couldn’t crawl, roll or dive around as I usually do. Funnily enough this new approach actually gave me a new angle to my tactics and I managed to get off the mark straight away with a good kill. Unfortunately I was left exposed a few times and got pegged quite a lot. At one point I even left my rear completely unguarded and allowed someone to sneak up on me and full auto my back. Doh! Our gaming was cut short due to ‘civilian activity’ so we hastily packed up and headed back to Camborne.

I have had a really nice week off and feel very relaxed and refreshed. It’s back to work tomorrow and I am in charge for the entire week which I am sure will push my stress levels to the max, so am enjoying my final evening chilling out, listening to music and writing this!

A song to sum up my mood….

Kick your shoes off, sit back and relax to a really nice song by Gordon Lightfoot!

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I started the day like every other Grading day. Woke up ridiculously early and couldn’t get back to sleep. The only downside was that this time rather than head straight off to Falmouth for midday, I had to wait twelve hours or so before actually leaving which gave me plenty of time for the old nerves to get a healthy grip on me. Apart from a quick trip to Tesco’s I didn’t really do much for the entire day. I did about an hour of studying in the morning and then realised I was just frying my brain, so decided to hit the x-box instead! I’m glad I did as I completed a real bitch of a mission on GTA4 which has been bugging me for weeks.

Anyway, we had a lesson at six for an hour followed by the grading. The lesson was another fun one as we had some cool races to warm up, involving a few relay races with various bits of equipment. This was followed by some combination drills using cross leg stances and some slightly more advanced attacks. The highlight was attempting some (near impossible) jump kicks onto kick shields. It was hilarious watching everyone propel themselves across the dojang at high speed with feet flying everywhere! After a few rounds of sparring the lesson ended and was it was time to feel the pain…

The grading itself was a pretty small one. There were only three of us grading this time, as all the other students graded the previous Sunday. It was an interesting line up consisting of a Yellow belt, a Green belt and a Red Belt! As always the warm up was carnage and we were dealt lots of press ups, sit ups, jumping jacks, full burpees, SOS and to finish… 500 punches in Kee Mahk Jasset (horse riding stance). That hurt loads and looking back don’t quite know how I got through it, although I’m pretty sure a four year old could have thrown better punches towards the end. I can’t say I have ever done 500 punches in one go before, that must be some sort of record (in Camborne at least!). To be honest the physical seemed a bit shorter than previous ones, but I think that was because the things we were given like full burpeees and SOS will absolutely kill you immediately so it just doesn’t take as long!

After that it was onto forms which apparently I did quite well at? I love Pyung Ahn Ee Dan as I know a lot of the other guys do, and I think that it will always be one of my favourite forms and one which I will continue to practice regularly. I was asked to perform Pyung Ahn Cho Dan first followed by Pyung Ahn Ee Dan, and then to perform Kee Cho Hyung Sam Bu and Pyung Ahn Ee Dan without stopping. That is a lot harder than I thought it would be!

As mentioned in my previous post, I was aiming to be a lot better with my Il Soo Sik Dae Ryun and Ho Sin Sool this time around and I have to say that even though I think I put a lot more effort in, I don’t think the standard improved that much. Basically it could have been a lot better. There were a few occasions where I didn’t get my partner (James R) to tap out of locks, my positioning was all over the place and I don’t think I locked out a single kick. Going to try not to get too strung out over it, but it is very frustrating, especially when you think you have got something looking really good in lesson and then make a real mess of it when it counts.

Next up was some line work which again saw me struggle a bit. I was informed afterwards that I managed to use front, back and side stance during one particular technique and also kept kicking with the same leg when performing Ahneso Pakuro Cha Kee (inside to outside kick). Oh dear. I think I got most of my Korean correct, although I was a little confused with a particular technique; Che Yup Cha Kee? Well I went for a low side kick when asked to perform that as the only time I have ever come across ‘Che’ is in Che Ha Dan Jasset (Lowest back stance) with the ‘Che’ part referring to the ‘Low’ bit. But I was expecting; Bahl Yup Chit Pahl Kee (side stamping kick) ??? Either I completely messed this up or I did a version of a similar thing. One to research I suppose!

After line work it was time to get the pads on and have a couple of rounds of sparring. I thought to myself that the only way to get through it was to absolutely go for it from the start and show that I was prepared to fight with everything I had. Unfortunately I left myself wide open and got caught with a reverse punch to the ribs. Ouch! After a few minutes on my knees I got up and just about got through the rest of the sparring, although they did go easy on me!

I have spent a lot of time on my terminology over the last few months, not just for my grading but because I just find it absolutely fascinating. The whole history of Martial Arts is so in depth that there is no way you could even scratch the surface in a life time of research. I always wonder what I am going to be asked, as on a couple of previous gradings the things that I have researched has been the exact opposite of what I have been asked on the day! Like my previous grading I was very lucky to be asked questions on things that I have spent a lot of time revising, although my explanation of the Korean flag was a bit ropey. “ Uhh… Kam Gye… which is the uhh …next one…” ?!

For my board break I was expecting Pakeso Ahnuero Cha Kee, but was told to perform a Soo do strike instead. I think that as my Ribs were still hurting I would have preferred this anyway and luckily I broke it on my first go. I always find that a really loud Ki-hap helps with board breaks, don’t know if it makes any difference but it always seems to help me!

That was the end of the grading. I won’t know if I have passed until the panel have discussed our performances. I feel very sore and am extremely happy to have a week off to recover!

My latest injury will be absolutely fine and I will be back to training as normal on Wednesday. I am proud to be a part of a Martial Arts group which never strays from traditional values. Where you have to expect to get injured if you want to succeed, as the level of ability we strive to achieve is so high. Where you are pushed to absolute perfection week in, week out, and where you can’t expect to just be given your next belt, you have to fight for it and earn it. This is what makes us different to everyone else and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

“I’m waiting in my cold cell, when the bell begins to chime. Reflecting on my past life and it doesn’t have much time. ‘Cause at 5 o’clock they take me to the Gallows Pole, The sands of time for me are running low…”

Even though it has only been a few months, it feels like a year since my last grading. It is once again time to be put to the test. To face up to the fact that I will be mentally and physically destroyed, and that my weaknesses will soon become painfully clear to me. For some reason I think that this grading is going to be a really hard one for me. I don’t quite know why, it just feels like I won’t be able to get through it this time.

I was a little unhappy with my last grading due to the fact that I knew I could do a hell of a lot better, and some of the mistakes I made where criminal! I promised myself I would be a lot sharper for my next one and to dedicate more time to the points I feel that I could have been a lot better at, which was mainly my Ill Soo Sik Dae Ryun and Ho Sin Sool. I also got off quite lightly with my terminology last time too, which was a relief at the time! I am thinking that this will be a lot harder this time around which has forced me to make time to study for at least an hour every day outside of training when possible.

I have also been driven partially by helping out with some terminology related issues. I was very lucky when I first started training to have someone to help me through my first couple of gradings, and it was an absolute pleasure to be able to do the same recently.

I know that I am going to make mistakes and it will probably get to me like last time, but I will try and treat this grading with a little more respect than I did last one. I should have gone into it a lot more focused and not so concerned with ‘getting it done’. Everyone dreads their grading, but I think you can fall into a really bad mental attitude of thinking solely about finishing the grading before and during it. Will try and be more aware of the things being asked of me and try not to slacken (is that a word?) on the finer points such as correct stances and application of technique. All good saying it I suppose, but I haven’t just had a physical!

I suppose I might as well add a quick update on my general activities here while I have the time. It would be criminal not to mention the surf I had two Wednesday’s ago. I was originally going to meet a new friend who recently started training and shares a passion for Surfing, but unfortunately couldn’t make it in the end. Me and James loaded the car and headed down expecting for it to be about 2 possibly 3 foot on set, and a nice light offshore wind. As we walked over the hill to the beach it certainly seemed to be at least three foot and as we got closer to the sea James said “mate, I think that looks a little bigger than three foot” this was confirmed to me when I saw a stand up drop in and the lip of the wave was considerably taller than himself. Nice!!! It’s been ages since I had a good hammering! I had some cracking waves and took some evil beatings but it was easily the best Gwithian has been in a very long time, epic!

This unfortunately was followed by a week of hell! (oh god, Dom’s gunna go off on one again I can hear saying!) I had been having one of the worst weeks ever, due to the schools breaking up for the summer holidays and facing up to the prospect of having to keep the swarms of kids from smashing up our collection of very expensive guitars and dealing with all the holiday makers. I have been feeling really low and teasey which means that I have been very snappy with people. Yesterday was the absolute pinnacle. My day started with my housemate in floods of tears claiming that all men are “shit”, then I had a coach load of German kids on the guitar floor on opening the shop, I had numerous complaints to deal with (people calling me various unrepeatable things etc) fell out with my boss, fell out with pretty much everyone else and fell over in the store room smacking my bad knee in the process. Due to this and various other things I was not in a good place.

Today though, has been much better in comparison and have actually started to look forward to my week off now. (Apart from my impending doom tomorrow) am going to have a nice relaxing week and hopefully spend some time with my friends.

I find the best way to cure nerves is to turn up your speakers and listen to some ‘in your face’ rock!!! A bit like this…

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I thought i already posted this, but looking back i don’t think i have. Paul Gilbert and the human capo…

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