Taekwon-do
As soon as I moved here, I gave the local gym (Bally) a try but found it was too cost-ineffective for my tastes. For people who like stationary bike-riding classes and need personal trainers, I think it would be a better deal. But I just went there to lift weights. I canceled my membership recently, partially because I have a replacement work-out activity.
One day as I was walking to the gym, I and noticed a local taekwondo school with a sign in front that said "lesson in session! Come in and observe," so I did. I'd wanted to give taekwondo a try before I moved, but put off starting... well, mostly because I was about to move. Sure enough, I liked what I saw, so I signed up. I only chose that school because it was nearby, but I seem to have stumbled onto a really great place. I've heard absolutely *glowing* comments from members and from postings on internet message boards. And there seems to be something to that.
The head teacher at the Cambridge school is one of the reasons I've liked the classes so much. When he describes which moves to drill or what sequence of punches and kicks to perform, he often does them himself first to demonstrate. And it's truly awesome to behold this little middle-aged Korean man *snap* into a different position with such force and agility. He's probably not even 3/4 of my size, but could beat me up without breaking a sweat. And he has that Yoda-like demeanor that just *makes* you give it everything you have.. When he conducts classes, he likes putting us through strength and agility drills that remind me of hockey conditioning workouts... even down to the "49... 49... 49....... 50!" at the end.
But this one teacher isn't the only reason the place is good. When I tested for my yellow-stripe belt a few weeks ago, the gradmaster of the school came to preside over the testing session. After we'd all done our thing and right before he finished the ceremony, he just started talking. Almost lecturing, really. He said he'd just gotten an e-mail about a competition to be featured on a big martial arts website--one that our school had won in the past and would probably win again. "There are thousands of schools on this website... a great honor." A big part of the reason for the success was that our school taught mostly adults. "Most schools only teach children. And it's good to teach this martial art to children. But with children, you can't teach them *real* fighting; they'd hurt themselves. Our school is unique. Look around you," and, indeed, there were probably 30 of us adults at the testing session. "Also, since taekwondo became an olympic sport, sport taekwondo has been taking over--flitty, flighty, weak kicks, darting in and out. The publicity is good. We have had many people looking to join. But taekwondo is about *fighting*, not scoring points. And we teach you that here. [Obviously, if you have a job and a real life, it would not be good to make people fight with Fight Club-esque intensity]." (He didn't actually refer to Fight Club, although he described a situation that bore an uncanny resemblance.) "But when you meet someone in a dark alleyway or a crazy person comes at you, you want to be able to fight back with everything you have! You know those 'Ultimate Fighting' competitions? Those are not all-out fighting. And boxing! Do you remember that boxer who bit the other man's ear? They criiiied and cried about that. But in the real world, when that crazy comes at you, you do whatever will stop him! We do not bite people in class, but we do teach you how to *fight*."
And after that, I was hooked.
One day as I was walking to the gym, I and noticed a local taekwondo school with a sign in front that said "lesson in session! Come in and observe," so I did. I'd wanted to give taekwondo a try before I moved, but put off starting... well, mostly because I was about to move. Sure enough, I liked what I saw, so I signed up. I only chose that school because it was nearby, but I seem to have stumbled onto a really great place. I've heard absolutely *glowing* comments from members and from postings on internet message boards. And there seems to be something to that.
The head teacher at the Cambridge school is one of the reasons I've liked the classes so much. When he describes which moves to drill or what sequence of punches and kicks to perform, he often does them himself first to demonstrate. And it's truly awesome to behold this little middle-aged Korean man *snap* into a different position with such force and agility. He's probably not even 3/4 of my size, but could beat me up without breaking a sweat. And he has that Yoda-like demeanor that just *makes* you give it everything you have.. When he conducts classes, he likes putting us through strength and agility drills that remind me of hockey conditioning workouts... even down to the "49... 49... 49....... 50!" at the end.
But this one teacher isn't the only reason the place is good. When I tested for my yellow-stripe belt a few weeks ago, the gradmaster of the school came to preside over the testing session. After we'd all done our thing and right before he finished the ceremony, he just started talking. Almost lecturing, really. He said he'd just gotten an e-mail about a competition to be featured on a big martial arts website--one that our school had won in the past and would probably win again. "There are thousands of schools on this website... a great honor." A big part of the reason for the success was that our school taught mostly adults. "Most schools only teach children. And it's good to teach this martial art to children. But with children, you can't teach them *real* fighting; they'd hurt themselves. Our school is unique. Look around you," and, indeed, there were probably 30 of us adults at the testing session. "Also, since taekwondo became an olympic sport, sport taekwondo has been taking over--flitty, flighty, weak kicks, darting in and out. The publicity is good. We have had many people looking to join. But taekwondo is about *fighting*, not scoring points. And we teach you that here. [Obviously, if you have a job and a real life, it would not be good to make people fight with Fight Club-esque intensity]." (He didn't actually refer to Fight Club, although he described a situation that bore an uncanny resemblance.) "But when you meet someone in a dark alleyway or a crazy person comes at you, you want to be able to fight back with everything you have! You know those 'Ultimate Fighting' competitions? Those are not all-out fighting. And boxing! Do you remember that boxer who bit the other man's ear? They criiiied and cried about that. But in the real world, when that crazy comes at you, you do whatever will stop him! We do not bite people in class, but we do teach you how to *fight*."
And after that, I was hooked.