Differences
It's been about ten months since I started going to martial arts class, and I've been doing pretty well with it. Gradually, I've gotten better, to the point where, whenever we put the sparring pads on, I'm better than about 75% of the people there. This is okay, and I don't mind not being on top. After all, there's always someone better than you.
It just a question of how much.
In the not-so-grand tradition of such miscreants as jiggliusceasar, qarylla, and crow112101, I'll be using pseudonyms for the individuals in my little story.
So there's one individual, oh, let's call 'im Army Trainer, who started around the same time as me, but due to scheduling conflicts that prevented him from coming in too often, has fallen behind me in rank. That comforts me not one iota when I'm directly competing with him. It's difficult to describe. There's no gap in his defense that I can get through without taking three blows in return. Trying to fend off the torrent of attacks is like trying to stand my ground against an industrial-strength weed-whacker.
Not that I haven't gotten better. The first time I sparred him, he took me to school in the worst way. These days, he still schools me, but I feel like I'm in third grade and not first.
Nonetheless, it's a massively humbling experience. And it opens the door to so many doubts and anxieties. If there's one individual that I'm powerless against, there might very well be two. Or three. Or ten. Or a hundred. And if, heaven forbid, I or someone that I care about ever got attacked by someone of Army Trainer's caliber, there wouldn't be a whole lot I could do about it as it stands.
Another student, Kempo Lioness, pointed out that he was, indeed, a physical trainer for the army, and that even the instructor has a rough time with him. He works out and does combat drills for a living. I, by contrast, do this workout two or three times a week for two hours at a time, or therabouts.
That thought lead to another: I don't have the same focus or intensity that I did when I first joined up. It's started to become almost as much of a social thing as it has a workout and self-improvement regimen.
It's depressing to realize that I've become little more than a dabbler.
There's more, but I don't feel like getting into it. I needs me my coffee and donuts.
[EDIT: changed the percentage figure. what the hell was I thinking?]
I really wanna try Ravenloft, and/or Legend of the Five Rings.
(oh yeah, and Capcom World Tournament still refuses to be released)
It just a question of how much.
In the not-so-grand tradition of such miscreants as jiggliusceasar, qarylla, and crow112101, I'll be using pseudonyms for the individuals in my little story.
So there's one individual, oh, let's call 'im Army Trainer, who started around the same time as me, but due to scheduling conflicts that prevented him from coming in too often, has fallen behind me in rank. That comforts me not one iota when I'm directly competing with him. It's difficult to describe. There's no gap in his defense that I can get through without taking three blows in return. Trying to fend off the torrent of attacks is like trying to stand my ground against an industrial-strength weed-whacker.
Not that I haven't gotten better. The first time I sparred him, he took me to school in the worst way. These days, he still schools me, but I feel like I'm in third grade and not first.
Nonetheless, it's a massively humbling experience. And it opens the door to so many doubts and anxieties. If there's one individual that I'm powerless against, there might very well be two. Or three. Or ten. Or a hundred. And if, heaven forbid, I or someone that I care about ever got attacked by someone of Army Trainer's caliber, there wouldn't be a whole lot I could do about it as it stands.
Another student, Kempo Lioness, pointed out that he was, indeed, a physical trainer for the army, and that even the instructor has a rough time with him. He works out and does combat drills for a living. I, by contrast, do this workout two or three times a week for two hours at a time, or therabouts.
That thought lead to another: I don't have the same focus or intensity that I did when I first joined up. It's started to become almost as much of a social thing as it has a workout and self-improvement regimen.
It's depressing to realize that I've become little more than a dabbler.
There's more, but I don't feel like getting into it. I needs me my coffee and donuts.
[EDIT: changed the percentage figure. what the hell was I thinking?]
I really wanna try Ravenloft, and/or Legend of the Five Rings.
(oh yeah, and Capcom World Tournament still refuses to be released)