Day 5
Today master Miller informed me that the next testing day will be at the end of January and that he expects me to test for my yellowbelt then. He also said that he wants me to compete in the next competition, which is at the beginning of Febuary (I'd only be doing forms, no sparring). This all seems sudden, but I realized I already know the majority of what I'll be tested on. I just need to make these things more fluid. My boyfriend thinks this is really soon. I think it took him a couple months before he became a yellowbelt. But that could simply be because they only hold testing days every once in a while, or it could be because I'm progessing well. I'm not going to let myself think that though. If there's one thing I've learned from 10 years of playing guitar it's that the day you think you're good is the day you should quit playing, because you'll never get any better.
Master Miller taught me the rest of the Kee Cho Hyung Il Boo (the first form) and the side kick. So, I know the complete form and all the kicks I need for the test. He also taught me the second "One Step, " which is a defensive movement that also completes all the "one steps" I need for the test. While learning the side kick master Miller, strangely, was very impressed with how naturally the kick came to me. Later, when we were practicing kicks with a partner, Susan also asked if I'd ever done it before and commented on how natural it came to me. This is all very interesting. I'm not exactly sure why it comes so naturally to me. But it's not only this kick that people keep commenting on. Master Miller feels I'm progessing well with my first form as well. I'm not sure how to take this. Is master Miller comparing me to begginers in general. Is he comparing me to other females or other males? I'm not sure. But if I were to guess, he's comparing me to beginners in general. So, why are these things coming so naturally to me if I've never had training in this before? There has to be something in my past experiences which has prepared me for this. The self defense class that I took didn't teach me these kicks, but I suppose I learned a few things. But now that I remember, I picked those moves up quickly too. I'm thinking a large part of it has to do with my ability to imitate others easily. I have that knack with guitar. I used to observe guitarist on T.V. before I played to see how they held their hands and to understand the physics of the guitar. I think that really helped me. I think dance may have helped as well. We had to memorize a series of movements and Tai Chi probably helped as well. In Tai Chi we learned something similar to the forms I am learning now.
What this means then, is that the frailty myth isn't as prevalent within my life as I, for some reason, predicted. But then again, although I never realized it before, I have had a plurality of physical experiences/disciplines in my life that have probably prepared me for this. Strange, I never thought dance would have ever helped me in Karate. I now see where Dowling is coming from. Even the smallest amount of physical training is important to the totallity of physical strengths and smarts. However, I don't think it's merely because I've had previous physical experiences that I'm progessing well. I also believe its because I have confidence in myself and the discipline to practice. I'm not the type of person who gives up easily. I'm always very dedicated to the activities that I partake in. So, I would contribute a portion of my physical progess to my mental state as well. I can see how despite a woman's physical training, if she's not confident in her ability to learn new things or to try new things, then she won't do as well. Which leads me back to where Dowling speaks of the demeaning thought patterns women are often trapped in. Such as, "you throw like a girl." If you believe women can't throw and that this applies to you, then you won't be able to throw. The first step is believing you can do it.
My gym training is going smooth. I got a new Mp3 player for christmas, which makes running at the gym alot more entertaining! I'm not as sore this week, and I can already add more reps to my upperbody workout. I have been failing to reach to 12 reps on two exercises, but now I have no problem. I plan on moving to three sets for each upper body exercise on Friday. I had currently been doing two.
Also, I received a comment the other day that appears to be in response to my comments regarding my mother's attitude toward my Tang Soo Do experience. Just to clarify, the purpose of explicating my mother's opinion is to show how the Frailty Myth is present in her thought pattern (after all she's a few generations behind me) and to show how this may possibly effect my mentallity and attitude towards Tang Soo Do. Oh, and thanks for clarifying the spelling; however, I received my Gup Manual today and master Miller has it spelled Aph Cha Kee. But thanks for the effort! (Edited 1/18, 2005: Actually I learned shortly after this post that there is no correct way of spelling anything in Korean, as Korean does not have an alphabet)
Well, that is it for this evening. I need to jot somethings down in my Tang Soo Do journal and do some Yoga!
Master Miller taught me the rest of the Kee Cho Hyung Il Boo (the first form) and the side kick. So, I know the complete form and all the kicks I need for the test. He also taught me the second "One Step, " which is a defensive movement that also completes all the "one steps" I need for the test. While learning the side kick master Miller, strangely, was very impressed with how naturally the kick came to me. Later, when we were practicing kicks with a partner, Susan also asked if I'd ever done it before and commented on how natural it came to me. This is all very interesting. I'm not exactly sure why it comes so naturally to me. But it's not only this kick that people keep commenting on. Master Miller feels I'm progessing well with my first form as well. I'm not sure how to take this. Is master Miller comparing me to begginers in general. Is he comparing me to other females or other males? I'm not sure. But if I were to guess, he's comparing me to beginners in general. So, why are these things coming so naturally to me if I've never had training in this before? There has to be something in my past experiences which has prepared me for this. The self defense class that I took didn't teach me these kicks, but I suppose I learned a few things. But now that I remember, I picked those moves up quickly too. I'm thinking a large part of it has to do with my ability to imitate others easily. I have that knack with guitar. I used to observe guitarist on T.V. before I played to see how they held their hands and to understand the physics of the guitar. I think that really helped me. I think dance may have helped as well. We had to memorize a series of movements and Tai Chi probably helped as well. In Tai Chi we learned something similar to the forms I am learning now.
What this means then, is that the frailty myth isn't as prevalent within my life as I, for some reason, predicted. But then again, although I never realized it before, I have had a plurality of physical experiences/disciplines in my life that have probably prepared me for this. Strange, I never thought dance would have ever helped me in Karate. I now see where Dowling is coming from. Even the smallest amount of physical training is important to the totallity of physical strengths and smarts. However, I don't think it's merely because I've had previous physical experiences that I'm progessing well. I also believe its because I have confidence in myself and the discipline to practice. I'm not the type of person who gives up easily. I'm always very dedicated to the activities that I partake in. So, I would contribute a portion of my physical progess to my mental state as well. I can see how despite a woman's physical training, if she's not confident in her ability to learn new things or to try new things, then she won't do as well. Which leads me back to where Dowling speaks of the demeaning thought patterns women are often trapped in. Such as, "you throw like a girl." If you believe women can't throw and that this applies to you, then you won't be able to throw. The first step is believing you can do it.
My gym training is going smooth. I got a new Mp3 player for christmas, which makes running at the gym alot more entertaining! I'm not as sore this week, and I can already add more reps to my upperbody workout. I have been failing to reach to 12 reps on two exercises, but now I have no problem. I plan on moving to three sets for each upper body exercise on Friday. I had currently been doing two.
Also, I received a comment the other day that appears to be in response to my comments regarding my mother's attitude toward my Tang Soo Do experience. Just to clarify, the purpose of explicating my mother's opinion is to show how the Frailty Myth is present in her thought pattern (after all she's a few generations behind me) and to show how this may possibly effect my mentallity and attitude towards Tang Soo Do. Oh, and thanks for clarifying the spelling; however, I received my Gup Manual today and master Miller has it spelled Aph Cha Kee. But thanks for the effort! (Edited 1/18, 2005: Actually I learned shortly after this post that there is no correct way of spelling anything in Korean, as Korean does not have an alphabet)
Well, that is it for this evening. I need to jot somethings down in my Tang Soo Do journal and do some Yoga!
posted by Karen Jarboe at 10:25 PM
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