Right moves in forms and self-defense

It's Wednesday and I'm at All-Belts. I'm practicing my form in front of the mirrors to get my stances right. Master Hughes appears behind me (I can see him in the mirror), so I work extra hard . . . He stops me.

"You need to really twist your upper body for the reverse inside-outside block," he tells me, demonstrating. "Your shoulders need to be in a line with your arm."

I look up at the mirror as he adjusts my stance.

It's really helpful to do the form in front of a mirror. I guess I don't really know how I look doing the moves.

After I finish, Master Hughes and I chat about the college where I teach--I ask if he'd be interested in doing a demonstration there.

"Maybe you could get some students interested in joining here," I say.

He says that they used to run some classes over at the college, especially self-defense.

I think that might be a good thing for the college students to know.

I then get a quick lesson in a self-defense move. Master Hughes shows me how to break away when someone's got me in a choke hold from the front--swing one arm up and over, knocking the assailant off balance and trapping his arms under mine.

"Then you can just do this. " Master Hughes shows how I could elbow the assailant (him right now) in the jaw.

Self-defense moves still seem counter-intuitive to me. Even when we're practicing and it's Master Hughes doing the "assailant" role, my intuition is disbelief, panic, and wanting to run rather than going confidently through the moves.

One book I read--maybe Tae Kwon Do for Women--mentioned that the best thing self-defense classes can teach women is that it's OK to fight back. I think I need to learn that.

Anyway, it would be fun to do a demo--on TKD or self-defense--at the college. I hope if we do, that I can be part of it.