Sunday, May 20, 2007

Convicted

"Don't sell yourself short," Ms. Pryor said Saturday at the end of class. "Push yourself to improve, even when you think you're not good at something."

Ms. Pryor's inspirational words at the end of class convicted me, as we Methodists say. That means the words spoke to a lack I feel deeply in myself.

The past few weeks, I've been enjoying my workouts at TKD. One reason I've enjoyed them is that I haven't had to do things I don't like to do, namely: board breaking. When we practice breaking, I just sit quietly, or make sure the children get a chance to practice. My excuse: I don't have a test coming up, so I don't need to practice.

I also have been neglecting some kicks that are hard for me, namely: wheel kick. Ugh--I have such trouble with that one!

But this week, I'd been thinking that I need to get working on the parts of TKD that give me trouble.

And then Ms. Pryor had those words of wisdom to back up my hunch.

It's not really right to be a martial artist, but be unbalanced in one's practice--to just be good at forms, and not do sparring. Or to skip board breaking. Forms and sparring come easier to me than breaking, and regular kicks come easier than spinning kicks. But I need to work on it all, and not shy away from what's difficult.

This past week, I've even considered buying a rebreakable board

or tile,
just to get in some breaking practice at home (if I can find holders). Robbie will be able to use it too.

Any thoughts about this equipment?

4 comments:

TKD Rocker said...

Re-breakable boards will certainly give you a challenge. They're very hard to break! You have to hit it exactly in the center and with the right amount of force and speed. I've never broken tile before - is it reusable?

Anonymous said...

TKD Rocker is correct -- re-breakable boards are difficult to break, if you don't hit right in the center. I prefer to use good ol' pine boards that my dear husband buys in 12 ft. lengths and cuts down to 1 ft. sections for me.

Regarding your "conviction," remember that a lack of expection will not inspire ambition. When you're working toward black belt, your amibition to reach the next rank comes easily because the expections are dictated by your instructors and the school curriculum. Now, you have to figure out what you expect of yourself, set small goals, i.e. perfecting a wheel kick, to work towards.
Kicker Chick

Anonymous said...

Re-breakables are great for testing out new techniques! I suggest buying 4 cinder blocks and placing the rebreakable on them if you can't find any willing holders. It dosen't work well with the re-breakables that have rubber grips though, they tend to bounce. __ __
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Set the 4 blocks as shown above, two lying on their sides, with the other two standing up on top, separated by the boards width.

Kenneth Gibbons LLC said...

Re-breakable boards is very hard to do. You must hit it exactly or you might hurt yourself. This is also good to work on your speed. Great Blog enjoyed reading.