Late TKD report
Mar. 8th, 2007 11:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
johnridleyA couple of months back, I started taking Tae Kwon Do classes with T. He's been doing it about a year now and is up to green belt with blue stripe, I think.
I was just sitting around the place during class anyway, and it looked like a good way to do something with him that wasn't computer or TV or toy related.
It's been really cool the last few weeks leading up to my first testing, because T has been tutoring me. Helps me, helps him. I was joking with him that this summer at Berzerker we'll be able to count to zero in Korean.
Anyway, I had my first testing on Friday, and I double-tested from white to yellow belt. It was a lot of fun. T wasn't testing, but he came along for the pizza party afterwards.
On Tuesday, the instructor decided to spend the whole class sparring. We hadn't done much of that. My first partner was a 30-something, 6'2" 2-stripe black belt sheriff's deputy. Definitely more work than the usual 10 year olds, or even the 17 year old red belts I've sparred a few times in the past. Lots of fun. Most of the students are kids, there are a handful of teens and perhaps 3 adults. At the pizza thing on Friday, a couple of dads who saw me testing said they might start too since I said how much fun it was to work with my son. One of them was a red belt as a teen.
They have a tournament sparring class Wednesday night. I'd love to go, T maybe would like it. Problem is, Wednesday is church night, T has stuff for that nearly every week. Also the tournament sparring instructor works everyone's asses off, and T doesn't really like to go when she's teaching; he says it's too much work.
I do think that we need to get our own sparring gear though. There's only one helmet in the building that's big enough for my pumpkin head, and there's sometimes a scramble to get it. Unfortunately a full set of Tekno pads are $180, and there's two of us. I can probably just get a helmet and use the studio stuff for the rest of the pads. We spend half the prep time digging through the pile trying to find stuff that fits, though.
I really can't complain much about the money, because from talking to coworkers who go to other studios, Victory TKD is really pretty cheap. We're paying for two people what others are paying for one. Victory is actually not a business; they're not making money and don't really intend to. All the instructors have full time jobs, some aren't paid to be there at all. The dues basically pay the rent. It's no where near as cheap as university groups that get free facilities, but it's a good deal for a commercial studio. Even so, it seems like a lot of money to a cheapskate like me, and it hurts me on weeks that we can only make it once, or not at all, especially since the studio allows you to come as often as you like; there's one kid who lives 100 feet from the studio who is ALWAYS there.
Of course, for my next testing, I need a short essay on why I started TKD. The truth is, "something to do with my son." - I guess I'll go with that and see how it flies. I do have some interest in martial arts in general; I did Tai Chi for over a year a while back. I'm not sure what the interest is, I really never expect to have to use it for any useful purpose, but it's kind of fun to do anyway, especially the sparring.
I was just sitting around the place during class anyway, and it looked like a good way to do something with him that wasn't computer or TV or toy related.
It's been really cool the last few weeks leading up to my first testing, because T has been tutoring me. Helps me, helps him. I was joking with him that this summer at Berzerker we'll be able to count to zero in Korean.
Anyway, I had my first testing on Friday, and I double-tested from white to yellow belt. It was a lot of fun. T wasn't testing, but he came along for the pizza party afterwards.
On Tuesday, the instructor decided to spend the whole class sparring. We hadn't done much of that. My first partner was a 30-something, 6'2" 2-stripe black belt sheriff's deputy. Definitely more work than the usual 10 year olds, or even the 17 year old red belts I've sparred a few times in the past. Lots of fun. Most of the students are kids, there are a handful of teens and perhaps 3 adults. At the pizza thing on Friday, a couple of dads who saw me testing said they might start too since I said how much fun it was to work with my son. One of them was a red belt as a teen.
They have a tournament sparring class Wednesday night. I'd love to go, T maybe would like it. Problem is, Wednesday is church night, T has stuff for that nearly every week. Also the tournament sparring instructor works everyone's asses off, and T doesn't really like to go when she's teaching; he says it's too much work.
I do think that we need to get our own sparring gear though. There's only one helmet in the building that's big enough for my pumpkin head, and there's sometimes a scramble to get it. Unfortunately a full set of Tekno pads are $180, and there's two of us. I can probably just get a helmet and use the studio stuff for the rest of the pads. We spend half the prep time digging through the pile trying to find stuff that fits, though.
I really can't complain much about the money, because from talking to coworkers who go to other studios, Victory TKD is really pretty cheap. We're paying for two people what others are paying for one. Victory is actually not a business; they're not making money and don't really intend to. All the instructors have full time jobs, some aren't paid to be there at all. The dues basically pay the rent. It's no where near as cheap as university groups that get free facilities, but it's a good deal for a commercial studio. Even so, it seems like a lot of money to a cheapskate like me, and it hurts me on weeks that we can only make it once, or not at all, especially since the studio allows you to come as often as you like; there's one kid who lives 100 feet from the studio who is ALWAYS there.
Of course, for my next testing, I need a short essay on why I started TKD. The truth is, "something to do with my son." - I guess I'll go with that and see how it flies. I do have some interest in martial arts in general; I did Tai Chi for over a year a while back. I'm not sure what the interest is, I really never expect to have to use it for any useful purpose, but it's kind of fun to do anyway, especially the sparring.
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Date: 2007-03-08 08:08 pm (UTC)Some schools are really hard-assed about it; some even make TKD students start over at white belt if they move to a different discipline or take too many years off.
I think TKD is pretty fun. We don't have separate adult/kid classes, but the vast majority of our students (probably 48 out of 55) are < 16, and all but about 4 of us are < 20. Right now I think I'm the only adult below red belt, perhaps even black.