What I've Learned So Far

Since receiving my Black Belt on November 1, I have been presented with a lot of new material. I wrote previously about learning Du Mun and performing it at a tournament a few days later (see Tournament Prep and Results, Etc.).

Since then, I have learned the first few moves of Jin Do, up to the closed-fist low block. I'm having trouble with the 270-degree turn into an outside-inside kick and with the double-front kick - I keep messing up the timing on that one. I think I have the sequence down pretty well, though.

Speaking of the double-front kick: as a concession to my age, apparently that is what I will be doing instead of the split kick. I've only practiced it a few times in class, with Sa Bom Nim holding target pads for me. So far I have not had much success setting up a static set of targets to practice on by myself. If I use a large Wavemaster as one of the targets, I get so scared of kicking the hard plastic base that I tend to freeze up. This week I'm going to try some different arrangements of kicking pads propped against the wall to use as targets. I did practice the movement in the pool at the hotel where I stayed over Thanksgiving, and I hope that will help the next time I try it.

In Ho Sin Sul (Self-Defense) I've learned the first four cross-hand lower sleeve grabs. The first two are remarkably similar to a couple of the wrist grabs that I already knew; the third and fourth are quite different. They both involve crossing the wrists and grabbing the opponent's wrists, and I can't say I've come close to getting them, let alone mastering them.

At one class I was starting to learn the first few knife defenses. I did okay on the first and third, but the second technique involves a takedown, and my partner (being quite young) didn't know how to execute that without actually making me fall, which I diligently avoid, so we abandoned that one for now.

I think the issue of falling is going to be something I have to address. I have already spoken to Sa Bom Nim about it, and he said he'd think about it and get back to me. About two years ago we spent a week or so practicing controlled falls on thick mats, but we haven't done it since and I don't really remember much about it. At this point in my conditioning, what scares me most about falling is not the impact, but hyperflexing my knees in the process.

Recently I had occasion to ask advice on this subject from a gymnastics coach. I explained that I was a karate student and told him my age (he was nice enough to say that I don't look sixty-four). After asking several probing questions about my fitness level, he suggested two things: first, that I practice wall-sitting to strengthen the muscles around my knees, and second, that I try piling up extra mats to create an elevated surface that I can practice falling on.

The wall-sitting is something I used to do many years ago in preparation for skiing. I haven't done it recently, but I tried it yesterday and was able to hold it for over a minute, which I think is a pretty good start. I'll keep working on that.

As far as using the mats is concerned, I'll have to get Sa Bom Nim's cooperation on that. My main goal is to know how to fall without getting hurt, or at least to know when I should not even attempt to fall. After all, at my age (or any age) safety has to be an important consideration.

Why the Silence?

Just a quick note this morning to explain why I have not posted in a while. I have been somewhat distracted lately since my husband has just started treatment for bladder cancer. Fortunately he is tolerating the chemotherapy very well!

Now that our anxiety level is dialing back a bit, I hope to get back to regular posting. There is a lot to talk about!

Results, Etc.

Last week's tournament was a lot of fun. The Gups went on first, leaving the Dans free to serve in various ways. I ended up selling boards. My grandson had his first experience as a ring coordinator, so he was front and center when his best friend was edged out by one-hundredth of a point for first place in breaking.

This time I was determined to avoid getting caught up in everybody else's experience and concentrate on my own events. Every little while I would go find some space outside the main hall and practice my form or my bong (staff) form. I even set up a chair as a target to practice aiming for my 360-back kick. I didn't worry too much about getting warmed up and stretching, because I thought it would be hard to maintain a high level of warm-up for such an unpredictably long time.

Watching the adult Gups was really fun. My friend Megan, an Orange Belt, was competing in her first tournament, and she was very nervous. Her forms look very good and she has great instincts in sparring, but breaking had her spooked. She had practiced breaking during class using target pads and rebreakable boards, but she had some trouble with the actual boards. She managed the hand breaks, but couldn't get the kicks to work. In the process she pulled a muscle in her groin. It was hurting quite a bit, and she asked me what she should do. I gave her an ice pack and advised her to sit quietly for a little bit while I got some advice from Sa Bom Nim. He said there really isn't much more you can do except keep moving, carefully. That's what she wanted to hear, so she went ahead and competed in Forms and Sparring. I told her afterward that I would have never known that she was hurt, from her performance. She looked great, and she has the medals to prove it.

After all the Gups were done, the Dans began competing. My grandson came up first, and he did great: he took fourth in Breaking, and first in Weapons, Forms and Sparring. What made me really proud was the improvement that I saw in his sparring; he's gone from being a one-trick pony to a really balanced fighter. Great job!

When my turn finally came, the first event was Breaking. My hand breaks went well, but I couldn't hit the target with my 360-back kick. I missed it completely three times, and finally the judges told me to go ahead and break it anyway. But other people had trouble with their breaks too, so I ended up tying for Third. In Weapons I thought I did all right, but I was competing against much more experienced ladies, so I wasn't surprised when I didn't place. In Forms I did Du Mun - not bad, I thought, and somebody from my school who was watching said I didn't make any mistakes. But it turned out that none of the three judges in my division were familiar with the form, which may have affected my scores. They gave me a fourth-place medal even though my scores were the lowest in the group. For Sparring, the judge told me that I was an automatic winner because I was the only one in my age group. They had me put on an exhibition match, but it turned out to be mostly patty-cake, at least on my opponent's part. Oh well. Maybe next time I'll get a chance to do some real sparring.
Overall, I'm happy with my performance. I prepared diligently and executed my techniques as well as I could, and I didn't get hurt. All in all, a great result.

Tournament Prep

This coming Sunday our school is hosting an invitational Tang Soo Do tournament, and of course I am planning to compete. I thought, given the fact that I have only held my current rank for less than two weeks, that I would do Chil Sung Il Rho Hyung in the Forms portion of the competition, the same form that I have been doing for the past year (and which I thoroughly botched at the last tournament). But Tuesday morning Sa Bom Nim informed me that I would be doing Du Mun, my brand-new form, instead.

I think my eyebrows climbed up into my hairline when I heard that. "Don't give me that look," Sa Bom Nim said.

"But," I protested feebly, "I've only learned the first half of the form."

"And the second half of the form is just like the first, only mirror-image," he said. "Practice it now."

So he walked me through it a couple of times and then left me on my own. Now, after about twenty repetitions, I think I have the sequence down pretty well, although I still tend to get confused in the second half.

I still plan to prepare Chil Sung Il Rho Hyung just in case, because Du Mun is not normally considered a tournament form, and I worry that some judge won't let me do it. But I guess if Du Mun is the only Dan form that I know, then that's the one I should do.

I'm going whole hog this time, competing in every event available to me - Forms, Sparring, Breaking, and Weapons. I've never competed in Weapons before, but I'm going to try Bong Hyung Il Rho, the first Bo staff form. I first learned this a couple of years ago, but I've had very little occasion to practice it in class. The other day I asked my grandson to help me with it, and after giving me a few pointers he said I looked pretty good. So we'll see what happens.

For breaking I'm going to do a fairly standard three-break station with hand techniques, then an air break (holding the board with one hand and breaking it with the other), and finish with a 360 back kick. Even though I just learned this kick last week, it feels quite natural to me for some reason, much more so than a jump back kick. I'm only going to try for one board this time, but I think once I gain some confidence I could really produce a lot of power with this kick.

Sparring - well, who knows? I'll do my best to stay out of the way and to get some hand techniques in to score some points.

The main thing is that this time I plan to take plenty of time to prepare for each event, and not get distracted by watching other people - even my grandson!

Getting Recognized

This afternoon I visited the newspaper that sponsors this blog and had my picture taken in my new uniform. The new picture will be used in print and online ads for the newspaper's collection of blogs, and will also appear on this web page.

It took me longer to change into my uniform than it did to take the pictures. But the whole experience got me thinking about the different reactions I have gotten from people who are meeting me for the first time since my promotion.

By far the most satisfying comments have been from fellow Black Belts. Since they have been through the same experience, they can appreciate the monumental effort involved, and the accompanying sense of pride and accomplishment.

"So, you made it," they say.

"Yep," I reply.

We are laconic, but like battle-scarred veterans, we have become kin. We can stand shoulder-to-shoulder and gaze with unflinching tolerance at the world.

The next best reactions are from other students. These are the ones who took such delight in calling me, an adult but also a peer by virtue of my status as a student, by my first name. Now they bow to me, chirping, "Congratulations, Susan - I mean, Mrs. LaGrande." (I should explain that our school has a tradition of addressing Gups by their first name and Dans by their title and surname.)

The parents of other students have been fun, too. The ones who had children in the testing cycle are keenly aware of what we all went through, so their reactions are equal parts admiration and commiseration.

Then there are parents of students for whom the rank of Black Belt seems no more than a distant dream at this point. They notice that I am wearing a different uniform, and it takes them a couple of minutes to figure it out. "Congratulations," they finally say. "When did you get your Black Belt?" They usually want to know all about the process, and seem suitably impressed when I liken the experience to earning a college degree or, perhaps, to giving birth.

Finally there are all the other people I come across who have no idea what karate is or how it has affected my life. Some of them knew (because I told them) that I was testing for my Black Belt last weekend, and they sent congratulations, but there was really no further discussion. They didn't know what to ask, or weren't interested, and I was reticent about blowing my own horn. Still, I had to resist the temptation to pull my brand-new ID card out of my wallet and wave it under their noses.

When I have revealed my new rank, sometimes I have been disheartened by this response: "Gee, I better not mess with you!" What do they think I am, a bully?

Anyway, there is a whole range of reactions out there, but the one I like best is, "I knew you could do it!"

Finding the New Normal

Tomorrow will be the one-week anniversary of my promotion to Cho Dan. It's been very exciting coming to class and being greeted with a bow and a big smile from other students. But I'm starting to settle down and get into "business mode" again.

One thing that pleases me very much is my new uniform. I love the way it fits! I thought that, because the fabric is so stiff, it might restrict my movements, but instead it gives me a lot more freedom of movement than my old uniform. In addition, because its stiffness causes it to stand away from my body, it is much better ventilated and therefore cooler than my old one. Another nice thing is that, since I had the sleeves shortened a few inches, my wrists don't get so sweaty - a real advantage when doing Ho Sin Sul (Self-Defense).

I've learned the first line of my new form, Du Mun. The tricky thing about this for me so far is the Yang Kwan Gong Kyuk (arms fully extended forward and back, then switched). My shoulders don't like this move, so I will have to spend extra time improving my range of motion. Last night I tried holding a long Bo staff across my shoulders and swinging it slowly left and right, to get used to the way it's supposed to feel. This is going to take some time.

Last night I learned the first knife defense technique - very cool! I stayed with the first technique while my partner (a more advanced Cho Dan) rotated through all five techniques. The second technique includes a takedown, and I had to ask my partner just to walk through that part, because my knees don't respond well to the degree of flexion involved in a (controlled) fall. Someday I'm going to have to figure out how to go down without destroying my knees.

I can't wait to see what I learn next!

It's Official!

I now officially hold the rank of Cho Dan in the art of Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan. Do I look happy? You bet!

Thanks to my friend Aida for the photo above. Hopefully there will be more to come. I guess I should have posted a long entry about the whole experience, but frankly I was too exhausted. Today was really the first day I could move without serious discomfort, and I've been napping a lot. Now that I'm feeling more alive I have to start attending to some of the things that I had to put aside while I was concentrating on my testing, so I'm going to be busier than usual for the next couple of weeks.

But this morning I took my first class as a Black Belt. I was a little apprehensive about how well I could move in my new uniform because the fabric is so heavy and stiff, but to my great delight I found that I was very comfortable. The do bok fits just perfectly, and so do the pants. I had no difficulty when I was learning my new form (Du Mun).

It's going to take me a while to get used to my new rank, but I love it!