Sunday 10 May 2009

Momma's Gettin' A Bruise On

So this weekend I gained my first real "battle" wounds, a set of bruises I can be proud of. That's right. I traveled almost 750 miles, round-trip, on Mother's Day weekend just to get beat up.

I'm actually looking forward to showing off when I teach tomorrow. I feel like these red marks might give me some measure of street cred with my students. Don't fuck with the teacher, dude. She's not afraid to get a black eye--and she may take your ass down in the process.

This weekend, I worked hard trying to learn a new technique. And I spent time after class taking down notes on the different styles and suggestions of each of the more senior students that I practiced with during class. "Different partner, different energy," Si-Fu said after each exchange. And he was right. I learned something new from every person I came in contact with.

From Jonathan, I learned to "snap" each move to put power behind the motion and throw my opponent off balance. From Craig I learned to move from a snap to a more fluid combination of one move into another as we drilled bon sau/lop sau/punch combinations back and forth. From a third student I learned to keep my center of gravity low--not because he suggested it, but because he was taller than I was and I kept trying to reach up to him. When I realized I was doing it, I dropped my weight and, though it felt awkward at first, I managed to find the sense in it, as his punches went over my head more often than they came at my nose.

It was a tough class and I was sweating madly by the end. All I could think was, Damn why I can't I just live closer? I'd be a pro in two years flat, if I worked this hard all week! Well...maybe.

I consider myself both lucky and priviledged. I'm not sure what it was that put me in Si-Fu's good graces, but after my black sash class, Si-Fu let me sit in and audit the more advanced gold sash class. He allowed me to do the same the last time I was there and both times I feel like I've pulsed forward further for having been able to sit quietly and take notes. In fact, I think it's been the most valuable part of my training, so far.

It's getting late tonight and I want to post this ASAP, so...I'll share more quotes and stories tomorrow.

Until then, if you're one of the parents I see at my daughter's elementary school drop-off, I promise those marks are NOT the result of domestic violence. No, really. Promise. I actually had a kick-ass Mother's Day weekend.

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