Yesterday was my second session back in training since recovering from my injury, and I’m really feeling it today. Sunday’s inaugural lesson in the Academy was a good one, but I felt ok afterward really, not too exhausted or sore (well, I had *really* tight and sore hamstrings for a day or two). Last night’s session was a different story. It wasn’t the hardest lesson I’ve ever been to, but during some of the punching drills near the beginning I jarred my elbow – which was totally stupid – but it hurt.
We carried on working through some nice chokes and takedowns and I was happy to be working with someone completely new, taking her through her first taste of one-step and self-defense. I’m really enjoying the opportunities I have now to teach and pass on what I’ve (hopefully) taken on board in the relatively short time I’ve been training. The new building is slowly starting to feel like home as I’m starting to learn the feel of some of the things in there. The floor is actually a big part of it, as the matting we have now is very different from anything we’ve trained on in the past. We’ve come from wooden floors, laminates and a carpeted, fully sprung gym floor. Now we have foam rubber jigsaw mats, with a strange texture on the top. At first I found it really slippery in comparison to the others, but after doing more of the traditional stuff I’m starting to feel much happier with it. Pivoting for kicks is really nice, and the small amount of give in it is great for balancing on. Plus you can slide out backwards for speedy drops into push-ups *really* quickly ;).
There’s a kickboxing lesson after every TSD one now, so I stuck around for it to really give myself a bit of a test. Kickboxing lessons tend to be really heavy on cardio and strength, so I was looking forward to it and apprehensive at the same time, already being tired from the traditional lesson, but I know I need to get that little edge back. The warmup left me gasping for breath and during the stretch I could feel just how sore my elbow was, and how much range of movement I’d lost, so I sat out the last sparring drills.
It was also the first outing for my new lightweight dobok. The heavyweight is great but the jacket’s just too big, and it wasn’t until I tried this newer, smaller one that I realised just how much more free I felt. I’m really happy with it and I’ve bought some material to trim it with, so it’s just that and reattaching the flags and association badges left to do. Kickboxing usually done with the club kickboxing t-shirts and trousers of our choice, but I hadn’t even decided I was going to do the second hour until I got there, so I ended up training in dobok trousers and a Machine Head t-shirt!
I’ve just the rest of the day to get through without falling asleep now, and to try to survive the crazy hayfever. It’s been unbelievable this last couple of weeks. I liked having a day off yesterday, it gave me a chance for some good friend catch-up time as well as a bit of hard work, but it was worth it for the end result. Now there’s only a day left before the weekend! (and another bout of self-inflicted torture ;))