Tag Archives: dojang

Chasing Twilight

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I spent the first three days back at work at a training course 250 miles from home. It meant coming into work for an hour on Monday morning before picking up a very nice 2.0l turbo diesel Focus to travel up in. Last time I went I was under the impression I’d get mileage allowance from work so I took my own poor little car up, but it turns out there’s no mileage paid out of Cornwall…. This time I made sure I got things right and took a bigger hire car up, something more akin to cruising up. It only had 100 miles on the clock when I picked it up and was a joy to drive, although in all honesty I could have done with not having to drive home straight after the course ended last evening, but it’s not all bad. I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve been abroad this year, but it feels like Summer’s over, or dying at the very least, and I’m starting to feel very Autumnal already. Some people who know me well know how much I love Autumn, it’s my very favourite time of year. Why it is, I can’t really sum up in a sentence or two, so I’ll save it for another post sometime, but part of it is the fantastic colour of the light in the mornings and evenings. Last night as I was coming down through Dorset and Devon and heading back into the West, I noticed how the colour has started changing already and it was glorious. Rolling over hills with great music playing, windows open and chasing the Sun westward was just awesome, I enjoyed it so much. So much so it’s spurred me on to dig out my favourite ‘Octoberish’ albums and stick them on my ipod in readiness.

I’m just starting to get into the swing of things again now being back at work, it’s been quite weird re-adjusting after not being there for the best part of three weeks. I’ve also missed training twice so I’m really looking forward to getting back in the Dojang and working up a sweat. On the subject of the Dojang/Academy, we’ve had some awesome news – our Change Of Use planning application has gone through at the District Council! After some less-than-friendly opposition to our application from our new neighbour (who has a spat ongoing with our landlord and was being awkward out of spite), being told that there’s no way it’d go through and after a *long* application process and a lot of work behind the scenes, it’s finally ours! In Sung Kwan Martial Arts has its own academy building, a place to officially call our own and use. Now that the last lingering hint of doubt has been removed we can set about finishing the building off, the first step of which is to go along this evening and tear the ‘To Let’ sign off the front. How much tearing I’ll be doing with a dodgy shoulder is another matter entirely, it’s going to be satisfying regardless.

Back On The Mats

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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 ;) )

Back Up To Date

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So it’s been a busy couple of weeks really.

The main thing for me over the last week or so has been the creation and renovation of what is now our club’s full-time academy/dojang. After a lot of searching, failed attempts and hurdles, In Sung Kwan now has its own place, somewhere we as students can all call home. There’s a lot of time, work and money gone into it, but it’s all been worth it.

The dojang was once an industrial unit-cum-showroom, and was very “bare bones” when we first handed over the deposit on the first day of conversion. We were left with a dusty, dirty shell of a building with no paint on the walls and some manky old carpet glued to the floor. Tearing that up was a mission in itself and ended up with most of us (those who put in some hard graft to get the place done) coughing our lungs up with the dust and dirt in the air. Work began in earnest – painting everything, getting some laminate flooring down in what is now the reception/office/waiting area, and changing the big hanging strip lights so they were less, well, hangy-downy. One swing of a weapon and it would’ve been goodnight Vienna!

Unfortunately work commitments meant I couldn’t work every evening during the week which meant I missed the laying of the mats which was the part I was looking forward to most. I had to go to a small place called Goring, which is near Worthing, for training in the database system we use at work. Cue 260 miles driving on Wednesday, two days training in the swankiest offices you’ve ever seen (a Grade II listed manor-house no less) and then 260 miles back on Friday evening. To call them long days would been the mother of all understatements, and once I got home I lost all motor skills and the ability to talk.

Back to the original story, tonight saw two firsts. The unofficial opening of our new academy and my first training session in close to five weeks… and didn’t I just know it tonight! The warmup was really tough on me, it always amazes me just how quickly you lose your fitness and edge if you have time off. I’m going to be aching in the morning, I know that much. But I came through it unscathed and with my knee intact which is the important thing, and I realised just how much I’ve missed it now that I’m back. It gave me such a buzz to be training again, and I’m looking forward to ramping up the effort over the coming weeks and getting back to running again with one eye on the half-marathon in October.

This post is pointless without pictures, so here we go.

Before:
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After:

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(The light on this one doesn’t really do it justice)

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As you can imagine, we’re pretty pleased with it. There’s still lots to do, but it’s all purely cosmetic now. There are loads more pictures from the refit if you click on any of the photos and view the rest of the Flickr set.

More from me soon(er), promise.