I want to post about Tae Kwon Do class. I absolutely, positively love my martial art. It is one of my true joys in life, something at which I hope to improve until all my joints become arthritic with age. It was in TKD class that I first learned one of life's important truths - I'm not, nor will I ever be, the best at everything. I'm not built to be a top athlete in TKD, but I do the utmost I can with what I have. And what I have is heart. Anyone from my dojang's competition team, the people who live and breathe Tae Kwon Do, could kick me around in circles until I was dizzy. They could probably knock me out. They would defeat my body, and I would bow at the end of the match and respect them for it. But they could never defeat my soul. I know this, because I have actually gone through such sparring matches. Therefore, I think, deep inside, that if we were fighting for something that really mattered and I had to win, I would find a way to do it. That's how life is - you pick your battles. And I have never been led to center my entire self around physical training and Tae Kwon Do.

Still, the martial art is beautiful, and it makes you very aware of what all your limbs are doing at any time, where each part of your body is. It also makes you conscious of the other people around you - where they are moving, and how. It helps you turn, in the middle of running full-tilt one way, and dash back in the other direction on a moment's notice. In short, Tae Kwon Do is awesome!

Tonight, we warmed up vigorously and then went straight to some running drills. After this, we started our real work - paddle drills. Kicks moving forward, jumping backwards, jumping and kicking in one movement across 10' of floor, kicking at head level or higher and balancing to do another kick in the same spot a second later... Ya. And then we had two 30-second kicking drills, which quite simply means that you do as many roundhouses as possible in 30 seconds. Since you are competing against yourself for that one, it is hard for everyone. The most I managed was 39 good kicks during one of those 30-second periods.

Ha. I glanced at myself in the big wall mirror afterwards, and quickly wished I hadn't. My face was lobster red, my hair in its ponytail fuzzy and messy, and my dobak disheveled. But goodness, it felt wonderful! All except the top of my right foot, where I'd kicked my brother's knuckles. That would be my badge of honor for the week.

I guess I am pretty good at TKD altogether, which also probably helps explain why I like it so much. And yet I am not very good, but I am constantly getting better. There is always more to learn. Perhaps that is the truly awesome part. There is always more to learn.  ¶ 6:30 PM