I train in go-ju karate. I have been doing so for nearly 5 years (in January, good gods!) and I am now in the advanced, invitation-only class. I mention this because we don't have belts, so I have no handy shorthand way of describing my mad skillz.
Howver, sensei and the more advanced students (one of whom is 60 years old) kick my ass on a regular basis.
Like tonight.
We worked on kata for a while, going for accuracy and clean moves, and then moved on to sparring in variously sized "boxes" drawn on the training floor with chalk. The smallest one was about 4 feet around. I am tall; I am at least a foot taller than one of my opponents so I felt a bit cramped in this tiny floor space.
Sparring in the tiny box, however, freed me from always using my kicks to create distance. In forcing me to get in close and use hand techniques, I actually found myself scoring more, and being able to really get in in a way that I usually don't. It was very nearly a revelation.
Good classes rock my world, even though I've got a couple new bruises now.
Posted by designatedgirl at October 5, 2004 10:05 PM