Lessons I've Learned

I've learned a lot about exercise in the last however many days...

1. I'm in decent shape (it could definitely be better, but not bad), so working out those first few days was no problem.

2. Day 3, the pain starts...

3. Stretching AFTER is sooooo important.

4. The opposite of warming up is warming down (I made a guess at this one, and checking later, found out I was right!! Good guess ^^).

Tonight at taekwando class was awesome! I got there a little early, and there were only a few guys sitting around kicking each other and playing cards. They taught me a game they were playing like jacks only with little circles that looked like dice. I felt bad they had to "entertain" me until the class started, but it was fun to try to talk to them a bit. They were fun to hang out with too! They were about my age. Then Chris came in and things went a little smoother. The class warmed up together, and then we went through basic moves. We did the kicks and punches all together. Then I learned one new move--a jump kick!! Fun!! After that, I had to sit out because the other people were a higher level than I am. It was nice to sit out for a bit after rehearsing all I'd learned.

There were 2 little kids who were one belt above me, so we sat together. The girl was 11, and her brother was 7. They were soooo cute!! And they speak English pretty good. They were practicing with me and we talked about lots of fun things that kids like to talk about. It reminded me of teaching at Avalon. Sometimes I miss being around kids. Maybe this can be my outlet for that. After a while, the grand master took me aside while Master Yu (who I found out is 30, but he looks 20) taught the rest of them--there were probably 15 students! I got taught some different walking stances that I'll use later with different punches. And Friday I get to learn some arm motions to go with the walk. Kind of low-key today and Friday, but I'm really, really thankful for that!! After class was over, I met a really nice girl who's my age and in University. She's so kind, and would be a great friend. Unfortunately, she goes back to University (outside of Seoul) on Saturday. Bummer!! I'll be the only girl in the class now, besides the younger girl. Oh well. Then I met Jay. I think his Korean name is Ji Su. He was so tall, and looked almost American by how he was built. We talked, and he's 26 and studies International Commerce. Cool!! And his English was SOOOO good!! Hopefully we can be friends.

This class might be a good chance to meet people. I'm getting more and more excited about it.