Sticks and Stars

I would think that a good workout in relatively close proximity to bedtime would be just the ticket to send me into uninteruptedly blissful slumberland, but no. I had a hell of a time falling asleep; I had a hell of a time staying asleep; I am now up at 5am. Which is good in some ways because I had no intention of working out this morning and yet now that I’m up, I might as well.

Last night’s good workout came in the form of my very first kung fu class. Of course, just as you might expect, it was fucking awesome.

There were about forty women in the class, maybe more even, and six of us were there for the first time (I was not the only fat girl — woohoo!). We started out with the expected stretching and meditation and then partnered up for some interesting exercises, one where we ran around the room tossing a small ball back and forth (relatively small room + twenty pairs of women racing around throwing small hard pink balls back and forth = lots of bumps and laughter), and then one where we all had to walk around leading our partners while their eyes were closed (at the same time, again, small room, much careful navigation). Both exercises were a hell of a lot more interesting than the usual horrendous ice breakers/team builders to which I have generally been subjected.

After that, we spent the rest of the time pairing and grouping off in assorted combinations, sometimes specifically with someone more experienced, sometimes specifically with another beginner, to learn kicks and punches and blocks and grab arts and a bunch of other stuff that I can see in my brain and feel with body but to which I can no longer attach a label. We ended by watching the different belts demonstrate their forms and then by watching a…milk? line…where the women who were getting ready to test for their next belt fended off attacker after attacker.

It was all intense and awesome. For about the first thirty minutes I was deeply, deeply uncomfortable, especially as I was forced to find partner after new partner (all my sixth grade fears of no one wanting to partner with me rose right to the surface) and then be clumsy and gigglingly awkward in front of them over and over (I am so not good at not being good). But the women were all very nice, very willing to be my partner, and I just got over being awkward and accepted that most women who start kung fu do not immediately jump to black belt level work during their first hour (and as an aside, I was really amazed at how useful my brief experience with tai chi was to this class, and how much my body recalled from those few weeks).

I thought that this format for bringing in beginners was very interesting. Usually when you have a new group of any kind, everyone feels shy and awkward and defensive (or maybe that’s just me) and so people feel the need to show their skill (or what they think is their supposed skill) or how much they know (or how much they don’t know) and there is this subtle undercurrent of competition, if for nothing else than to not be the stupidest, clumsiest person in the class. Throwing us into a group where we were by far the minority and where we never interacted with each other except when specifically instructed to do so (and only after a long while of training with others) left us happy to latch on to others who were just as awkward. When I first partnered with another beginner and whispered, “this is fucking intense” as I repeatedly punched the mitt she was wearing, she broke into a huge grin and agreed with a clear amount of relief. Next week, when we come together in just our beginner classes, we’ll come together as a bonded group with a clear understanding that we don’t know shit, instead of as separate insecure individuals with chips on our shoulders.

The highlight of my evening was learning…damn…can’t remember what it was called…but anyway, this form where I’d kick a roundhouse kick, then punch with a side swipe of my arm to my attacker’s temple, and then punch with my other hand into my attacker’s solar plexus. It was a lot to take in and a lot to coordinate (and I am not so good with the quick physical coordination) but I caught the rhythm pretty quickly and felt like the flow was really working for me. I think it really helped to working with a very advanced student. The runner up highlight of my evening was learning grab art #3 from this dyke who I initially did not find attractive, but who was so gentle and patient and strong and…well…yummy, that by the end I just wanted to wrap my arms around her legs, stare up at her with rapt adoration, and plead, teach me, teach me, teach me!

If I haven’t made it clear, I will definitely be returning for the 8 week beginner’s cycle. Two beginner classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then an optional mixed class on Saturdays (all with free childcare, have I mentioned the free childcare?). I’m very excited.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 28th, 2007 at 5:46 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.