Wednesday, January 11, 2006

No new is... no news.

So. I have my second Tai Chi class tonight. The first one was last monday and I spent most of the hour practicing the breathing "prep" move (along with some time practicing fist flicks). Dude. I am seriously lacking in grace.
Which makes the Karate experience even more amusing. Okay, I like to look at a few different options before I make up my mind, so I decided to check out Karate (just to be able to compare it to the Tai Chi). First of all, I get there and I see that the Karate place has a buzzer on the door. Hello!? Who the hell are they protecting themselves against? And, more importantly, why? So, I got myself buzzed in and found myself facing a mat chock full of kids, teenagers, and adults. Mixed age class? Ewwww. I filled out a form, was introduced to a karate chick who taught me a couple of simple blocks and a kick. About ten minutes into the whole thing, she informed me that I was a natural (hello, miss graceless wonder here. Was she just not paying attention?) So, yeah. Not a good vibe overall.
Actually, the main reason I went to check out the Karate was because "Wayne" kept calling and leaving messages on my answering maching. Last month I sent the Karate place an e-mail with a couple of questions and, next thing I knew, they had their minion Wayne calling me every other day wanting me to set up a free lesson. So I figured I'd go ahead and set the lesson up. I mean, best not to piss off some Karate guy, right? Then, when I was there, I got to see Wayne. Wayne looks like he's more into cheeseburgers than Karate. (Whew.)
So, yeah, back to the Tai Chi thing in a few hours. I find it pretty amusing that I probably managed to pick one of the more obsessive compulsive martial arts out there. Yeah. Oh, and the big spiel always involves some comment on how martial arts teaches discipline. I actually do have discipline. In fact, I should probably find something that does not require discipline. Hm. Drug farmer? Naw--you still gotta remember to water the plants.
Bowing to flags and other people might be a little tricky for me to get used to too, especially considering my oh-so-negative experiences with the military. I just keep reminding myself that it is all part of the experience (teaches discipline). (I'm also reminding myself that, if worse comes to worst, I always have the option of telling someone to "fuck off.") And bowing to a series of flags is still worlds better than chanting (I tried Yoga last week. We chanted. And the yoga instructor had a crystal bowl.)
Voila. C'est ma vie.

2 Comments:

At 8:36 AM, Blogger STAG said...

a friend of mine noticed that EVERY person who comes in for their free lesson is told that they are a "NATURAL". Heck, I do it myself in my classes. Its how they get you take the classes. Classes around here usually run about a hundred bucks a month for quality instruction. Belt factories charge half that....

Mixed age classes like that are pretty normal. You want to hang with women, join "Curves". You want to kick butt, join the Karate classes. I believe that JUDO would be better though for your physiology.

Tai Chi Kwan is a stunningly good art...but it is not IMHO a Martial Art. As a dance, it is wonderful. You could do far worse! I have supplied swords to a LOT of Tai Chi clubs...and watching them practice just scares me. My jury is still out on whether it scares me because they are so good, or because they are so bad.... Suffice it say that it takes a lot of practice to get good. And at that level, I find it hard to judge...

 
At 12:24 PM, Blogger STAG said...

http://dynamicbalancingtaichi.blogspot.com/

 

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