So I ended up buying about 200 dollars worth of equipment to start sparring at the Taekwondo school I've been going to. I used to train back home in Pennsylvania (for about ten years) and we never wore anything besides boxing gloves and shin pads to fight, these people made me put on: gloves, forearm pads, elbow pads, foot pads, shin pads, knee pads, a cup, A STUPID CHEST PROTECTOR, and a helmet with a fucking CAGE on the front of it. It was like a suit of armor, I could've jumped out the window and not hurt myself when I landed in front of the movie theater.
So, I figure, what the fuck, it's their party so I'll be polite. Its my turn to spar and I'm being cool about things, I'm new to their style and I don't want to hurt anybody (for the purposes of clarification, I have a black belt -- the top rank -- at the school in PA, but I wear a green belt -- a very low rank -- at this school). Anyway, I start sparring, and I find out that I'm not allowedd to punch my opponent in the head (Christ, what are the FACE CAGES for).
It went down hill from there, I'm accustomed to full contact fighting that is much closer to kick-boxing, my old instructor used to beat the shit out of me on a regular basis... thats how I grew up, thats what I know. This school is like tournament point-sparring, which is really just sissy stuff and completely valueless for an actual self-defense situation.
So basically what happened was I kept using low kicks to set up knock-out punches and then would realize (silly me) I'm not supposed to use my hands! Meanwhile the guy in front of me is kicking me in the chest and I'm not even bothering to block them, because I have this damned chest protector on and I can't even tell I'm being hit. The most important thing about sparring is that you get used to being hit, that way, if you ever get in a real fight, you don't shit yourself if you get whacked upside the head.
I guess I'm gonna learn how to spar there way (I spent the 200 bucks) at the very least my speed and timing will improve... but it bums me out to think that a lot of the lower ranking guys from my old school could beat the hell out of the black belts from this school.
Ahh fuckit, its 3 pm, Fresh Prince episode 2!
Plus, I think I have a date tonight with a real live actual girl! But, I don't know if she's gonna be a friend or if she's gonna be a.. y'know, GIRL! This will be my first night out with a girl since I had my dumb-sensitive-boy-heart ripped out and kicked back and forth across the cold streets of Boston.
So, I figure, what the fuck, it's their party so I'll be polite. Its my turn to spar and I'm being cool about things, I'm new to their style and I don't want to hurt anybody (for the purposes of clarification, I have a black belt -- the top rank -- at the school in PA, but I wear a green belt -- a very low rank -- at this school). Anyway, I start sparring, and I find out that I'm not allowedd to punch my opponent in the head (Christ, what are the FACE CAGES for).
It went down hill from there, I'm accustomed to full contact fighting that is much closer to kick-boxing, my old instructor used to beat the shit out of me on a regular basis... thats how I grew up, thats what I know. This school is like tournament point-sparring, which is really just sissy stuff and completely valueless for an actual self-defense situation.
So basically what happened was I kept using low kicks to set up knock-out punches and then would realize (silly me) I'm not supposed to use my hands! Meanwhile the guy in front of me is kicking me in the chest and I'm not even bothering to block them, because I have this damned chest protector on and I can't even tell I'm being hit. The most important thing about sparring is that you get used to being hit, that way, if you ever get in a real fight, you don't shit yourself if you get whacked upside the head.
I guess I'm gonna learn how to spar there way (I spent the 200 bucks) at the very least my speed and timing will improve... but it bums me out to think that a lot of the lower ranking guys from my old school could beat the hell out of the black belts from this school.
Ahh fuckit, its 3 pm, Fresh Prince episode 2!
Plus, I think I have a date tonight with a real live actual girl! But, I don't know if she's gonna be a friend or if she's gonna be a.. y'know, GIRL! This will be my first night out with a girl since I had my dumb-sensitive-boy-heart ripped out and kicked back and forth across the cold streets of Boston.
coming to my party darling?