TKD and Care Packages

Hrm....I officially got schooled today....and no I'm not making a pun about having class...You know that feeling we all had, where we went from being the top of our classes in high school, to getting to college and being less than middle of the road?  Yeah, that was me in TKD today.  We warmed up as usual, and then did some basic kicking drills to loosen up a little more.  Then Toon said "ok, I want all the experienced people, mainly the upper ranks in these two lines, everybody else in the other three".  So, I tried to quietly sneak over to the lower-rank lines, at which point, Ron called me out, and sent me away, literally like he was scolding a puppy. "aaaaaah NO!  Evan!  Get over in the other line!"......*sulk*

It was such a bad feeling of FAIL.  We started off doing back kicks on paddles, which.....is not easy.  First off, it's been so long since I've done a back kick, that I had to think really hard just to remember the mechanics of it.  Secondly, we do back kicks on SHIELDS in Yongmudo, which means having a very large target area to be aiming for.  Suddenly shrinking down to aiming at paddles that are 1/8 the size of said kicking shields is.....disorienting.  After a good series of whiffs and glancing blows, I finally just slowed it down dramatically and went for accuracy, and slowly starting getting a few connections.  

Then....bad things happened.  Toon comes over, and says what I am dreading hearing: "Ok everybody, spin hooks to the paddles".......crap.  My hips were so confused by the prospect of chambering, spinning, extending, hooking and various other activities, that....it was not pretty, I'll say that much.  I definitely cannot throw spin hooks to the head, as the other TKDers painfully reminded me of, but I could....clip someone's neck?  Is that effective at all? No?....*aw*

Then things got even worse.  "360 roundhouses followed by a spin hook".......I can do neither of the above, with any sense of clarity or coordination.  It turned really ugly really fast.... *sigh*  I guess it's motivation to work harder?  Though I'm kind of bummed that I can't compete in April, as I've got a rock climbing trip that weekend :(

After practice, I just got showered, and headed over to Camille's place to watch a movie with her and Christine.  It was really cool to see where she lived, and to play with her roommate's dog (huge german shepherd puppy named Yuri, SO cute, but a little psycho).  We had a good time just joking through the movie and hanging out, and it was nice for a night of normalcy?

I'm heading out for the Great Ocean Road tomorrow after kickboxing!  I'm really excited, though I will be less excited if it stays as hot as it's been.  It got up to 101 degrees today.  That was NOT ok.  The high temperatures for the next three days are over 95 degrees.  What is going on?!

On a good note, I got the best care package ever from Michelle, though it's a sign that she knows me too well.....I opened it up to find a phrasebook for SE Asian languages, so I don't die on phase 1 of my travels, and 2 giant rolls of athletic tape :D  The sign of a true martial artist, being excited about getting more tape......hrm....

It's a sign to all of you that you should send care packages!  I get excited by getting mail.....and....let's be honest, I'll judge our relationship by whether or not you send me stuff....