Lessons Galore....

So, a couple of weeks ago I decided that I wanted to learn some self-defense maneuvers and asked my friend, Chuck, who is a black belt in Kook Sol Won, to teach me. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I asked Chuck for this favor. Apparently, I cannot start off by learning ways to beat the crap out of an attacker. The first lesson is learning how to fall! Yes, that's right...learning to fall correctly. And there are about 8 ways to learn how to fall.

On Tuesday, I was instructed in two of those eight ways to fall. I learned how to fall forward and how to fall backwards. I have to practice these and get them down better before I can go to my next lessons. I never thought it would be so hard to learn how to fall. I mean, I am a clumsy and completely uncoordinated person, so falling for me is like second-nature. Then again, my natural instinct is to keep myself from falling down which is where the difficulty comes in. Let's just say that it was interesting trying to figure that out...especially since I had given blood the day before and my arm was killing me!!! Now I get to practice this for a few more days before I see Chuck again and he checks my progress and I get lessons on some of the other 6 ways to fall.

I also learned how to form a fist correctly so I can punch better. I generally form my fist in a way that I would end up breaking my thumb or my wrist. So, I need to practice forming fists with both hands so that I can do them with good form. And I learned one kick...well, it's more like a knee to the groin-kind of thing! I am actually pretty good at that and feel pretty confident with that one. However, I will work on practicing that too!

There is also much to learn in my running. Chuck is a fellow runner and I have been picking his brain on improving my running. He used to be a runner who liked to run fast also and had to learn some techniques in order to become a better endurance runner. He is definitely a much faster runner than I am and that I might even become. However, his thought-process and methods of improving are sound. So, I will start relearning how to breathe now. LOL...that means when I am running I will actually be more efficient in my usage of air. If I use my air more efficiently, then I will be able to run for longer and run better. Also, he gave me a plan to get my hip back on board for running. I told him how frustrated I was about not being able to run the same as I did before or feeling comfortable when I run. So, he gave me a couple tips to increase not only my speed but also my mileage.

I really feel like I learned a lot this week. It was really helpful to get some tips and learn ways to improve my techniques. The next few days I get to practice my lessons and continue with my regular routines. Tomorrow, I hope to be able to get some running in after work.

I have enjoyed having the last couple of days off too. I learned some lessons there too. Having a few days to spend time with some friends and some time for myself is a good thing. It's also something I need to do more often. De-stressing is always a good plan! I had fun and I enjoyed my days off.

The rest of the week is back to the usual. I go back to work and see how things managed while I was gone. I feel pretty confident that the guy I trained to be my back-up probably did a great job. So, I am not too worried and if it all went well, then I may actually get to start taking some time off every once in awhile! And I am really looking forward to Saturday. Cathy and I will be heading out for some more mileage!!