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gmonkey42I need a martial arts icon. I went to my first class at a dojo in Monterey last night. My tiny-yet-super-badass friend from the lab goes there. She's done Krav Maga for years but there wasn't a Krav Maga school nearby so she's started Shou Shu instead and she's been raving about it so I decided to go. I like it! One of the instructors is a young woman so that's cool too.
It's very different from Tae Kwon Do. The instructors had to keep reminding me to relax about every 30 seconds. It didn't help that I haven't done much martial arts for about 6 years and I was nervous, on top of my body automatically wanting to do the more rigid TKD stances. Shou Shu is much more practical than TKD, it's all about self-defense in real life. Whereas TKD is very formal and there's a lot that would be totally useless in a real fight. Still, things like knowing how to throw a punch and watch your opponent's body language to see what they're going to do next are definitely useful.
It's weird being a beginner but sort of not. It's the same with my molecular biology class, I have to resist the urge to put pressure on myself and expect to do everything perfectly because I have prior experience. I worry that other people will have that expectation. But if they do, they're dicks. So there.
I'm going again tonight if I get out of the student body meeting in time.
It's very different from Tae Kwon Do. The instructors had to keep reminding me to relax about every 30 seconds. It didn't help that I haven't done much martial arts for about 6 years and I was nervous, on top of my body automatically wanting to do the more rigid TKD stances. Shou Shu is much more practical than TKD, it's all about self-defense in real life. Whereas TKD is very formal and there's a lot that would be totally useless in a real fight. Still, things like knowing how to throw a punch and watch your opponent's body language to see what they're going to do next are definitely useful.
It's weird being a beginner but sort of not. It's the same with my molecular biology class, I have to resist the urge to put pressure on myself and expect to do everything perfectly because I have prior experience. I worry that other people will have that expectation. But if they do, they're dicks. So there.
I'm going again tonight if I get out of the student body meeting in time.
