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The sparring is over, and I survived. I even got a few good hits in, which makes me happy. No, I'm not victorious, but it wasn't a competition, anyhow. I have a bunch of new bruises to rub Tiger Balm into and a fat lip,
Sifu Danny showed up early to pick me up, just like I figured he would. I knew he'd be as anxious and nervous as Pete and I. Then we drove to pick up Pete. We arrived at the dojo about a half hour early, and no one was there, so we went to a corner store to pick up some little snacks. I munched on a liquorice pipe and warmed up a bit in the parking lot, bemusing several passers by. Finally, it was time to go.
When we arrived at the dojo again, the floor was in disarray. Apparently, a new furnace had only just been installed, and the Tae Kwon Do instructor was in the process of reassembling the floor mats. They're great thin sponge tiles, each about three or four feet square. They fit together like jigsaw pieces, so it didn't take long to put everything together.
And then the t'ai chi chu'an people arrived. Sifu Martin brought his two fighters: Mary and Pat. I have seen them in action before, so I already knew they're good.
No other fighters showed up, but no matter, we were ready and willing. I squared off against Pat, first. All those combos I've been working on all week didn't seem to do me much good, unfortunately. There's nothing wrong with the combinations. It's just that my timing isn't all that good. So his crazy t'ai chi hands were flying all over the place, knocking my strikes aside, and grabbing my legs whenever I did a front kick. He also punched me a good one in the tit. Yeowch.
Still, I did get a few hits, so it wasn't a total loss. Also, most of the hits I took were glancing blows. This shows me that my posture couldn't have been terrible.
Next, I was up against Mary. She's very tall and has enormous reach, and she knows how to use this to her advantage. I found her the scarier of the two, actually. She landed blow after blow to my outer left thigh, and several to my face. She also landed a good solid wack to my ribs. By the time I was fighting her, I was already tired from my fight with Pat. As a result, my fighting wasn't nearly as strong as I'd like.
Nonetheless, I did land two or three good, solid blows to her face, so I'm pleased with that.
The third match was against Pat again, and once again, he whupped me good. He nailed me hard in the ribs, once, almost knocking the wind out of me. I've got a nice red mark there. He also landed several hard kicks to my left shin, which is bruised as all get-out. But the worst was yet to come.
In the final round, I squared off against Mary again. I landed a perfect backfist square on her nose, and she jolted back in surprise. "Wow! Good one!" she said, as she circled away for another attack.
"Are you ok?" I asked. I'd tried not to hit her too hard--just hard enough to sting.
"Yup," she said, and we kept going.
Halfway through the match, she got her revenge. She came out of nowhere with a solid left hook to the side of my head. You know how it feels when you hit your funny bone? Well, that's what my head felt like. I staggered, just like boxers do on tv, shook my head a few times, but never let my guard down. "Good one!" I said. Then I announced, "I need to sit down."
And I did. Right in the middle of the floor.
If I kept going, I was certain I was going to black right out. My brains felt like they were spinning in my head, and black and white gashes of light and dark were flashing all over. The Sifus and Mary asked me if I was ok, and I said, "Yes, but I need a few moments."
So I sat while Pat and Pete continued their match unabated. I closed my eyes to make the room stop spinning. I felt horribly wobbly and woozy, like I'd just chugged a magnum of champagne. My teeth clamped tightly around my mouthguard, and I fought the strange sudden urge to burst into tears. I wondered why I felt that way, considering it didn't hurt, and chalked it up to shock. A few moments later, I felt able to open my eyes and concentrate a bit. I decided it would be a good idea to get out of the middle of the floor, and scootched over to the edge of the room, well out of the way of Pat and Pete.
Each of the rounds was only two minutes in length, but they felt much longer. Pat and Pete's match ended shortly afterwards, and I stood up to walk around. It seemed like the best thing to do. So I wandered over to a convenient ice pack and stuck it on my swollen lower lip. It felt good.
I felt good, too. I'd done my best, and although I certainly hadn't handed anyone's ass to them, I felt like I'd fared pretty well for a neophyte. We all shook hands with one another, then went off to a Tim Horton's for a drink and some discussion. By that point, my head felt normal again, although I was still getting occasional visual flashes. Sifu Martin, the t'ai chi chu'an instructor, had some excellent constructive criticism to offer each of us. I was also pleased when he told my attempts at leg sweeps were very good, and that I should continue working on them.
I know I can do better than I did today, given more training. But as it stands, I think I did the best that I could do, today. And that makes me happy.
Now, I need to have a hot date with some extra strength tiger balm and Hypnos, the god of sleep. I think I'm experiencing a very mild migraine, and some rest should heal me up, quite nicely...
Sifu Danny showed up early to pick me up, just like I figured he would. I knew he'd be as anxious and nervous as Pete and I. Then we drove to pick up Pete. We arrived at the dojo about a half hour early, and no one was there, so we went to a corner store to pick up some little snacks. I munched on a liquorice pipe and warmed up a bit in the parking lot, bemusing several passers by. Finally, it was time to go.
When we arrived at the dojo again, the floor was in disarray. Apparently, a new furnace had only just been installed, and the Tae Kwon Do instructor was in the process of reassembling the floor mats. They're great thin sponge tiles, each about three or four feet square. They fit together like jigsaw pieces, so it didn't take long to put everything together.
And then the t'ai chi chu'an people arrived. Sifu Martin brought his two fighters: Mary and Pat. I have seen them in action before, so I already knew they're good.
No other fighters showed up, but no matter, we were ready and willing. I squared off against Pat, first. All those combos I've been working on all week didn't seem to do me much good, unfortunately. There's nothing wrong with the combinations. It's just that my timing isn't all that good. So his crazy t'ai chi hands were flying all over the place, knocking my strikes aside, and grabbing my legs whenever I did a front kick. He also punched me a good one in the tit. Yeowch.
Still, I did get a few hits, so it wasn't a total loss. Also, most of the hits I took were glancing blows. This shows me that my posture couldn't have been terrible.
Next, I was up against Mary. She's very tall and has enormous reach, and she knows how to use this to her advantage. I found her the scarier of the two, actually. She landed blow after blow to my outer left thigh, and several to my face. She also landed a good solid wack to my ribs. By the time I was fighting her, I was already tired from my fight with Pat. As a result, my fighting wasn't nearly as strong as I'd like.
Nonetheless, I did land two or three good, solid blows to her face, so I'm pleased with that.
The third match was against Pat again, and once again, he whupped me good. He nailed me hard in the ribs, once, almost knocking the wind out of me. I've got a nice red mark there. He also landed several hard kicks to my left shin, which is bruised as all get-out. But the worst was yet to come.
In the final round, I squared off against Mary again. I landed a perfect backfist square on her nose, and she jolted back in surprise. "Wow! Good one!" she said, as she circled away for another attack.
"Are you ok?" I asked. I'd tried not to hit her too hard--just hard enough to sting.
"Yup," she said, and we kept going.
Halfway through the match, she got her revenge. She came out of nowhere with a solid left hook to the side of my head. You know how it feels when you hit your funny bone? Well, that's what my head felt like. I staggered, just like boxers do on tv, shook my head a few times, but never let my guard down. "Good one!" I said. Then I announced, "I need to sit down."
And I did. Right in the middle of the floor.
If I kept going, I was certain I was going to black right out. My brains felt like they were spinning in my head, and black and white gashes of light and dark were flashing all over. The Sifus and Mary asked me if I was ok, and I said, "Yes, but I need a few moments."
So I sat while Pat and Pete continued their match unabated. I closed my eyes to make the room stop spinning. I felt horribly wobbly and woozy, like I'd just chugged a magnum of champagne. My teeth clamped tightly around my mouthguard, and I fought the strange sudden urge to burst into tears. I wondered why I felt that way, considering it didn't hurt, and chalked it up to shock. A few moments later, I felt able to open my eyes and concentrate a bit. I decided it would be a good idea to get out of the middle of the floor, and scootched over to the edge of the room, well out of the way of Pat and Pete.
Each of the rounds was only two minutes in length, but they felt much longer. Pat and Pete's match ended shortly afterwards, and I stood up to walk around. It seemed like the best thing to do. So I wandered over to a convenient ice pack and stuck it on my swollen lower lip. It felt good.
I felt good, too. I'd done my best, and although I certainly hadn't handed anyone's ass to them, I felt like I'd fared pretty well for a neophyte. We all shook hands with one another, then went off to a Tim Horton's for a drink and some discussion. By that point, my head felt normal again, although I was still getting occasional visual flashes. Sifu Martin, the t'ai chi chu'an instructor, had some excellent constructive criticism to offer each of us. I was also pleased when he told my attempts at leg sweeps were very good, and that I should continue working on them.
I know I can do better than I did today, given more training. But as it stands, I think I did the best that I could do, today. And that makes me happy.
Now, I need to have a hot date with some extra strength tiger balm and Hypnos, the god of sleep. I think I'm experiencing a very mild migraine, and some rest should heal me up, quite nicely...
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Ouch!
Date: 2003-06-01 07:39 pm (UTC)From:Re: Ouch!
Date: 2003-06-01 08:18 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2003-06-01 11:06 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2003-06-02 05:18 am (UTC)From:Next one's in two months.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-02 10:14 am (UTC)From: