Enter The Jonah
Last Saturday I found myself walking around North Hollywood, checking out some funky clothing shops in my hood. I didn’t find what I was looking at in one, so I continued walking up the street to the next one when I passed by the Jun Chong Tae Kwon Do dojang. In the window was hung a sign that said “50% off July 4th and 5th only.” My interest was piqued and I entered.
I talked with the lady inside, Ada Chong. She’s Master Chong’s wife and a black belt in Tae Kwon Do herself. I asked her about it, about what they teach, how it’s done, what you learn, etc. … sure, I knew the answers to some of the questions, but I was really interested in hearing more. I told her how about a year ago I began a semi-frequent regiment of working out and that in the past year I’ve lost 15 pounds, moving from 238 on down to 223, but that I’ve been stagnating lately. We talked about how I didn’t like the idea of a gym (I own a full weight bench at home, I wouldn’t use the treadmill or any of that shit at a gym and in LA most gyms are meat markets), yet I really wanted to find some sort of exercise that didn’t feel like exercise. She told me about what you learn taking martial arts and how it applies to life. We talked about streching and flexibility, something I’ve been working on for the last year (bad knees and lack of flexibility most of my life makes you cranky when you hit 30). There was much talking going on. We discussed the pricing (half off was a nice break) and then I told her I was interested, but I wanted to think it over for a bit.
So, I went outside and thought about it. Did I want to do this? As a kid I was always interested in martial arts, but I was too afraid to go for it. Didn’t want to get my ass kicked! I don’t have that fear now, but seeing as how it’s something I’ve always wanted to do, maybe I should. There’s reason #1.
The stretching and exercise aspects were two important keys for me. No one really likes exercise (if you do, you’re a little fucked in the cranial). This didn’t sound like exercise to me. And the stretching sounded like it would do me a lot of good, especially in my legs. One year ago I couldn’t sit cross legged. It took me about a month to get to that stage and I’m almost at the interlocking leg yoga style thing. I still can’t sit on my legs (feet under the butt) for very long, but I’m working on that. Then there’s the whole weight loss thing. Okay, reason #2.
Then came the thing that really convinced me. In the past year I don’t feel like I’ve really learned anything new. Sure, I read the news, I read books, I educate myself constantly, but I haven’t learned a new skill. Tae Kwon Do is not just exercise, but it’s a discipline. The idea that I’d be learning something so completely foreign to me was appealing. Reason #3 had me convinced.
So, I’m taking Tae Kwon Do. Yeah, me! I’ve now taken two classes and it’s been amazing. It’s been equally the hardest and one of the most satisfying work outs I’ve ever had. My first class on Monday was with Master Ada Chong in a mixed-adults class. I got really tired twice and took a very short break, but Ada didn’t let me sit for long. I was pretty overwhelmed, so much to learn and so much etiquette to pick up on. But I did it. When I left, I felt, well, excuse the fact that I’m about to repeat myself, but I felt amazing. Like every part of my body was screaming, “WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON OUT THERE?” Then Tuesday, oh the pain. Every part of my body, except my arms and chest, hurt. Guess I’ve been giving my arms and chest enough of a work out, but not the rest. By Wednesday I was okay, but the blister on my toe from the first workout was still rather nasty, so I decided to wait another day.
Thursday was with a new teacher, whose name I didn’t get. This workout was even tougher and no breaks for Jonah this time (except for the two 1 minute water breaks). It was a hard work out. My uniform was soaked by the end of class. After the class one of the ladies came over to me and offered me some words of encouragement, saying I had done better than I probably thought (she was right, I did feel like I looked like a fool) and that the first month is very difficult (she’d been doing it for four months now and already has a yellow belt). I appreciated that.
I’m going to keep at it for a while, at least until I get a different belt. I want to at least say I got that far. Who knows, this could become my new thing. I know I like it so far.
