Going back home
After a years break from taekwondo I can't stay away anymore and this week began kicking again and attempting to run through my patterns.
For months I have been pushing down this need to immerse myself back in taekwondo but wanted to finish what I started with triathlon only to ask myself recently - why??
Why keep doing what I like instead of doing what I love and am best at??
So the decision has been made to take on a trainer (ex-fighter) a couple of times a week to get me sparring fit and tough again and I will be doing my own stuff in between.
Triathlon training will still go on as it is a great addition to my martial arts training but it will take back seat to the other training I want to do.
I'll enter the women's only tri events for fun but really focus on getting my tkd skills sharp over the next 2 months along with building my upper body - something that has also taken a back seat due to tri training simply because it has impacted on my swimming.
I did some bag work yesterday and while my kicking fitness is terrible (I can run or swim or bike all day but 2 minutes of kicking nearly killed me!) my speed and power are still there - this surprised me a lot - usually my power drops off.
This is obviously because of the cycling and physio exercises I have been doing and the exciting part is that if I can kick with this power now I will be dynamite when I have some conditioning under my belt.
Very exciting!!
I've been on the bag a couple of times this week and haven't pulled up too sore at all, I expected to be walking like a duck for a few days but not too bad at all.
Just making the decision has energised me and already I feel more like "me".
Having done Taekwondo for almost 20 years it is very much a part of who I am and many of the lasting lessons I learned in life have come from within the walls of a dojang and I can't wait to see what is in store for me next.
I have been reading Monica Wright & Matt Thom's book after visiting their Fitness Kick gym last month and have once again been reminded of what I have been missing in my life.
I have had this book for probably 18 months now and hadn't even looked past the cover!
Being in their gym and seeing all the bags hanging up and the matting on the floor and hearing Matt speak reminded me so much of what I am meant to be doing - they wouldn't even realise it but being in their company for just a short while has pulled me back into the world I love. Thanks guys!!
The break has been good for my body - my hip has had time to heal and become much stronger and it hasn't hurt me to miss it to realise just how important it is to me.
This is the longest ever break I have had from taekwondo training. I trained the day I had both of my babies and was back training & teaching within 3 weeks of their births and was at my clubs before that catching up with my students.
I used to close the clubs for the Christmas Holidays and while I ran and did weights and other fitness training used to take those 5-6 weeks off taekwondo training and they would be the longest breaks I'd have from training so as you can imagine a year feels like a lifetime.
I know I will suffer over the coming weeks as I gain my sparring fitness and the mental toughness required for contact sparring but you won't get the grin off my face :)
For months I have been pushing down this need to immerse myself back in taekwondo but wanted to finish what I started with triathlon only to ask myself recently - why??
Why keep doing what I like instead of doing what I love and am best at??
So the decision has been made to take on a trainer (ex-fighter) a couple of times a week to get me sparring fit and tough again and I will be doing my own stuff in between.
Triathlon training will still go on as it is a great addition to my martial arts training but it will take back seat to the other training I want to do.
I'll enter the women's only tri events for fun but really focus on getting my tkd skills sharp over the next 2 months along with building my upper body - something that has also taken a back seat due to tri training simply because it has impacted on my swimming.
I did some bag work yesterday and while my kicking fitness is terrible (I can run or swim or bike all day but 2 minutes of kicking nearly killed me!) my speed and power are still there - this surprised me a lot - usually my power drops off.
This is obviously because of the cycling and physio exercises I have been doing and the exciting part is that if I can kick with this power now I will be dynamite when I have some conditioning under my belt.
Very exciting!!
I've been on the bag a couple of times this week and haven't pulled up too sore at all, I expected to be walking like a duck for a few days but not too bad at all.
Just making the decision has energised me and already I feel more like "me".
Having done Taekwondo for almost 20 years it is very much a part of who I am and many of the lasting lessons I learned in life have come from within the walls of a dojang and I can't wait to see what is in store for me next.
I have been reading Monica Wright & Matt Thom's book after visiting their Fitness Kick gym last month and have once again been reminded of what I have been missing in my life.
I have had this book for probably 18 months now and hadn't even looked past the cover!
Being in their gym and seeing all the bags hanging up and the matting on the floor and hearing Matt speak reminded me so much of what I am meant to be doing - they wouldn't even realise it but being in their company for just a short while has pulled me back into the world I love. Thanks guys!!
The break has been good for my body - my hip has had time to heal and become much stronger and it hasn't hurt me to miss it to realise just how important it is to me.
This is the longest ever break I have had from taekwondo training. I trained the day I had both of my babies and was back training & teaching within 3 weeks of their births and was at my clubs before that catching up with my students.
I used to close the clubs for the Christmas Holidays and while I ran and did weights and other fitness training used to take those 5-6 weeks off taekwondo training and they would be the longest breaks I'd have from training so as you can imagine a year feels like a lifetime.
I know I will suffer over the coming weeks as I gain my sparring fitness and the mental toughness required for contact sparring but you won't get the grin off my face :)
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