A faint twinge of excitement floated through my body that night. A hint of anticipation of the coming day could not be suppressed; yet to be overcome with anxiety would not do at all. I arduously forced those pernicious thoughts from seeping in and overcoming my body and mind. I still wonder that I slept at all that night.
But I did. I slept soundly and comfortably as those nervous deliberations crept into my defenseless, unsuspecting mind, pilfering my calm composure. When I awoke refreshed, I found my mind swarming with jumbled exhilaration. The adrenaline was flowing already.
After a quick breakfast, I pulled some of my gear together and headed out. The car ride of two hours seemed only a few moments as I struggled to reinstate order
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There were other competitors at the tournament, but they had never posed any threat to my title. For as long as I had competed in this tournament, I had easily taken the black belt championship in my division. John, however, was the most phenomenal martial artist I had ever had the honor of witnessing at my young age of thirteen. And he was in my division. Although he was the same rank, age, size, and weight as I, he surpassed me in almost every aspect of our training. His feet were lightning, and his hands were virtually invisible in their agile swiftness. He wielded the power of a bear while appearing no larger than I. His form and techniques were executed with near perfection. Although I had never defeated his flawlessness before, victory did not seem unattainable. For even though he was extraordinary, he was not much more talented than I. I am not saying that he was not skilled or even that he was not more skilled than I, for he most certainly was, but just not much more than I. I still had one hope, however little, of vanquishing this incredible adversary, for John had one weakness: he was lazy. He didn’t enjoy practicing long hours or working hard. He didn’t have to. Nevertheless, I had found my passage to …show more content…
I had focused all my energies into practicing for this sole aspiration. Every day of the week I trained. Every evening, I could be found kicking, blocking, and punching at an imaginary opponent in my room. Hours of constant drilling had improved my techniques and speed. All my techniques were ingrained to the point where they were instinctive. Days and weeks passed too swiftly. . . .
I was abruptly jolted back into the present. The car was pulling into the parking lot. The tournament had too quickly arrived, and I still did not feel prepared for the trial which I was to confront. I stepped out of the car into the bright morning sun, and with my equipment bag in hand, walked into the towering building.
The day was a blur. After warming up and stretching, I sat down on the cold wooden floor, closed my eyes, and focused. I cleared my mind of every thought, every worry, and every insecurity. When I opened my eyes, every sense and nerve had become sharp and attentive, every motion finely tuned and
an individual is overcome by sleep. It is during these times where the mind is
Before earning my black belt, I never saw myself as someone who could accomplish great things. I always undermined myself by not using my full potential. I rarely tried to prove myself correct when someone else shot down my statement because I did not know I had the tenacity to take action.
Wiping the sleepies out of my eyes, I quickly glanced at my alarm clock – 5 am. “Good, I’ve got plenty of time,” I thought to myself. As quietly as possible, which never works when I am trying to, I quickly grabbed a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Checking my list and grabbing my gear I headed out to wait for a taxi in the cool fading morning. I could taste the excitement, or was that the humidity?
Children with autism face many unique challenges in everyday life. The challenges are multifaceted on social, physical, and emotional levels. Interestingly, traditional martial arts training is uniquely positioned to address all these areas of need. The traditional martials arts all have three basic components in training an individual: physical training for the body, mental training to discipline the mind, and spiritual training for the enrichment of one’s attitude about life.
That night I couldn't go to sleep.Every inch of me was wide awake and full of excitement.Holding onto every sign of morning I drifted off.Before I knew I was
Going to class everyday without fail, reviewing and completely perfecting the five years of curriculum I had so carefully worked through, to the point where everything was completely automatic, and preparing for the fifty push-up requirement, were not enough. The black-belt test requires creativity through my creation of a personal kata and a self-defense to every attack I had learned. Beyond this, physical endurance and stamina are required in order to spar for ten minutes straight at the end of the four hour test, with a fresh opponent every minute. The black-belt test was the most physically grueling challenge I had ever faced and was much more mentally exhausting than any academic
That’s why you have to stay awake – otherwise it just walks in on your door…You are good enough…that’s all you need to know.” (122)
By learning self-defense, he finds a relationship between the “logic of practice” and scholarly knowledge. Practicing at the gym is a way to refine the boxer’s innate aggression. Out
After a long day’s journey on the road for time that never ticked, I slowly opened my eyes that weighed about a pound of bricks. The morning light glowed through the curtains as I tried to get out of bed. Shaking like a leaf on a tree, I finally found the strength to rise up and gather my clothes for the long exciting day ahead.
I began Focusing my thoughts on the vast land and the small town of Cadiz, as I gazed out the crops of grain stood as far as I could see. Sunflowers smiling in my direction with finely assorted teeth, I began to gaze at the mountains as I walked, I totally was losing track of time. Before I knew it, I was in and out of the market and back home. I opened the door Finding my parents in my living room waiting to have a discussion with me, they called me over and sit me down.
The car was hot and stuffy when I slipped back into the driver's seat. I found the most depressing music I owned and drove out of Glenwood as the sun started to set. Two more hours until I was home, two more hours of thinking what a terrible day I had gone through, and two more hours of cussing myself for being so naïve. The drive was a long one.
Karate was a lot of hard work for a child, but it paid off. I learned a bunch of valuable lessons that would help me in the long run. Karate taught me self-defense, dependability, focus, leadership skills, goal setting, and physical fitness.
Last spring for the third time in a row, I shakily accepted my teacher's hand as he congratulated me on second place in women's division sparring. It was a bittersweet triumph, three times now I have lost to the same girl. She has become an icon for everything I wish to triumph over in this world. She is beautiful, hair like black silk, impeccable taste in clothing,makeup like a Renaissance painting, and average when it comes to everything else. I watch her silently stride into art class on three inch heels, skirt above her knee, no runs in her stockings, and manicured nails smoothing invisible wrinkles from he shirt.
For those who do not know, I am a mixed martial arts fighter. Mixed martial arts fighting is “a sport allowing a wide range of fighting techniques that include striking, kicking, and grappling.” (www.merriam-webster.com) It is a compilation of forms of different martial arts. Two fighters will face each in the rings (known as the octagon due to its shape) for three to five five-minute rounds. I started taking martial arts classes when I was six years old. I wanted to be a mixed martial arts fighter all my life. I loved the thought of stepping into the octagon and pounding somebody senseless as a sport. My mother and father, at first, did not want me to take the Taekwondo classes because of this fact. It took a lot of begging to finally convince them to let me do it. They realized that it is very important for any child to learn some type of martial arts. It is essential to use for defense. Mixed martial arts are the thing that helped me cope with my rough childhood and mold me into who I am today. Over the past twenty years, the sport of MMA has revolutionized and has become very popular throughout the world. Despite this being said, other people very hesitant about accepting mixed martial arts. The sport of MMA is gradually becoming a safer sport. Even though it is considered a dangerous sport, other sports at proven to be more dangerous.
Martial arts are both a way of exercising and a sport.There are many different types of martial arts that whom one can practice them. They all may seem familiar, but they are actually very different. Generally, martial arts are looked as a cool sport, very dangerous, and a lot of body combat. Taekwondo has been on of the main ones.This sport can be seen as just kicking and punching, but in reality, there is a lot that the sport has to offer. This sport is good for enhanced agility, power, balance, flexibility, and endurance. It is a sport for both boys and girls it doesn’t lean to one or the other. Taekwondo may seem like a horrible sport since it's a form of martial arts, but it teaches you more than just fighting.