Day 9
I made it through another day of work without issue. And I got a card signed by a number of TKD students in the mail, which was nice.
Tonight was the first time I went back to the dojang since the surgery. Normally on Tuesdays, I have “ownership” of the class — I’ll lead the warmups and, if my instructor isn’t there, I’m the one to break down the class into smaller groups and set the direction for the class. Tonight, my instructor ran warmups as well as breaking the class into groups, so my teaching duties weren’t as large as normal. I worked with a couple of the youngest students on back kick, back side, jumping back/back side, and spinning back hook kick. The kids were around 9 or 10, and did pretty well, I kept them interested in class, and they showed some improvement. So, that was a win.
At the end of class, I did a few reps of a Kali single-stick exercise with a partner, called a long box. For anyone who might know Kali strokes by number, it is a partner drill in the sequences of 8-1-4-3-2, with complementary deflections. The box drills screwed with my mind for a while, but I really enjoy them now.
So it was great getting back to the dojang. I threw a couple of kicks, and got back into the ambiance. One of the adult students apparently had the same surgery years back. If my progress follows his, it’ll probably be 18 months before I feel completely normal. Guess we’ll see.
Once I got back from the dojang, I did 310 calories worth on the bike, a few lunges, squats, and some stretching. It is feeling good to get to be more active again.