As you probably have figured out, just by reading this, I survived Tae Kwon Do class. But just barely. A usual class starts off with a rather hefty warmup, which means running in circles while doing various things (touch the floor on command, wave yoru arms around, jump sideways etc etc). Today we also did things like using our belts to hold each other back while trying to run forward, doign that wheel barrow thing, stuff like that. And my physical condition and endurance is virtually non-exsistant, and I knew that, but I still feel really embarassed about my poor shape. But what really scared me was how heavy my breathing got. Seems I can't deny it anymore, I have asthma, at least of the exercise-induced kind. Being short of breath is normal when you exert yourself, but coughing, wheezing and feeling your bronchi constrict, isn't. I vowed to myself as I ran around panting that I would quit the damn smoking. Luckily, the master, Patrick, is a really sweet guy, and he told me while we were running around that I could ease off, take everything in my own pace, just walk if I felt like it. I told him asthma runs heavily in my family, and that I more than likely have it too, plus that I haven't exercised properly for 4-5 years. I always feel like I have to explain myself, give some kind of excuse. But the fact remainds that I am in piss poor shape, and I really really hate the warmups. I get dizzy, can't breathe, I sweat, I feel like I have no energy at all, and about 5 minutes into class I felt like I had a Gollum inside of me, screaming:
"why are you hurting us??! We could be home, in our preciousssss ssssofa, watching Dexter! We don't want to do this anymore! It hurts us, it's uncomfortable, we're sweating, we can't breathe, we have bloodtastes in our mouths and everyone else is running past us! This is embarrassssssing!"
After the horrible warmups comes the parts I like - we usually do a series of stretches, and then we start with the fun stuff. Kicking, punching etc. We learned the beginners fight "pattern" today, I remember most of it from last time and I love doing them. It's a series of 18 movements, different blocks, punches and kicks, it's supposed to be like an imaginary fight in which you attack and defend yourself from enemies. After the patterns we spent the rest of class doing various kicks on kickbags (which kinda hurts after the 20th kick). These are all parts of the training that I love, learning the routines and the movement, feeling the difference in the power of punches and kicks as you learn to do them correctly. Classes usually end with some strength exercises, push ups, sit ups, stuff like that, and I'm not fond of them either but I'd take that over warmups anyday.
But I remember now, why I used to love Tae Kwon Do. The patterns, the routines, and the feeling you get afterwards of having used your body, exerted yourself. Now I just hope I will have the motivation to keep it up. I like the taekwondo-club, the trainers are authoritarian, as they should be, but they can still joke around and be friends, which makes it a bit more relaxed and casual. All martial arts require a fair bit of discipline, in TKD we have to bow as we enter or leave the training hall, you should obey commands and not fiddle around, pick your nose etc until you're given a command much like that "at ease". The TKD-club I trained at 7 years ago was much more hardcore, we did pushups on our knuckles on bare asphalt for crying out loud. I'm not that hard-core. Patrick said he recommended me staying in bed or in the sofa over the weekend, as I would most likely be unable to move. He has a sense of humour, which is good.
Tae Kwon Do practice turned out to be a harsh, unexpected wake up call regarding the state of my lungs. I expected the shortness of breath to ease off when the practice ended, and that it would go away completely after a while, but I spent most of the night wheezing, coughing and feeling like I didn't get enough oxygen. Of course this gets worse when I lay down, so I ended up propping a duvet and three pillows under my back, and let me tell you - sleeping in an almost sitting position is not fun. Not that I got much sleep, either. Seems I will be giving my doctor a call and ask if there are any meds I can take before or after training to help ease my breathing, otherwise these classes are going to be even harder than I imagined. If that's possible.
