Upon looking in my local area I found an abundance of schools teaching various kinds of martial arts. Completely spoilt for choice, I managed to narrow it down to Wing Chun which is a Chinese Kung Fu.
At my first lesson I had so much fun, despite not being able to walk properly for two days, that I signed straight up and haven't looked back since.
Two weeks in and I still feel like a shining red beacon of noob, but it's too much fun to care about whether I'm making an ass of myself or not. I'm lucky to have awesome instructors that understand that I need them to show me a few times before I muff it up for myself.
However with time and determination I will get there. Much like writing, it takes patience and commitment.
This week I did have the pleasure of seeing something cool. Students that are ranking up to black belt or to the next degree of black belt are surprised in the month leading up to their grading with a gauntlet. Yes, a gauntlet. It's as intimidating as it sounds. Well for a noob like me it is. What happens is the student that wants to grade up takes on five black belts in a fight where each attacker is bringing a different style to the fight eg. kicking, punching, take-down, etc.
The entire club sits down and yells out support for the poor student in the middle. The gauntlet is less about winning the fight and more about spirit. The aim is to prove to the instructors that you have the determination to not give up even when you're pinned to the floor unable to move. Like life, not everything goes your way but that doesn't mean you give up. It's 5+ minutes of life lessons and community building for everyone in attendance. Powerful stuff. Though in speaking with the black belts they seem to find it more fun than intimidating because they have the skills to handle it. Many look forward to their gauntlet. Mad, the lot of them lol.
Now I'm off to obtain a few new bruises, I'll catch you all soon.
Mad Love
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