Old Friend

I spoke to my former Tae Kwon Do instructor Master Park. He was shocked to hear from me since we haven’t spoken in nearly 7 years. He asked when I was coming back to practice…. I had to tell him I was too far away to work out in his school but that I was starting Hap Ki Do. He was pleased to here I was taking on new skills. He said it would complement my TKD training.

I really miss the days of working out with him. Being a 7 time Korean National Champion her never let anyone slack off. We would workout for 2 – 3 hours a day 5 days a week then 3 – 4 hours on Saturdays. For a long time I was always in pain either from the grueling workouts or the sparring. Even on the days I would call to say I was sick he would push me to come in. He always told us “if you don’t feel good, workout harder”. The sad part is if you called then came in he seemed to work you harder than usual. Eventually I figured out not to call and just workout, it was better than the alternative.

He reminded me of some of the self defense practices we had. He said that was all Hap Ki Do but he didn’t tell us. I can’t wait to get into the things he mentioned.

He asked if I had been staying in shape at all, I had to tell him I have not, boy did that set him off. His tone really hit me hard. It’s amazing what a former teacher can do to you just by the tone used. I know I need to really hit the workouts hard, both at home and in class. I have to take it easy at first but need to push to become better fit.

Let’s see what shape I am in after 3 months. I hope I will be able to show improvement.