In addition to attending the able bodied Hapkido class over winter break, I still had my usual class with Sensei and Erin on Thursday. I was still having panic issues but this time they came from a different source. I had been staying at Erins with Sensei the last couple of days in a mini vacation of sorts. This provided a huge mental boost, as I am happier among my surrogate family than anywhere else, including, sad as this sounds with my own fiancee. I was now panicking because I did not want to go home.
Be that as it may, Sensei convinced me that training would help ease the anxiety and after our usual warmups I practically begged for something new to learn, as I have become bored with using class time to mindlessly beat out strike repetitions when I can do that just as well sitting at home. In response, Sensei said it was time for me to begin learning to fight without the use of the senses that are most crucial to my survival. Therefore, we began work on blindfighting.
A dishtowel was tied over my eyes as a makeshift blindfold and I sparred, simple as that. Though the exercise started out with only Sensei attacking me, he soon stepped back and allowed the other instructors present (which is to say, all of them) to work with me. Why? To teach me to account for different fighting styles, and also learn to identify the instructor working with me on sense alone. Believe it or not the lesson was very successful, and I continue to enjoy testing my prowess through blindfighting when Sensei runs out of lesson ideas.
More in a sec,
Misha
No comments:
Post a Comment