My training is going very well. I train in the morning 2-3 times a week with Kumdo (sword training) and I go to the gym Monday to Friday every lunch break and Monday to Friday nights I train in Hapkido. So yes by the weekend I am very tired and even sore. About two months ago I was sparring with one of the black belts and when he threw me, something went wrong and when I landed, I dislocated my right shoulder, though it was not a major dislocation as their were no tears in the muscle, I still had to take time off to recover.
Just last week I took part in a Kumdo tournament, and I was in two categories, short sword and long sword. There were not too many people in long sword but there were a fair share of competitors for the one hand short sword events. I got to watch a lot of cutting contest and shows before it was my turn to compete. I was in the adult open category which meant I was the only red belt and my opponents were black belts. My first match will forever be a memorable one. We were swinging the bamboo swords when my hand connected with his on a back hand swing, and his sword just burst into pieces. The ref was stunned and my opponent just stepped back and looked at the pieces on the mat. My hand was sore, but I was so into the moment I just got hyped up. After that all my matches were really intense, I just kept pushing and winning by continually attacking and never backing up. And wouldn't you know it, I actually won! I couldn’t believe it and it was nice to have a bunch of Korean cheering for me calling me "Champion".
I earned gold medals in both my categories and I got a small trophy too. The kids at the tourney (after seeing my hairy arms) started to call me either "King Kong" or "Beast" from the X-men movie which is a huge hit here. I was so stoked when I found out I won. I mean I know I fantasized of winning it when I came, you know, Hollywood like dreams with big evil villain with a dramatic final match, but I didn’t think I would win the whole thing. The next day my right hand and shoulder were sore and my arm had a few bruises from taking some hard hits, but it was all worth it when I looked at the wall and saw my two gold medals. Next month in Korea will be the World Kumdo Championships, and yes I did try to go, but my teacher said no because it is too expensive for him at the moment (but maybe next year), and I am still a red belt, and most of the categories are only for black belts. I also am being told with my Hapkido class that in September I will be getting tested for my black belt - seems like I earned an early test. So with the martial arts and the gym aspect, everything is going perfect, I have no complaints (except when they try to make me do the splits and crack me like a wish bone).
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