Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Hapkido in Daegu

December 8th, 2010

Karjam and I woke up this morning and braving fat heavy swirling snowflakes headed to the Express Bus Terminal and then to Daegu. Cell photo as the snow started to fall:

I’m in Daegu preparing for a 합기도 hapkido 단 dan test that I’ll take next March. I actually was supposed to do this test in 2005 or 2006 but it didn’t happen because of all the time I was putting into my MA, so I’ll be doing it in 2011 instead. The 관장님 gwanjangnim/my instructor and I went over a little over half of what I’d be tested on. Since it’s a high level exam it’s pretty rigorous, at least five master instructors will be required to grade my exam, which will (only me, no one else moving around) take 15-20 minutes. I have to test on –everything- basically, because this test means I’m a fully licensed instructor of a rank to open my own 체육관 martial arts training center, not as an assistant, but as the main instructor. Today I reviewed kicks and falls (do you have any idea how long it’s been since I did 회전축방 (flip in the air feet over head and land on your side)? And I started to learn the 지팡이 cane and belt techniques I’ll have to do for the exam as well. Neither cane nor belt has been my favorite weapon/defensive tool in the past—I really have always focused more on 쌍절곤 (laugh if you want to, nunchuks. I never meant to get into that as my weapon, it's just that I’m good at them. Two hands, two sets, very fast).

We had a lovely dinner that 박진홍 Bak Jinhong made us, then Georgy and I went to E-mart because in Daegu they still have the olive oil margarine that Seoul stopped carrying. Check out the E-mart Christmas spirit from this photo from Georgy’s cell phone.

No comments: