Posted by: Cord
Back in the saddle - 06/01/09 07:06 PM
Anyone who knows me on this site knows two things: 1. I have an opinion on everything, and 2. I have not been actively involved in MA training for the best part of 2 years.
Well, without boring all with the trials and tribulations of my life, sufficeth to say that recent events in the family have led me to realise that life is too short to put off things that you want to do, and you should make the most of oportunity while you are able.
Such homespun philosophy is what pushed my a$$ through the door of my Savate club tonight for the first time in too long.
The reaction was one of suprise from those who remembered me ('I thought you must have relocated/died/went to jail'), but all seemed happy to see me.
Differences were apparent within the 1st 10 minutes of the class. With the club having become more involved in competition, the atmosphere was more focussed- still friendly, but more intense, and much more contact, even in drills. Suits me Encouragingly, even with the layoff, my conditioning stood me in good stead, and I was feeling pretty good during the 1st 3/4 of the class, cocky, even, as I was experiencing a wave of 'like riding a bike' style recall, and techniques were flowing better than they had a right to.
What changed in the final 1/4 of the class? A bloke called Raffa, thats what. I got paired up with him, and was casualy informed by our instructor that he was 2 weeks away from competing at the Savate 'combat' (full contact,no protective gear) world championships in Serbia.
I was advised to ask him to ease up if he was too heavy handed/footed.
'fair enough' I thought, and we got stuck in - this was still not full sparring, rather response drills with controlled contact, and thank goodness for that!! We had a blast (great guy), and trying to raise my game even enough to be of some use as a training partner for him really pushed me harder than I had been pushed in any previous savate class.
Out of my depth, and loving it
So here I sit, with bruises everywhere, DOMS already assaulting every muscle in my body, and ears buzzing from a very good kick to the head.
Its good to be back
Well, without boring all with the trials and tribulations of my life, sufficeth to say that recent events in the family have led me to realise that life is too short to put off things that you want to do, and you should make the most of oportunity while you are able.
Such homespun philosophy is what pushed my a$$ through the door of my Savate club tonight for the first time in too long.
The reaction was one of suprise from those who remembered me ('I thought you must have relocated/died/went to jail'), but all seemed happy to see me.
Differences were apparent within the 1st 10 minutes of the class. With the club having become more involved in competition, the atmosphere was more focussed- still friendly, but more intense, and much more contact, even in drills. Suits me Encouragingly, even with the layoff, my conditioning stood me in good stead, and I was feeling pretty good during the 1st 3/4 of the class, cocky, even, as I was experiencing a wave of 'like riding a bike' style recall, and techniques were flowing better than they had a right to.
What changed in the final 1/4 of the class? A bloke called Raffa, thats what. I got paired up with him, and was casualy informed by our instructor that he was 2 weeks away from competing at the Savate 'combat' (full contact,no protective gear) world championships in Serbia.
I was advised to ask him to ease up if he was too heavy handed/footed.
'fair enough' I thought, and we got stuck in - this was still not full sparring, rather response drills with controlled contact, and thank goodness for that!! We had a blast (great guy), and trying to raise my game even enough to be of some use as a training partner for him really pushed me harder than I had been pushed in any previous savate class.
Out of my depth, and loving it
So here I sit, with bruises everywhere, DOMS already assaulting every muscle in my body, and ears buzzing from a very good kick to the head.
Its good to be back