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bethany
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Home page: http://www.bethanyn.com
Posts by bethany
Taekwondo…so is that like Karate?
12 years ago
This is probably the most common question I get asked once people find out I’m a black belt, right after ‘So, could you beat me up?’ and ‘Woah, I better not mess with you, huh?’ (sidenote: If I had a dollar for every time someone said either of those things, I could probably retire). So is Taekwondo like Karate? Yes. And no. But mostly yes. Basically the difference is that Karate is a Japanese art, Taekwondo is Korean. Yes, the purists out there will shout that there are philosophical differences, differences in technique, one or the other is more self-defense oriented or sport oriented or koala oriented (ok maybe not that one). To a certain degree that’s true – for instance, Taekwondo generally has more of an emphasis on high and/or spinning kicks – but in the end, the main difference between pretty much any martial art comes down to two things:
- Is it a striking art (punches and kicks – Taekwondo, Karate, Wushu, etc.), or a grappling/wrestling art (Judo, Hapkido, etc.)?
- Who’s teaching it?
Really, everything else is slight differences, semantics, and personality. There are schools from about every art that are great for self defense, and also ones that couldn’t teach you to fight your way out of a paper bag, and it varies greatly by instructor – sometimes even within a single school. Almost all martial arts schools are independently run and only loosely connected to any central organization, so in general no organization or art is universal beyond a few basic tenants (which is why, if you’re choosing a school, doing your homework and visiting before you sign up is so important). There are differences in philosophies, and there are certain characteristics that are more likely to be found in certain arts, but the degree to which those characteristics are actually applied will depend entirely on the school and the instructors running them. But if you’re not actually practicing a martial art and you’re just curious, those two distinctions are the most important to understand.
Agree? Disagree? Think I left out all the important stuff? Feel free to comment and tell me that I’m crazy :)
In which I write a blog that becomes about Taekwondo
1Me: ‘I WILL write a blog I WILL write a blog I WILL write a blog’. Lazy me: ‘meh. Maybe later.’ Me: ‘NO. You are going write, RIGHT NOW. Just go start writing.’ Lazy me: ‘nooooooo.’ Me: ‘We’re not talking about this anymore. Go get it over with.’ Lazy me: ‘fine’
Thesis: Writing is easy(ish). Starting to write is something I will do soon. Later. Maybe tomorrow.
So you know what I’m really good at? Getting motivated. I read motivational blogs, motivational books, I think up motivational projects, and…what? Yeah, I’ll actually do stuff…like, later. I’m reading right now. I’m pretty much a professional at blog reading…somehow I always forget to stop reading about the awesome stuff I’m capable of (I know I’m capable of it, Zen Habits told me so) and actually go do stuff. It’s the hidden danger of the motivational website. There are ten thousand of them, and you could read them all day, every day, and feel like you could take over the world…but then you realize you just spent your whole day reading blogs. And even if I think about doing stuff, reading blogs is way more fun. There’s not much of me that wants to actually get around to the doing part. This blog is an excellent example, although I’m getting slightly better at writing. I mean I made it three whole days into my resolution of writing every day before I failed! And then I’m writing again today! (you laugh, but it’s actually a pretty amazing step in my well-intentioned but constantly failing blogging career)
I like slacking off. And I like reading. And I like learning. So blogs are great. You can read about anything on the internet, and a lot of it is really useful stuff! It’s just that at some point I have to pry myself away from the monitor and actually go do the hard real world stuff…oh and my job involves not prying myself away from a monitor. It’s like putting a junkie in a job that requires needles and very little supervision (ok maybe that’s an exaggeration. I do have SOME self control, people). Thank goodness I have Taekwondo, or I would never see anything but pixels.
Oh, how I love Taekwondo. It’s pretty much the most awesome thing ever. I have such a hard time selling it to people, though…there are the uniforms, and the bowing, and the bare feet, and the fact that if you’re an adult there’s a pretty good chance that you’re going to look like a dork anytime you do a move for the first three years or so. But it’s so worth it — trust me. And then the other problem with my salesmanship is that I’m acutely aware that people are vastly different, and that a lot of them probably just won’t ‘get’ taekwondo, and I’m totally ok with that. It makes me a great, non-pushy friend, but a crappy recruiter. Oh, and even if you do look like a dork? That’s only if you go stand on the street and do some move that you think is really badass and you’re a yellow belt (trust me, it’s not a badass move. Not yet.). Stay in the school, and everybody’s in the same boat with you, and they totally think that move is badass.
Talk with your audience, not to them
0I found myself today at a presentation by Kaiser Kuo. It sounded intriguing, the lunch was free (thanks to my employer), so I figured what’s to lose? I won’t attempt to summarize his presentation – too many stats and I wouldn’t do it justice, I’ll just say if you ever get a chance to hear him speak, do it.
But here’s the thing - The presentation ran late, and I asked one question and had to keep the 600 others that I had to myself because we were out of time. Just the stuff in his presentation was fascinating (the internet landscape in China), and on top of that the guy’s in a rock band, works at a hugely successful online video site, is writing a book…I almost wished he would have skipped the stats and just talked about what he’s done, although I probably needed the background to really be able to understand what he’s doing.
So I left with many questions, which will sadly not get answered, and I would have loved to start a discussion, get a back-and-forth going with the audience. It was interesting stuff, but it seemed like it wasn’t resonating with the heavily ad-oriented crowd like it could have. I think he set a great foundation, and there could have been a great discussion if there would have been time to follow up and start a dialogue. Q&A sessions are highly underrated, as are panels. In a lot of cases, interaction is better than one-way speeches, and the earlier q&a starts, the more engaged the crowd will be. The more I hear speakers, the more I think the speech should be the introduction and discussion the main event.
I have the best job in the entire world
0I love, love, love, LOVE teaching. I get done and I feel so exhausted, because I feel like I leave everything on the floor – every shred of energy and enthusiasm I can wring out of my body, I give to those kids. No matter how frustrating and tiring my day has been, I leave it all at the door and make their night fun and energetic. I want them to succeed so badly it hurts. When they fail 20 times and finally break a board, I think I’m more excited and relieved than they are.
There are times when I get tired, and burned out, and forget why I give so much to this sport, and it rubs off on the kids and nobody has much fun…but not lately. Lately it’s all been nights like tonight: sure, I end up tired, but I get done and remember that I do this because nothing – mean NOTHING – I’ve ever done in my entire life has been as fulfilling as teaching these guys. I promise you, I have the best job in the world, and I don’t even get paid.