I was out of breath, soaked in sweat and my knuckles were red raw, but it still wasn’t over yet.
My first experiences of taekwondo had pushed me to my limits, but when taking my first steps into the world of martial arts, I wasn’t expecting to hear the words “can I use the force?”
A junior was inquiring if this was a technique involved. To the disappointment of the child, Qui-Gon-Jinn was busy for that week’s session. But the sci-fi-loving kid had a point; no one really knows what taekwondo or what any combat sport really consists off. I really did not have a clue what I was letting myself into, but I was I had.
In a notoriously intimidating environment, and with my heart racing, I entered the sports hall to a surprisingly serene atmosphere. For such an active sport I was expecting more of a buzz, but this was just the calm before the high-octane storm began.
It begins
I was immediately thrown into the warm-up; little did I know that this included numerous laps of the hall, doing multiple press-ups and carrying a large man on my back. Not easy for someone who hasn’t done any exercise for almost two years.
I was now expecting the instructor to slow the pace down, get some mats out and gather everyone round while he showed us techniques which I would then practice on my own in a corner where hopefully no one could see me.
Sadly I was wrong.
Find a partner
Loitering at the back of the class like a naughty child, I was told to find a partner. Panicking slightly, I ended up being paired with Ross Kynaston, an experienced black belt.
I suddenly became very conscious of what I was doing, even before I threw my first punch. I’m the kind of person who wouldn’t hurt a fly, even if it took a bite out of my favourite Granny Smith apple. Whenever you do something for the first time, you always worry about how you look, and in my case, when I take part in a martial art, I could only look silly.
With my limbs flying within inches of my partner’s face, I was constantly concerned about hitting him. Despite him encouraging me to do so, I couldn’t, it just wasn’t in my nature to hit a complete stranger. But this quickly became the least of my worries.
My partner was throwing pinpoint precision punches narrowly close to my nose, which made me very nervous as sweat continue to run from my forehand, but now only due to fear. Ross told me that even he was scared when he first started.
He said: ‘I remember witnessing my first sparring matches. Seeing two black belts fight each other was quite a daunting experience.
“Then I was invited into the ring. My legs immediately turned to jelly, I could barely walk, but I entered to see a giant standing opposite me.
“I was standing in the middle of a ring facing an adult black belt, who I thought was going to knock my head off. The instructor shouted ‘GO’ and I just froze waiting to get hit.
“However to my surprise, and great relief, I was not pummeled to the floor, but encouraged by the black belt to try and hit him.”
Robotic line-dance?
Ross, now the giant standing opposite me, was also encouraging me to hit him, but I never quite felt comfortable to do so. We learnt more taekwondo techniques, but now in organised rows as part of some sort of robotic line-dance with the instructor acting as the choreographer, just without the spandex.
Thoroughly knackered, we once again got back into our pairs, this time using pads, and I got another chance to talk to Ross about how he got started in the sport.
At school he was bullied and subsequently lacked confidence. In an attempt to change his life, he turned to taekwondo and never looked back.
“I was introduced to the sport when I was 10,” Ross told me while throwing punches narrowly close to my head. “I had tried out different forms of martial arts before such as Karate and Aikido but I did not enjoy them.
“I tried out one class of taekwondo and was hooked. The classes were great fun and covered many aspects such as self defence, cardio and technique.
“It was great for fitness and a real confidence booster for me when I was younger. It teaches you discipline, self control and many other key qualities.”
Now this?
It was almost the end of the session, I was exhausted, soaked in sweat and my knuckles were sore, but it wasn’t over. I was told that I now had to spar, with Ross.
I now know exactly how he felt on his first lesson - nervous, anxious, worried and, most importantly, terrified of what was about to happen next.
But to my surprise, I actually enjoyed it. Yes I got hit in the head a few times, but it's part of the sport and I really enjoyed the physical aspect of sparing, something I thought I would never say.
Taekwondo is an enjoyable sport. It may include a lot of physical exertion, and you may want to bring a towel to stem the flow of sweat dripping from your forehead, but nevertheless I would recommend it to people who have never thought about trying it before.
And if you’re lucky, Qui-Gon-Jinn may even be available to teach you a few things.
Chris Airey - I am a Sports Journalist currently studying at Staffordshire University and I write articles for F1Fancast.com and for my local newspaper. ...
