|
|
 |
Martial arts are just cool. In fact, the only
blemish to the name of martial arts is Chuck Norris’s hair
and of course no one would say that to his face.
Caroline Weaver is a 20 year old media undergraduate at Nottingham
Trent University. She study’s the martial art of tae kwon do.
-----
Your not just any tae kwon do student are you?
No, I’m the British student open gold medallist.
 |
| Caroline Weaver |
Wow, dizzy heights, how long have you been doing
it?
About a year and half, three times a week.
What's tae kwon do and why did you choose it?
It means the art of the hand and the foot in Korean. It’s a
bit like kick boxing, you learn to attack and defend using mainly
kicks.
I got into it by pot luck to begin with, I saw it at the clubs and
societies fair at the start of my second year so I thought I’d
give it a go. It was something I’d been meaning to take up
and I heard good things about the instructor. So I went for it.
What kind of things?
He’s called Tony Sewell, the ice man; he’s the undefeated
world champion. So I thought he must know what he’s doing.
Ice man?
Yeah, because he’s never been broken, mention him to anyone
who knows anything about tae kwon do and they’ll tell you how
good he is.
(It crossed my mind that ice does break as well as melt, but
thought better than to mention it). So how was your first class?
It was nerve wracking, you see all those films about good instructors
and bad instructors, like in the karate kid, and just hoped I’d
get a good one. I dreaded having an instructor who’d tell me
to do 50 press ups on my knuckles if I did something wrong.
But the ice man turned out to be… excuse the pun… cool?
Yeah, he works us to our limits and makes sure we hit them, but
he doesn’t work us to death. He’s really encouraging and
he brings out the best in you. Of course it’s not for everyone,
a lot of people can't handle the dedication required.
So do a lot of people drop out?
There were about 50 of us who went to the first lesson and in the
next few weeks about half dropped out but that was mainly because
they couldn’t be arsed more than anything else.
What made you do a martial art in the first place? Avenge someone’s
death perhaps?
No, I got attacked by a group of girls on a night out before
I came to university. I got a chipped eye socket and really bad
bruising all over.
So you learnt a martial art to kick their arses?
No, I learnt it so if I was ever in that situation again I’d
be able to defend myself. You learn to only use your skills as a
last resort. The emphasis is on self control and muscle memory.
But you do learn how to kick someone’s arse right?
In theory yes, but in practice you learn that the most important
thing is self control.
Do you know any death moves?
Yes.
Would you teach me?
NO!
Why?
You can’t just tell that kind of thing to any idiot.
Thanks for the compliment.
Sorry, just meant it’s not something to be taken lightly.
Kinda like, "with great power comes great responsibility"
huh?
(Caroline raised her eyebrow into a fish hook and it dawned
on me she may not be the biggest Spider-Man fan).
Have you ever had to use it in a non-competition situation?
Only once, I had to restrain a drunken friend from getting into
trouble, so I positioned myself in a hold that she couldn’t
get out of, till she calmed down.
Well, good on you but paramedics have to do that every weekend
- is there anything a little more risqué?
There are accidents very occasionally in sparring- broken noses,
cut lips etc. One time I hadn’t trimmed my toe nails and I
did a round house kick which someone blocked but my nail sliced
open his forearm, there was blood everywhere!
Sounds like you’re in more danger in your class than on
the streets.
Well, it’s a contact sport so you’re bound to get a bit
ruffled, but it’s far more useful and interesting than an aerobics
class and it probably keeps you twice as fit! Besides how many competitions
can you do for aerobics?
Yeah, but if you were good enough you
could do some aerobics videos and make a bit of money!
I’d prefer the self discipline…
if it’s all the same with you.
-----
Something about the way
Caroline said, "if it’s all the same with you", made
me quickly retreat into an over enthusiastic thanks and goodbye.
I don’t think she likes aerobics, the sound of the word had
clearly annoyed her and I didn’t want to be around when she
unleashed the fury.
Martial arts may not be for everyone, but anyone of any age is invited.
It’s good for your health, it improves your co-ordination and
you get an excuse to practice the crane technique from Karate kid
1… what are you waiting for?
|
