Tae Kwan Do with Master Hwang
My blog has been quiet recently, as I’m now working for myself, and so far I’m incredibly busy. I’m laying the groundwork for several projects (which is another way of saying I’m not exactly raking in cash yet). Also, I’ve been slowed down by another major flare up with my back. I never fully recovered from when I re-injured it last spring. So last week I went to my doctor for advise, and he sent me to a physical therapist. When I went in to see the therapist I just had some mild but persist discomfort, but after she was done with me, I was in so much pain I could stand up for only a few minutes at a time. That was almost a week ago, and things haven’t improved much.
So I’ve decided to not go back to her, and instead I’m placing myself in the capable hands of Master Hwang, my Tae Kwan Do teacher. He’s been teaching for 30 years and is a genuine, seriously tough character (he used to train the Army Special Forces). When you enter his studio the first thing you notice is the large American and Korean flags. The next thing you notice is his version of the 10 commandments hanging on the wall. “Be loyal to your country” is number one (I think there’s something about your spouse at number 5 or 6). He teaches the class in a mixture of Korean and English - we’re expected to learn all of the Korean Tae Kwan Do terminology (I’m finding Korean is much more difficult to pronounce than Japanese). At the same time, he genuinely cares a great deal about his students, and is really wonderful with the kids in their classes.
I’ve been taking classes with him for about 5 months now (I’m currently an orange belt). I went to see him after my incident with the therapist, to tell him I probably shouldn’t come to class until I recovered. He wasn’t about to let me do that. He told me to lay down on the floor, and he gave me the most incredibly brutal, incredibly good back massage I’ve ever experienced. I was startled at how aggressive he was with it. It’s not like he took x-rays first to assess my condition before practically breaking me in half. But I can’t argue with the results - he managed to crack my back in all the right places and, for a while, relieve the intense pressure I was feeling at the base of my spine. I’m still a long way from being recovered, but I have to say I feel better when I’m exercising in his class than anywhere else. So I fully intend to stick with it, and hopefully my back will start to feel better soon.
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