Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Sparring

I had my first sparring match today, just one round. The coach kept telling me to loosen up and move around, but every time I did, I got hit. I only landed one or two decent hits. I've obviously got a long way to go. My partner said I did alright, though, for my first time.

Also, one of the big guys -- a real (well, amateur, at least) fighter -- lost his dinner after a well-placed kick. Now I don't feel so bad about my similar episode a month ago.

Out of the people that show up for the Muay Thai class regularly, I'm the smallest, weakest, and least experienced. This doesn't really bother me so much because this has been the case for every sport I've played, gym class I've been in, or test of athleticism I've participated in. I think the regulars know that I try to keep up as best I can.

The thing that does get to me, though, is that I don't seem to be picking it up very quickly. I mean, I didn't expect to waltz into class and be a Thai boxing virtuoso, but I had hoped that I might have some aptitude for kicking people in the face. But I guess that's what practice is for. Like the coach told me after class a couple weeks ago, in his Desi Arnaz accent, "If everyone was good the first time, we would have too many champions."

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