Used to be, after sparring class, I would be so full of adrenaline and good feelings that I would always have a really great evening at home, get a good night's sleep, and still be pleased with myself the next day. Not so much lately. I have been getting my ass kicked, and last night was no exception. I have several very small injuries today and I don't think I scored more than a handful of points last night, despite having about eight matches. Boo.
In my Tae Kwon-Do club, there is a sort of elite sparring club-within-the-club. It consists of the people who consistently show up to sparring classes, and prioritize attending these classes over the other ones where we focus on forms and techniques. They're pretty good fighters, and many of them have won medals for sparring. If the club-within-the-club was Frankie's Gym from Million Dollar Baby, I would not be Maggie Fitzgerald (Hillary Swank's character). I would be Danger Barch, the kid with a mental disability and delusions of grandeur.
Lucky for me, Tae Kwon-Do has a really different philosophy from boxing, so it's unlikely that the other club members will do unto me as the boxers at Frankie's Gym did unto Danger (if you haven't seen the film, they beat the crap out of him). In fact, the other sparrers are quite encouraging and helpful, sometimes annoyingly so. You can only hear "Now, the mistake you made there was..." so many times before you start resenting the good advice.
I should say, the other adult sparrers are quite encouraging and helpful. The kids just want to beat you down. They're ruthless, and don't care (much) if they hurt you. This is why I get nervous when it's five minutes till classtime and no other adults have shown up yet. I don't want to get in the ring with an under-16! They tear you apart!
Certain members of my family seem to enjoy my defeat, if the smiles that greet me when I come home downtrodden are any indication. "Get yer ass kicked?", certain members ask with barely concealed glee. Apparently, certain members believe that I could use a little more humility. "I think Tae Kwon-Do is very good for you!", Tobias certain members have been heard to say. And he wasn't talking about the physical benefits.
Anyway, I've decided to adopt a new motto for life: "fail harder". So far, I'm doing well at this.
