ohhh my achin’ head

Actually it’s my neck. Heather posted a great blog about martial arts a few days ago and how she’s crafting a personal learning style for herself. Long ago I found my learning style. That style is called pain…. Maybe I’m exaggerating a bit when I write that. I definitely don’t go out looking for pain. It just find me, usually in new and oh so surprising ways. Last night was no exception:

We have been working on a demo to perform at an upcoming conference. As usual we are working on creating a bad kung fu movie. One that would make the Shaw Brother’s proud. My role is this one is, and it’s a stretch, as the clumsy student who doesn’t really know martial arts. I do get to showcase a couple “hidden moves.” These are techniques that really are hits, but make the person performing them seem like he (or she) doesn’t actually know what they are doing. But eventually my character gets, well, thrown on his head. When we practiced that sequence last night I blew the break fall. The result: new pain.

Basically I go in to tacked the opponent and fail. That results in my being kneed and elbowed. Then he latches around my stomach and lifts me so I end up with my back on his shoulder facing the sky. He then racks me for a moment or two and then swings me back down to the ground. To help him with the lift, I jump and tuck my body. The only problem was I didn’t untuck fast enough as I was being brought back to the ground. So instead of my feet hitting first, my head hit the mats first. Owww! Thanks to that I’ve had a sore neck since then.

As the final demo will be on a hard wood floor we are most likely going to change the throw. I learned a good lesson, but at the same time I have no desire to tempt fate. Especially considering that as my family might comment, I’m not the most coordinated person out there.