Taekwondo, or Taekwondon't?

Tuesday evening, and I go with Sam to Challney Boys High School. Dark and raining, we are not sure where to go, but have been told the gym is round the back. Scared and nervous, we find a door and venture inside. The gym is a large hall with a wooden floor, lines painted on it, low benches around the edges, I am certain nothing much has changed since I was a girl in the school-next-door back in the 70s, the faint smell of sweat and cabbage, the high ceiling, and a cold fear comes over me as I remember PE lessons and the torture and humiliation they inflicted on us.....

The Taekwondo teacher is immediately welcoming, getting us to sit on a bench while pupils arrive. With dread, I see that everyone else is either a child or a young man, I feel like a fish out of water. Plus everyone else is wearing those martial arts dressing gown things with pyjamas, in a fetching white or black. Ah, one woman turned up, that is encouraging.

Time for the warm up. Run round the hall, go on, keep going. We get lapped several times as we trot along, thinking how relieved that I remembered to wear my sport's bra. STOP. 10 Sit-ups. Then run the other way round the hall, for what seemed like ages. STOP. 50 push-ups. Excuse me?! We just watch in errr...admiration. Eventually we get round to the main event. We learn how to kick! In pairs, we hold on to the other and kick out to the side and behind. Now a demonstration as we all sit on the floor in neat rows. The teachers demands, and gets, absolute attention and silence as he explains what is next. We are given a blue block, a sort of kick-cushion with handles one side. Teacher demonstrates with star pupil, and we learn to use 3 different kicks. We use the ball of the foot, then the side and finally the front of the foot, kicking at the pad held by our partner. Sam can't help but apologise each time she makes contact, and I find myself saying sorry too! It is really hard work, but good fun, and we have a laugh about the situation.

So, that is No. 3 completed, hurrah! Not sure if I will ever do it again, but I can say I have had a taekwondo lesson.