The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Tae Kwon Do student Candise Rideout wasn't lying when she said the martial art provides a great workout. I just wished I talked to her prior to a class I participated in on July 25. It was also afterwards that I realized this is probably something my chiropractor would tell me to avoid right now because I'm still healing from a bad muscle spasm in my shoulder. She said I could resume working out, but to go light. There was nothing light about this. The good news is the shoulder seems fine, the bad news is my body is quite sore at the time of writing this. I enjoyed my first class and even impressed Master Andy Jedele a bit, too. I also provided him with a good laugh during stomach crunches when I was at the point of dying. My muscles were burning bad after 60. That wasn't the only exercise they do. Have you ever done a knuckle pushup? Not me. I found it to be a little harder then the regular way (which I can do about 30), but was able to complete the 10. They also do another exercise, which revolves crouching down and then reaching for the ceiling quickly. It's hard to describe it to a tee, but that's the gist of it. Doug Dubray, a student of two years, considers himself a rookie. He got involved because he wanted to challenge himself mentally and physically. "Has it?" I asked him in the change room. "Oh yeah," Dubray said. It's gone beyond what he expected. There is a key, though. "You have to put in effort," the 60-year-old explained. "You have to be faithful." I believe it. There is no way anyone could get away with not giving 100 per cent. Rideout comes three to four times a week and has her black belt. Her goal is to become a master and teach, though the latter she has already done for one class. It will be three years before she becomes a full master. She has been taking tae kwon do classes since 1995 when she was 12-years-old. During class I recall I checking the clock. I wasn't impressed when I noticed that it was only 7:20 p.m. Ð the class goes until 8 p.m. I have no shame in admitting that I didn't think I was going to last. If you've always been interested in taking up a martial art, don't be scared away by what I'm saying because I believe it gets better. I really enjoyed the experience. What made the class an added challenge is not being familiar with how steps must be done. What makes this such a workout is that exercises are done at a fast pace, to me it seemed that way, but I didn't mind that. Just before the end of class, the students were placed in groups for sparring, this is where I had to pace myself. You can tire yourself easily. After getting my first taste of the martial art, it will be something I will consider getting involved with in the future.
