Amanda Takes Off...

Sometimes I am reminded that I am a movie star in Korea.

I had my first class at the Temp Studio tonight. It went fine for the most part. When I got there, TempMaster shook my hand and gave me one of those half-American-shoulder-hug things. It wasn't uncomfortable or inappropriate, but it was very American and very unKorean and so it surprised me. In being here for six months, I've gotten used to the conflicting ideas of having no-personal space and yet having virtually no casual, friendly touch between opposite sexes.

I was so nervous that at the beginning of class I was practically shaking. I don't recall feeling that way at my studio the first night, but that could be a matter of gups, as in entering a new studio as a 6th gup vs a 1st gup. TempMaster told me to wear my regular belt, and I told him I had a generic dobok without my studio's name on it, but I just wanted my belt to be any color other than red tonight...

When I first got there, college-aged woman approached me and said "Hello," while everyone else stared at me and then hit each other (to avoid pointing, perhaps?) and stared at me. I lined up way in the back because I'm merely a guest there and let myself be moved as necessary. TempMaster started talking about "the foreigner." If I didn't know the word foreigner, I would've known he was talking about me by the way they all turned around to see if I knew what he was saying. He called me up front, introduced me and explained why I was there, and we were off.

Like my own studio, most people were black belts. There were nine "adults" there and probably 6 kids. Of the adults, the college-student seemed to mostly be in charge of the kids (after warm ups, he separated the kids from the adults). I'll call her Sabumnim (teacher) although she's probably not technically a Sabum in Korea yet.

Sabumnim and I were partnered up for some of the work. She spoke English the whole time, but I'm not sure how much English she really knows. TempMaster helped open a studio in the States and was giving commands in both languages. I didn't need him to do so most of the time, but I appreciated it. And I didn't want to make him lose face by telling him I understand the Korean.

In class I listen for key words—numbers, names of stances/punches/forms/kicks, directional words. So I missed that he said to count in English. Sabumnim was counting in English, I was counting in Korean, and this super cocky teenage guy whined that he didn't know English while looking at me. (He is cocky but not at all nice/friendly/cute cocky the way Cocky is. He was cocky in this showing-off insecure kind of way.)

We started with sprinting drills, and TempMaster told me to yell louder. I was already counting louder than anyone else in my sprint group, so I didn't take it personally. I figured he was talking to everyone else by criticizing me. Or maybe I was being too loud. Fair enough, but I decided it was probably a case of the former, so I just shouted louder. And then he thanked me.

We did more drill/floor work than we typically do in my studio here. It was more like my American studio (moving across the floor while punching, doing blocks, etc) in that regard. I was on that, reminded of my American studio's five-step. At the end of that he came over and told me I had the best stances of anyone there and I declined the compliment and shook my head, "No, no, no, aniyo, aniyo" while making the arm-X-thing. Of course, the whole time we'd been doing it, Sabumnim had been telling me to lower my punches two inches, straighten out a certain foot.

We were talking quietly, but at one point some of the high school boys heard her say, "Short stance, then elbow block and long stance together." They gasped and said, "Oooh! English!" She looked a little embarrassed, whether for herself, me, or them I'm not sure. I just ignored it.

The adults did poomse work, and that's where my Didn't Happen on Friday Test test really took place. We did each form once with count until the eighth form when I ended up a step off of everyone else because I didn't realize we were doing it without count until after they'd started. I didn't forget anything. Not true—that backstance is still causing me problems, but I mean that I didn't forget the bulk of the form. I didn't stand there wondering what came next. Oh thank goodness.

For most of this work the kids were on the floor watching (I'm not sure why, most were poom holders) and Sabumnim was helping me (maybe that's why they were on the floor). She was very kind and I got some good criticism from TempMaster and Sabumnim (I keep forgetting that blasted back stance on two moves) but some of what they were saying just seemed like stylistic differences (how straight to keep the elbow for knife hand strikes, moving my body punch two inches lower). OK, fair enough, but when TempMaster told me to change my low block I had to wonder if something more was going on.

He said that my low block was "too old-fashioned" and showed me something similar to—but not the same as—my American-style low blocks. I didn't get upset, I didn't defend myself, I just smiled and changed it as best I could in the floor work (I didn't even worry about trying during poomse). It was much easier to change it this time since I'd already changed it (dramatically) to the Tongil way once before.

I must say, Master did it right, introducing his way to me for my not-American-learned stances but letting me do low blocks, body blocks and other things my American way until I asked about it. If I were to change studios here now, it wouldn't be such a big deal to be told I was doing everything wrong on the first day. I'm more secure about my stances and the fact that "the right way" varies from studio to studio, and even from teacher to teacher within the same studio sometimes. But when I first got here, that would've scared me away.

The thing is, TempMaster knows I'm only going to be here for a month, so why was he making a big deal over minor things? Changing a misplaced high punch in a poomse to the correct middle/body punch is major (no he didn't have to do that); changing the obvious middle/body punch to a middle/punch two inches lower is a stylistic difference and thus minor. Why mention my correct, albeit "old-fashioned," low block? Looking at it optimistically, I could say that he wants to help me improve my forms because he knows I'm testing soon, or that he just wanted to show off his own knowledge but...the cynical (or shall I say Koreanized realistic?) side of me wonders.

The university you go to in Korea determines nearly everything for the rest of your life. You can graduate 40 years later than someone, but if you're from the same university, you're the elder's 후배 forever. At least that's how it seems to me. There are a few universities that are well-known for taekwondo, and Yong-In and Kyung Hee are two of the better known ones. I think the taekwondo branches of both universities are even located in the same city. And Korea is competitive. Master and TempMaster don't know each other, they only know a mutual friend. One went to Kyung Hee, the other Yong-In. They're nearly the same age (3 years difference), and they're the same dan rank. One speaks much more English and has opened a studio in America, but the other studio has been around for years and years longer (since his father opened it). One charges a quarter more money for half the class time. I'm not trying to say TempMaster was trying to test me, discourage me or "scoop" me, but I had to wonder if there was something beyond me going on.

After class, I asked Sabumnim what her name was. In Korean. She said, "Oh!" and took three small steps back. She regained her composure, thought for a moment, and told me her name. She excluded her family name the first time, which is atypical. I finger-spelled her name on my palm while one of the younger kids stared at me and TempMaster looked on with a small smile. She said, "Yes! Exactly!" I asked if she was in university. She studies at KNSU if I recall correctly, and she's majoring in taekwondo. I told her that was "really cool" and she laughed.

I went to change and a little girl who'd come late and missed my introduction looked at me, looked at Sabumnim and said, "Does she speak Korean?" in Korean. I said, "Aniyo," and she said, "OH!" and just gazed at me. Sabumnim said, "She speaks a little." The girl just stared at me, so I nodded to Sabumnim and closed the door to change. The whole while I heard "Miguk saram! Mikguk saramieyo!" When I opened the door again, all of the kids were standing there. Sabumnim had to tell them to move out of my way.

TempMaster and Sabumnim walked me to the door and Sabumnim walked part of the way out with me while the high school boys screeched, "Ooooh! English! BYE! BYE!" She shook her head a little and I asked in Korean, "Are they high school students?" She said yes and I said, "I understand." She smiled a wide smile and called out "goodbye, see you tomorrow!" a few more times.

When I briefly talked to Master on the phone tonight, he asked if anything was different and said, "Amanda, you do 아래막기 Tongil way. Say, 'Sorry! Tongil way!'" I don't feel comfortable disagreeing with Master, but I also don't feel comfortable bluntly saying no to someone who took me unto his studio for a month. If it comes down to it, I'll probably just avoid any confrontation and claim that it's really difficult to change stances. Well, it is. The first time at least...

He also said my test is February 22nd, though he doesn't know the time yet. That's a Thursday and I asked several times to make sure I had that right. A Thursday? Tomorrow I'll tell my boss that I simply can't be at work that day.

I highly doubt I'll get anywhere with these boys, but it would be nice if Sabumnim and I were to become friends. And training here will be good for me, even if learning all of these different styles makes me think that as long as my fist is below my waist, it'll count as a low block in my test. Sigh...

Oh, and on an unrelated note, my side splits (standing and sliding into them) are now at 73.5" apart...