Friday night I was in a class taught by the head instructor of my school. Near the end of the class, he told us he wanted to do something different. He started by having us do 3 step flying side kicks to hit a small target mitt. Now, I'm oldish (42), and I frequently complain that I just can't get airborne like the younger students can. Do they have springs in their legs? Do they eat antigravity for breakfast?
We did this a few times, and then he dragged out a huge gear bag (one of those that holds 20 plus sets of head and hand gear, and stood with the target held at the back edge of it. I was very, very doubtful, but when the head intstructor says jump....well, you know. On my first try, I started too far back, and I didn't realize it was okay to take extra steps (duh), so I wound up starting my jump from probably 6 feet back and kicking over the top of the mitt! I had launched my decrepit carcass into a leap 6 feet long and well over 3 feet high. I'm still stunned. I was even more stunned when, on the third try, I not only nailed the target and cleared the bag, but had a perfectly balanced landing. My instructor's response was a shrug and, "See? You can do lots of things you think you can't do."
What a great class.
We did this a few times, and then he dragged out a huge gear bag (one of those that holds 20 plus sets of head and hand gear, and stood with the target held at the back edge of it. I was very, very doubtful, but when the head intstructor says jump....well, you know. On my first try, I started too far back, and I didn't realize it was okay to take extra steps (duh), so I wound up starting my jump from probably 6 feet back and kicking over the top of the mitt! I had launched my decrepit carcass into a leap 6 feet long and well over 3 feet high. I'm still stunned. I was even more stunned when, on the third try, I not only nailed the target and cleared the bag, but had a perfectly balanced landing. My instructor's response was a shrug and, "See? You can do lots of things you think you can't do."
What a great class.