Which Martial Art?

I am still amused with how uncommitted I can be at times. When I applied to TTU, I was starting Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and continuing with my running. Given my workload the past term, I had little time or motivation to go grapple. Grappling is very intense, and I, frankly, was too tired or not in the mood after long days teaching. My teaching was too important to me. So the BJJ slid. Still, in spite of this, I continued to jog.

Now, six months after I was finalizing my application, I cannot see committing to BJJ. Not where I currently am psychologically and emotionally. Sure, I'll be happy to go there and learn some of the training techniques, improve my non-existent ground game, and, generally speaking, work out with some tough guys. I am not prepared to do that every time I go to train.

In the mean time, I've learned that one of my colleagues at HSU is opening a Tae Kwan Do school. In addition to competing at world cup level and training with Olympic competitors, he teaches composition. Hmmm. Limb destruction and effective use of quotations in the same three minute span... Of course it makes sense.

In a lot of ways, the actual individual art does not matter that much to me. What matters is the spirit of instruction, the caliber of teaching, the heart of the school, and the efficacy of the art. So, I've shifted yet again. I find it highly entertaining that each time I think I have found what it is I am going to do for the rest of my time things change. Then they change again.

This shifting, being slippery, is how many of our students live in FYC. They do not have a clue what their major will be, and each week it's a radical and new commitment. So, here I am, as a student, experiencing exactly that same kind of shift. This kind of shift, this lack of surety is certainly going to be good for my sense of professional balance and placement!

So, for now, it appears like I'll be studying Tae Kwan Do. But I will continue to run. For the time being, much of my running is dedicated to interval work. It's a good change, but it's exhausting.