After lunch, we changed
into our doboks and gathered in the main gym. Instead of working out right
away, we were treated to demonstrations of three martial arts styles. The
first demo was traditional Korean Martial Arts, which reminds me a lot of
Wushu, including the use of weapons and staffs in the forms. The next demo
was Taekwondo with spectacular kicks that require tremendous coordination
and agility. The students are probably all majoring in Taekwondo Demonstration
(it's a real degree!). The last demo was Kumdo, which is the Korean art
of sword-fighting.
Pumped by the demos, we went into the workout that followed with lots of
adrenaline and boy, did we need it! We did basic kicks, paddle drills, multiple-technique
paddle drills, and finally, sparring. The list by itself
is not long, but we did lots and lots of each exercise and lots of repetitions
- back and forth across the gym, fast, then slow, then super fast. Whew!
Before we knew it, the workout was over and we were all soaked with sweat.
The heat and humidity made it worse.
We remembered the slimy bathroom in which we changed into our doboks and
shuddered at the thought of having to shower there. But to our delight,
we were taken upstairs into a more "private" bath for our shower (private
only in terms of the fact that no one but our group was showering but it
is still an open area with shower heads on the walls). Of course, the boys
were taken somewhere else.
After our showers, we were all herded back into the bus
by our guides and taken to the welcoming banquet.
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