ONCE UPON A TIME IN ATHENS

So, I go in for another round of punishment on Thursday night. For the first hour, I got off my cowardly @$$ and dove straight in to the group doing the muay Thai pad drills. My most gruesome day ever in tae kwon do class was nothing compared to this. The typical TKD class will also have you run drills gradually increasing the number of techniques in a single drill. I think I've only done, at most, three or four techniques in a single TKD drill. Thursday night, I was doing between three and seven techniques per drill. God, I felt like a yellow belt all over again. Once again, I felt that way you get when you push your body a single step too far, that nauseous feeling in your gut as your body cries out to stop.

I loved every second of it.

In the second hour, I got in some more kali. Unfortunately, being the sole minority in the room (and the only Filipino doing the Filipino martial arts work), I've got a pretty high visibility level over there. People, especially the instructors, noticed that I didn't take the advice fromt he first session, namely to try the Filipino kali during one of the sessions this week, and the next session to try a lesson in Western (Irish) stick fighting offered simultaneously at the other session.

Hey, screw that. I chose to celebrate my cultural heritage.

I'm meeting some very interesting people from the spectrum of university life at the MMA Club. In the tradition of some of the fiction I've been reading lately, as well as some blogs I frequent, I'm going to start assembling a rough cast list.* Here are a few to start with:

*Ed. note: If anyone from the MMAC stumbles across this blog, and may potentially be offended by anything written here, I apologize in advance. The names I generate are to protect our mutual anonymity, and the opinions expressed are my own, so if you don't like them (and if you're not one of the instructors), well we can settle our differences the old fashioned way after any club session you want ;)

TRENCHCOAT MAFIOSO - This is a guy I recognize from frequenting a certain coffee shop in town. He appears to be a student, and always wears a rather nice, long tan trenchcoat with a button or two on the lapels of a liberal nature. He seems to be a decent fighter - I watched him spar with someone after class.

But, he ticked me off Thursday night while we were doing kali hand-sensitivity drills (to increase one's reaction-time in close quarter hand-to-hand situations). We were rotating partners, and while some were pleased at my speed and upped their game accordingly, this person twice requested that I slow down. Slow down?? F**k that -- I'm there to freakin' train. Hey, I got smacked myself by people going faster than me a couple of times. I don't have time for no pansy ass weekend warrior. Come to train, or don't freakin' come at all.... damn, I gotta calm down. Sorry, TM -- you know I still love you.

GANGSTA OF NEW YORK - This is the main instructor of the Irish stick-fighting method, as seen in the movie Gangs of New York. He's a nice enough guy, very outgoing, very skilled. I get this wierd vibe off of him, though, as if he's disappointed or something that I haven't tried his system yet. Eh, don't worry, I'll get to it.

ISSHIN - Freshman lady, a 1st dan in Isshyin Ryu (sp?) karate. She was my partner for the majority of the Filipino drills. I saw her practicing a couple of her kata. I wouldn't wanna go hand to hand with her. But, her weapon work needs, well, work. So far, though, she's been the only partner that it's been a pleasure to work with so far. Aside from instructors, my other partners, male and female, fall into one of two catagories: total newbies who really don't yet know what they're doing and people who've been training for a relatively short period of time who think they know what they're doing whose techniques are so sloppy that it ticks me off.

ONE-ARMED BANDIT - Named because he recently broke his arm and has been attending club in a cast. Nice guy, seasoned martial artist, heart is 100% in the right place, but damned if he doesn't come off at times like some slack-jawed troglydyte. (Heh... gee, now why might anyone potentially be offended by what I write here, huh?) Why do I say that? Well, when I saw ISSHIN practice some of her kata, it inspired me to try and recall some of my kung fu forms. ONE-ARMED BANDIT saw this, and inquired:

OAB: Hey, cool, what is that?
ME: Kung fu... shippalgi. It's a Korean style
OAB: I've never heard of it... is it something you rent, or something?
ME: [feigned puzzled look on my face, because I knew where he was going with it] Huh?
OAB: Like, on a video or something
ME: [with a "wtf, you b@$tard" look on my face] Umm, no, I'm a brown sash...
OAB: [slightly embarassed and apologetic]: Ohh, ohh... hey, cool...

Now I know how most of those fights you see in 70s kung fu movies get started.