Breathing

Hapkido is going well, and I'm stoked after every session. Today, the Master himself applauded (literally) my throws! I'm continuing to practice for the rank testing that is coming up though; I want to NAIL it!

My biggest issue is that I do not breathe properly. Back when I took Karate, I learned how to breathe deep and from the belly to oxygenate the blood and all that. I've completely forgotten to do that though. Every time I work on something new, I focus on it really hard and I think I just forget to breathe. Within minutes, I'm completely winded. Then I have to ask for a break, and that makes me feel like an abject wimp. One of the red belts told not to worry about it, pointing out I'm not the first person to get winded in a work-out. That made me feel better.

One of the instructors spent some time with me to help me get the hang of breathing again, and I have improved. Bottom line, I think I just need to relax! I want to get everything right and I focus too much on being good rather than just listening and practicing. After all, it's not like anyone expects me to be (or that I could be) perfect after such a short amount of time. The Master still corrects even the black belts on some stuff, so for me as a white belt to expect to get things right is just dumb. Plus, if I just chilled out, I'd probably end up performing better and enjoying class even more.