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Martial Travel - My Journey Across the World

wabbradford

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Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2013 4:33 pm

Hello fellow Martial Artists/Fitness Junkies!

I'm a young student of Taekwondo, and have only been into Martial Arts for about seven years now (I've been training since I was nine). As I trained, there was something I had read about and always wanted to try: "Martial Travel". It simply means to travel far from your home to train with other Instructors and Masters. It had always been a dream of mine to leave America and practice in seclusion with a true Master of Taekwondo, and now that dream is finally becoming a reality.

So here I am, currently sitting thousands of miles away from my family and (most of my) friends in a small country called Malaysia. I chose this place because I used to live here as a child, so I have a few connections in case I get in trouble, but it's still far enough away from home that I truly feel like I'm preforming this "Martial Travel" thing.

I go to see my Master tomorrow, a very respectable man name Master Tan Eng Kiat. With him, and his two children, I'll train Taekwondo non-stop for three weeks. I can't wait to begin.

But why am I posting this on the internet, you may ask? Let's think of this as sort of a public diary, or a blog of sorts. I thought that maybe some fellow athletes would enjoy reading updates and stories about my training here. Or maybe I just want a written documentation that I can read myself when I get older. Either way, writing things down is almost never a bad thing, so write I shall.

Feel free to ask questions, share comments, or even give me some advice as I update this training dairy. I look forward to telling my story to you all.

If you'd like to know more about Master Tan Eng Kiat, you can read all about him on his Martial Arts school's website here or here as well

Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 8:03 am

Day One

He has an Xbox. But, I'll get back to that in a moment.

Today wasn't exactly my first day of training. I had arrived at my Master's house at around 1pm this afternoon, and learned that he was actually away and wouldn't be returning in till later tonight (I have not seen him yet). His daughter allowed me in and showed me the room I would be staying in, as well as the chores I will be expected to do while I am here.

I was really surprised when I got here. I expected I would be sleeping in a closet, or out on the front porch, but I actually get a nice bedroom with a soft bed and a fan. It even has an air conditioner, and a small table for me to sit and set up my laptop at. Don't get me wrong, it a fairly spartan bedroom, but it's a good one and I'm glad I get to stay in it.

Because my Master had not yet arrived at his home, my day was spent doing various chores. Although the only task that I must do is care for his garden, I also volunteered to fill his dogs water bowels, as well as sweep out his house. It's not that I'm trying to suck up or anything, it's just that I really don't want to feel like a burden. I may as well earn my place at the table.

During my rather long period of free time I had after I completed my various chores, I took it upon myself to practice a little Taekwondo. I will admit, I'm nervous as hell to meet my Master, as I'm afraid I wont be good enough and seem like a joke to him. Here, in Malaysia, there is a very strong focus on the Patterns of Taekwondo, which are a series of precise, choreographed moves designed to help teach you how to use various techniques in real fights. My American school, however, has a much stronger focus on Sparring and Self Defense, so my ability with patterns is sub-par at best. I told his Daughter about my concern, and she's told me I'll do fine, and not to worry about it. I still worry anyway.

Both of Master Tan's children are also Black Belts in Taekwondo. I'm not sure what his daughter is, but I know his son is a Fourth Degree, and has also won the World Taekwondo tournament at least two or three times. They're both very kind to me, and even took me out to dinner with them, which was amazing, as I hadn't eaten since breakfast. I'll tell you: Malaysian Chinese food is some of the best stuff in the world. If you ever find yourself in Malaysia, do yourself a favor and eat at the roadside noodle stalls. You will not be disappointed.

Now, remember how I said he has an Xbox? Well, it actually belongs to his son, who was extremely happy to hear that I too played video games. According to his girlfriend (Who had joined us for dinner) he had been looking for someone to play "Tekken" with him for months. So we played for about an hour after we got home from dinner, which was fun. Although I could never take him in an actual sparring match, I can sure as heck beat him at Tekken.

He left about twenty minuets ago to retrieve Master from the airport. I'm not sure when he'll be back, so I sit in quite tension. It's been a long time since I had seen him, so I would like to make a good second first impression. So here I sit, quietly worrying my soul into nothingness while I tap out a dairy entry onto a Gaia thread that maybe three people will actually read.

Hopefully, training starts tomorrow.