TryingMyBest

Thanks, Everyone for taking the time to reply - you've given me some good points to ponder. I especially liked the suggestion to jot down some notes after class - I have often wished I could do it during class, but it never occurred to me to do it soon after - duh! I think the part of the problem is that although I take the Beginner classes, there are very few actual beginners with me - the majority of the other students are red belts and above and the instructor probably doesn't want to hold them back for me. I think I may have to adjust my schedule to join another section in the evenings that seems to have more lower-ranking people. As for speaking with the Master - whew - that's a tough one because as you can imagine, after this week, I do feel rather intimidated. But hey - there's no crying in TKD, so I guess I'll just suck it up and have a chat. In the longer term (my contract is up in Feb) I am considering finding a different school, esp. one that's closer to home which would allow me to take more classes as well. Now that I know I need a slower pace, I will check out different places to find one where I might feel more comfortable. In the meantime - I'll try to remember that this is for FUN. Thanks so much for your support!

I am an adult yellow belt who has been studying TKD for about 10 months. Although I show up regularly and try very hard in class, I just don't seem to "get it". It takes me a long time to learn patterns, whether it be my form, ho shins or gi chos. We have a test coming up and it seems like I just get more anxious with each practice and my mind goes blank. Our Master is getting frustrated with me - today he admonished me for not paying attention. I was but couldn't keep up with the pace of the drills so it was very embarassing. I've never been much of an athlete, in fact, I was always the kid picked last during gym class. I'm starting to feel that way again and remind myself that I'm doing this for fun and fitness but still, I feel discouraged. I want to learn and improve - does anyone have any advice? Are there any good books or videos I could study from outside of class? Are there such things as martial arts tutors? I don't want to quit but I am getting stressed over the whole thing. Help!