I am always striving to better myself. That may sound pretentious, but, really, I'm not trying to impress you, but trying to impress and improve upon myself.
When I was in high school, I was always busy. Athletically, I did football and cross-country at the same time for the first few months of every school year, basketball in the winter, and soccer and track and field at the same time for the last few months. I was one of the few people who could do both, on top of everything else. A typical day for me involved maybe running 4-7km in the morning, attending classes, playing intramural basketball at lunch, doing football, basketball, or soccer in the afternoon, and then coming home and doing whatever chores needed to be done including shoveling the laneway, chopping/piling wood, stuff like that.
Now, I wasn't always that active. As my former cross-country coaches will probably attest, I did not practice as often as I should have. Still, I kept busy, and I kept moving.
Coming to university, I let that part of me slide, quite a bit. They always say that the first year of university is hard on your health, and freshman 15 is a general concern, but mostly for me, the only aspect of my health which was affected was just being less active. I am quite spoiled, physically, and I am able to go without exercise for long periods of time and still get right back into it. I realize just how lucky this is, and I have been striving to take advantage of the gifts of genetics given to me.
So, have I made to join any intramural or competitive sports? No. While I might do that in the future, I am working on getting to know my body better and improving myself. Plus, I've done years of competitive sports, now it's time for just me. So, what am I thinking?
Well, it's going to be difficult doing everything that I want to do, especially since school is my #1 priority and what a time-consuming priority it is. Nevertheless, or irregardless (just to make you cringe) of my busy and stressful school work, I am pursuing fencing, aikido, and possibly parkour. All of which stress a high understanding and control over your own body.
Fencing. Sword-fighting. How cool is that? Well, I think it's very cool. Whether it be portrayed in film or literature, I think fencing is an interesting, and talented endeavour. I might repeat myself quite a bit here, but fencing stresses balance, coordination, agility, and flexibility. I did fencing two years back, just some beginner stuff, but the lessons I learned about balance and coordination still stick with me today. When I'm on a bus, I find I am in the default stance in fencing, known as the horse stance, and that I rarely have trouble when the bus swerves around corners. This year, the lessons seem to be accelerated and cheaper, so I look forward to getting back into it. If cost is not too much of an issue, I might even be interested in competing. I am looking into doing sabre as well, which will be cooler, but also provide a slightly different skill set. The York Fencing Club's website is attached, open to non-students, and about the cheapest I've found. York Fencing Club
Aikido. This is a form of martial art I heard about through a friend. Focusing on directing energy, Aikido offers a more subtle and clever form of defense than I have seen in some of the other martial arts which I have investigated. It's all about having control over yourself and control over your opponent's movement. Often, you use the strength or strike of your opponent against them, stepping past a strike, and pulling them around via their wrist, or letting their overhand strike miss, using that to flip them over. I am interested to learn more and while more aggressive martial arts have benefits and advantages, if I can't get out of a fight with my wit and charm, the next step is to merely get out of the way. There are several places which teach Aikido in downtown Toronto, and a quick Google search will show you the way. Average cost is $60-80/month for 3 months.
Parkour. This has always fascinated me, but I recently took a new interest in it. Becoming very popular in the last few years and portrayed in television and movies, there is a bit of a difference between the cultural perception and the reality. Parkour is all about moving through an environment in the most efficient way possible. It combines running, jumping, landing, rolling, and other such movements in order to make the most of your environment. Combining that with a few choice obstacles, and throwing in some flips, which are not prohibited but not the focus of parkour, and well, you have the crazy style you've probably seen in movies. However, it is still a really exciting form of efficient movement and requires a keen focus, a good sense of spatial awareness, and great bodily control. The following site was recommended to me by another friend, and it seems that the community is quite strong, and the "lessons" are free, so I'll keep looking into that! Parkour Toronto
And that's it! It's going to be quite a lot to take on, but I'll work it slowly into my schedule, hoping to hone my physique into an energetic, agile, and graceful body in motion!
Thanks for reading!
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