I think every student showed up for taekwondo class.
“I’ve never seen it so crowded,” I said to Mark.
“This always happens right before a test,” he said. “Everyone tries to get in all the last-minute practice they can.”
Master Kim seemed to be trying to get in all the last-minute teaching he could, too.
We ran through the basic motions. The only ones I mixed up were front kick and side kick. Ap chagi and yup chagi. They sounded so much alike! Okay, I thought. Ap sounds like op and that’s short for operation and when SWAT teams do sting operations they kick open front doors. And when one of the SWAT guys asks the captain if he needs help, the captain says, “Yup, go kick in the side door.”
Next we paired up and practiced escapes. I tried to move the second I felt Rosa grab my arm (like the black belt told me), but I still could escape only about half of the time. I’d have to keep working on that.
I got a chance to practice my push kick on a real kicking paddle. That went better than my escape. I nailed it every time. Pulled my leg in tightly, snapped out my foot, and pow!
The last thing we practiced was forms. And a strange thing happened.
I was standing in my row. Master Kim called out, “Choonbi.” As I moved into the ready position, I could feel my heart pick up speed. My brain clicked off, like a television, and all I got was a blank screen. Oh man. What was the first move of kicho il bo?
Think. Think. Think.
Master Kim looked around the room slowly. “Shijak!” Begin.
My brain stayed locked but—Holy Toledo!—my arms and legs moved on their own.
Lower block. Punch. Punch. Punch. “Hup!”
I was doing it!
I just kept moving, trusting my arms and legs to go where they were supposed to. It was kind of like this one time my grandparents took me to the water park, and I got swept up in the wave pool. But in a good way.
Before I knew it, I was done with my form. And hadn’t missed a single block, punch, or kihap.
Afterward I sat down against the wall to watch the other students go through their forms. My cheeks hurt from grinning so hard.
Maybe that’s what Master Kim had meant when he talked about doing something with no mind.