Muay Thai girl
I was looking at a blog the other day that had a lot of black and white images, and I thought some of them would make cool backgrounds for my phone. They did, but all were a bit dark. So I did a google search for black and white photos and found this one.
I love this photo! I’m sorry now that I didn’t bookmark where I got it from, but something about it really appealed to me. It is now the background image on my phone, and everytime I see it I’m inspired.
I dont really know why. Funny how some images just get you.
I’ve never done any Muay Thai myself, but I do love that Muay Thai is now a modern sport martial art, but has retained a very strong emphasis on the traditions associated with the art. Even non-Thais who practice Muay Thai still mainly go through the traditional pre-fight routine.
I also have a lot of respect for women who fight. I fight myself but with men it’s nothing out of the ordinary. Women have a different approach. Where men slug it out, women have a style and focus on technique that is nice to watch. I’m not saying that they are soft, far from that. They hit hard, but do it with style! I’m sure that the lady in the photo would take around 30 seconds to knock me out.
So I guess it really is no surprise that I love this photo after all!
And I only just noticed the watermark in the bottom corner for vangHER photography. I googled them and they’re at http://vangher.com. Haven’t seen them before but I’m going to have a look now!
The inspirational thrill of not competing!
What an inspiring weekend! I have recently had an operation so couldn’t compete in the Taekwondo Nationals here. So I just got to go and watch. I hate going to competitions and not being able to compete, but it is the best thing for me as far as inspiration goes. Watching the people I train with going through their process and performing, whether winning or losing, is so inspiring for me.
Seeing people that you are sure are so tired they can hardly move, suddenly get that look in their eyes an come back from ten points down to win in the last minute of the last round can’t help but fill you with awe. Seeing people looking to each other for inspiration, whatever their respective ages, is amazing.
I guess that it’s only through shared hardships that truly amazing friendships are born.
There’s the age old question of whether sport and competition is good for martial arts. I love all sides of Taekwondo, and one of the best things is that there are so many sides of it that people can be interested in. I think that this is the secret of its success.
There are clubs around that don’t compete. And I’m sure that if I’d joined one of those I’d be adamant that competition is frivolous and unnecessary. And I’d be right, because for that me I’d be speaking the truth.
But for this me, that has experienced the stresses involved in one-on-one competition, that has seen people lift and do amazing things, or fail but stand up and use their failure as a platform to improve for next time, I’m proud that I and the people that I respect compete, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I really love Taekwondo!
Do all the things! 
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