I got there a few minutes early, and the children's class hadn't let out yet. Some people from my class were standing outside. I have to say, I was a little intimidated by my first impression of them. Almost all of them were big guys, black or hispanic, at least a foot taller than me, and covered in tattoos. Not exactly my comfort zone. There was one smaller guy there, but he already had a yellow belt. Eventually a girl came up, and she also had a yellow belt. Nobody spoke to me while we waited (most of them weren't talking at all) until we went into class.
We pretty much dived right into it - check in with your ID card, then find a blue spot on the floor. I told Simo about my asthma inhaler, and she partnered me up with Niel - a brown belt who had been there the night I had my introductory class. I guess he was there to help out. Simo told him about my inhaler and he was my training partner for most of the night. He was very nice and helpful. He was very understanding when I made mistakes in the routines, and told me how to improve as I went. Everyone else was switching roles with their partners, but tonight I was the attacker and Niel was the defender.
We did a number of combinations of attacks that I still have a hard time getting straight. It was a little difficult to keep up, but Niel was patient with me, thankfully. Mostly it was:
Jab (front straight punch)
Cross (rear straight punch)
Hook (front side punch)
Cross hook (rear side punch)
Elbow jab? (cover face with front hand; bring rear elbow up in the air, slash it downward while twisting the body; keep hand against chest palm outward)
Elbow cross? (cover face with rear hand; bring front elbow horizontal across to the side while twisting body; keep hand against chest palm outward)
Front & rear uppercut (keep arm straight, hand in front of elbow, palm toward myself, punch directly up while pushing with leg)
Kick (straightforward rear leg kick)
Knee (grab opponent's shoulders, knee to the stomach)
Advance and jab (hop forward and punch)
Double advance and jab (hop twice and punch)
Retreat (hop backward, cover face)
Punch parry [don't remember the actual name] (cross hands at reference point, grab opponent's elbow with rear hand, push it to their stomach using body weight at a 45 degree angle, punch face with front hand)
At the end of class, we received our white belts. We learned the ending bow (right foot forward/right hand fist to left hand palm, left foot forward/present hands forward, left foot back/roll hands forward and down underneath arms, right foot back together/pull fists to each side of chest and bow) and how to tie our belts.
Overall, the class was pretty intense. By the end of it, I was having a little trouble breathing, and I felt like I was going to throw up. I was okay though, once I used my inhaler. My hands are red and my elbows are scraped up, I can already feel my back muscles getting sore, but it was good. It will be a good workout, and everyone in class seemed nice. During the drills, I had met two more people - Claudia was the yellow belt girl, and Jordan was a fellow newbie with beads in his hair.
I didn't feel like I got to connect with people as much in this class as I did in the smaller introductory class I had, but I'm hoping I will still get to know some people better as time goes on. I was a little disappointed that Sifu wasn't actually working with us at all tonight, but I guess maybe the teachers switch off every once in a while or something. I dunno.
I am exhausted, and my elbows hurt. But I am still happy that I signed up for this class.